The Red Fox
by Tobi wants a cookie
Summary: Sometimes, life isn't fair. Sometimes, the world is filled with injustice. Bruce Wayne, better known as Gotham's legendary hero Batman, had dedicated his life to ending injustice. When he met a chipper boy named Naruto who had been attacked his entire life for things beyond his control, there was only one thing he could do. Little did he know, this would change his world forever.
1. New Home, New Life Pt 1

Welcome readers, to The Red Fox, my first ever crossover fanfic. This was an inevitable one to do for me, with me being such a big fan of both. I keep this intro short and just tell you what you need to know. I'll be posting once a week, 7000 word or more chapters, and this will be all about Naruto being raised in Gotham by Batman/Bruce Wayne and how it will affect the world around them. Short and simple. Thanks for reading, please review and recommend to your friends.

Chapter Soundtrack-Chris Stapleton: Traveler

* * *

Amanda Waller, a tall, slightly overweight black woman, was a person who'd seen many different strange places during her work for the government. There had been massive mansions big enough to hold thousands, little huts that one person could hardly manage in, and secret places in the middle of nowhere that no one knew about. This, however, was the first time she'd ever been to an island nation that had managed to keep itself completely and utterly off from the map.

It was a few hundred miles off the coast of Japan, they even spoke the same language, and was large enough to hold some small countries and some massive cities. How they did that, Amanda would never know, but these people were powerful. The very reason they'd closed themselves off was because they were the only people on earth who had access to a power known as chakra, with which they could do wondrous things. Wondrous things they wanted no one else to know about, so they stayed alone in a ninja like, Japanese influenced lifestyle. Barely any tech, but they still had all that they needed. They called themselves the Great Ninja Nations.

She was walking to the Hokage's office now, he was the leader of the village and the most power ninja for miles. It was going to interesting to meet him, as Amanda was here to talk about the state of their American relations. Before she could get there, a sound got her attention. It was the sound of some child screaming in Japanese for help, she spoke the language very well, and some others who seemed to be attacking him. Amanda turned to see a group of people in an alley surrounding a blond haired child, throwing things at him and hitting him.

While not the most compassionate person in the world, Amanda still wasn't one to just let people beat a child who appeared no older than 8. She took her pistol out of it's holster and pointed it at the assailants, who appeared to be ninjas in their twenties, and fired a shot just above their heads. They all turned to see who'd fired at them.

"You know where I'm from, assaulting a child is crime," Amanda began in her best Japanese, "Am I correct in assuming it's the same here?"

One of the ninjas turned to to the boy, who had spiking blond hair and whisker marks on his cheeks, and kicked him, "This isn't a child, it's a demon, woman! What makes you think you can come in here and fire that thing at us?"

Amanda smirked and pulled out a scroll and showed it to them, then started to say in a commanding voice, "This is an official honored guest pass to be in your country. It means that I can do whatever the hell I want and only answer to your Hokage. Now, step away from the child before I start to get angry!"

Looks of fear covered all of their faces. It was a very bad idea to attack an honored guest, as the punishment for doing so was death. In a flash, they all ran from the boy, leaving him on the ground crying. Amanda shook her head at the fleeing ninja, "What a bunch of spineless weasels. Now, let's go see about this 'Demon' of theirs."

She walked over to the boy, who was covered in marks and bruises, and knelt down beside him. The poor thing was scared to death, so Amanda kneeled down by him carefully, "Hey there little guy, are you okay? I swear that I'm not gonna hurt you, I made the mean men go away."

The boy looked up at her, tears in his eyes, and sniffed, "I'm okay...I'm kind of used to it by now...my names Naruto. You better go away, they'll hurt you two if they see you talking to me."

Amanda smiled at him and chuckled. She slowly started to pick the small boy up, much to his shock, "Oh, I'm not scared of them. There's nothing those jerks could do to me. I'm Amanda by the way. Do you want me to take your home to you home to your parents so they can patch you up?"

"I don't have a mommy or daddy," Naruto said in a sad little voice, "But you can take me to see the old man. He's the one who looks after me."

She loved the nickname he had for his caretaker, even though she was sad to find that he no parents to comfort him, "And where does this 'Old Man' live, hm? Near by?"

Naruto pointed to the Hokage tower, "He should be working on the top floor in there. He does lots and lots of paper work."

Amanda knew in an instant that he must have been talking about the Hokage. Between him being called a demon and being close with the Hokage, she knew their was a story here, and intend to find out what it was, "Well okay then, we'll go together. You want me to carry you or will you walk?"

Naruto jumped out of her arms and grabbed her hand, "I can walk. Thanks though," he said with a foxy grin.

"My my, you're mood change very quickly," Amanda noted, finding his mood infectious.

Naruto shrugged, not really thinking much of it, "If I stay happy, the pain doesn't hurt so much. Are you from the hidden Cloud? The only people I've seen with skin like yours are from there."

Amanda figured that was where most of the African-american population of this nation must be, "No sweetie, I'm from a place called America. Would you like me to tell you about it?"

Naruto nodded vigorously and the rest of their walk was spent with her telling him about far of nation. He was such a pleasant little one. How could anyone possibly think he was a demon?

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the hidden Leaf's third Hokage, was sitting in his office waiting for Amanda Waller, who was now about 15 minutes late, and looking up at the picture of the Hokages who'd come before him. There was his sensei's, the amazingly powerful legends that were the First and Second Hokages, and the Fourth Hokage, the shinobi whose life had been cut far too short in order to protect his village. It was such a pity that the man would never get to see his son grow up.

These thoughts were broken when a knock came at his door, causing the Hokage to call, "Come in!"

The door opened and a blonde blur shot inside. Hiruzen barely had time to laugh before his favorite little whiskered boy jumped up into his lap, "Hey old man, look who I found! This lady is named Amanda, and she's really, really nice."

Hiruzen smiled down at him and looked back to Amanda, "Well that's wonderful Naruto. It's nice to see you getting so well acquainted with our guest. Nice to finally meet you Ms. Walker, and thank you for being kind to my little friend here. He gets into some trouble from time to time."

Amanda could tell in an instant how close the two of them were, but had other things on her mind, "I don't think that there's any trouble that he could've gotten into that would warrant the way some of your ninjas were treating him."

He'd already seen the bruises on Naruto, so another beating had been exactly what Hiruzen was afraid of, "Naruto, were the other ninjas being cruel to you again?" Naruto cringed and nodded, "How bad was it? The marks don't look too bad, but you heal quickly."

"I've had better and I've had worse," Naruto said. It was an honest answer

Hiruzen sighed, but kept a smile on his face to comfort Naruto, "Why don't you go take these scrolls and read for a little bit in the other room? Get a start on your ninja training. If you get far enough, I'll treat you to some ramen, okay?"

Naruto suddenly beamed and grabbed the scrolls, running right to the other room. Hiruzen let himself frown now and turned to Amanda, "I'm sorry that you had to see that. Some of the people of my village are unable to tell the difference between a scroll and it's contents."

"You know I have to ask, what in the hell did that kid do to deserve something like this?" Amanda asked, as this was a matter she refused to drop.

Hiruzen got out his pipe and lit it, knowing that there was a stressful conversation ahead, "Ever heard of a tailed beast known as the Kyuubi?"

Amanda had done her research about this place, so the name was familiar. She went through everything that she'd memorized, "The Kyuubi: An incredibly powerful creature composed entirely of what you call Chakra. It's famous for how incredibly powerful it's attacks are, the last known attack was on your village eight years ago on October 10th. It was killed by your Fourth Hokage, at the cost of his life."

"It wasn't killed," Hiruzen said, surprising Amanda, "You can't kill something like that. He knew that there was no way for us to stop this beast, so he sealed it away instead, inside a newborn. You're a smart woman, so I'm gonna guess you know where I'm going with this."

Amanda felt quite a twinge of sympathy for the boy at the tragic tale. Clearly the newborn had been Naruto, "Wait, so Naruto got this thing sealed inside of him, right?" Hiruzen nodded, with a puff of his pipe, "Alright, that must be why they all hate him. Easy to take your anger out on a boy who can't defend himself, especially when he has the object of your anger inside of him."

Hiruzen could tell he wasn't going to have to say much more, "His parents died on the night of the attack, so that really didn't help the situation."

Amanda looked up at the picture of the Fourth on the wall, noting his spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, "I wonder how that could've happened."

Hiruzen put a finger to his mouth, as if to say, 'I get the point, no need to go any farther', "And that is how the last eight years have gone. As hard as I've tried to protect him, it's proven more than impossible. There's just not enough manpower available for to give Naruto a constant guard, not that anyone I could spare would take that job. I only pray that him joining the academy will maybe help the situation in some way. Maybe make him strong enough to defend himself."

Having been around the block enough times, Amanda knew that Hiruzen was too close to the situation to see there was just no life here for Naruto. These villagers would never let him become a ninja, and even if he did manage to make it, there was no way they'd let him live up to his full potential. There must be a better solution for the boy. At first she thought about taking him back to her government, but that was the right answer either. Naruto deserved better than to have the military forcing him to train day in and day out to be nothing more than a weapon. He deserved better than that. There was one other solution, but it was rather insane. Still, it might be the only way that Naruto could get the life that he deserved.

"During the meeting with your council, will we be doing anything other than bullshit politics? I mean, is their any way we could just skip all that and talk about something else?" Amanda asked, still thinking very hard.

Hiruzen loved the way she'd referred to the council meeting, "Honestly, it's all just a bunch of formalities. Nothing really changed, this is just a goodwill visit. Did you have something in mind?"

Amanda tapped her fingers on her knee, "I think that I might have a way to give a Naruto the happy little life that he deserves, if you're council is willing to part with him."

"You want us to give away Naruto! He's a member of our village and has a tailed beast inside of him," Hiruzen started, having issues with this on several levels.

Amanda waved off his fears, "You won't be giving him up, more like lending him to someone. How about you gather the council so that I can give them all my proposal? It sounds crazy in it's simplest form, but there's more to it than you think."

Hiruzen took a long drag from his pipe, then let it go as he drifted deeper into his thoughts. Naruto's happiness was of vital importance to him. He had to at least here was she head to say if he was going to sleep at night, "Give me fifteen minutes. That should be the most it would take to get the council here. This had better be good."

* * *

The Hokage was true to his word, managing to get the entire council front and center in no time at all. However, they more or less had the same reaction that Hiruzen did when Amanda so much as started her idea for Naruto.

"Are you mad woman? Naruto is the most vital weapon that this village has! We can't just let him leave the Leaf," Danzo, an old, one-eyed war hawk, stated.

Amanda could already tell this was going to be an uphill battle. Danzo wasn't the only one glaring at her, in fact just about every one of the Leaf's clan heads were burning a hole into her skull, "Before I get any farther, I'd like to remind you all that the Hidden Leaf and the United States are on very good terms with one another, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Then don't try and steal one of our ninjas," Hiashi Hyuga, head of the Hyugas, told her curtly.

Amanda knew that she was gonna have to take a different approach with this, "May I ask that you all refrain from interrupting until I've finished what I have to say? I feel like this would go much smoother if you gave me that courtesy."

The council members hated being told what to do, but her point was a valid one. All of them gave a brief nod, letting Amanda continue, "With what I'm proposing, Naruto would be allowed to return to the hidden Leaf the second you needed him and you'll be able to send someone once every month or two to come and check on his progress, so I'll get that out of the way right now. Does that put some of your minds at ease?"

Strangely enough it actually did. Many of them visibly relaxed once she said it. Naruto may have been seen as a burden by many of them, but he was still a useful tool nonetheless. A tailed beast was the best weapon a village could have. Amanda knew just how to play to someone's logical side, "I've noticed that many people around here hate him due to the issues with the Kyuubi. Am I correct in assuming it will be very hard to train Naruto properly without the villagers interfering? I imagine that even if you could get him trained, it wouldn't be that well and you'd never be able to agree on who did it."

They were all shocked at just how on the dot she was with her assumptions. Hiruzen answered her, "It's been an issue since the moment we found out he wanted to be a ninja."

"I figured as much. What if I told you that I knew of someone in America who would train him for you, no charge, and would do it better than any of your teachers ever could? No strings attached, just think of it as an act of goodwill between our two nations," Amanda started, seeing early that she had all of them hooked.

The council began to murmur amongst themselves, curious about what she was talking about. Of course they still had their reservations, as Tsume Inuzuka showed them, "How do we know you won't keep him for yourself or turn him against us, hm? Why should we trust you?"

Amanda's answer was a very easy one, "Because my nation would never start a war that they know they couldn't win for a weapon that they can't ever comprehend. The man I want to train Naruto has nothing to do with our military, so you have no reason to worry about that."

Shikaku Nara, possibly the smartest person in the hidden Leaf, had a question that would truly be able to but his mind at easy, "And why exactly would you be willing to set all of this up? Clearly you gain nothing from all of this, so why bother? No one in your position puts their neck out this much for some kid they hardly know."

Amanda let his words sink in as looked down at her feet. The answer that she was about to give was one that ashamed her. It would not be an easy story for her to tell, "The man that I want to train Naruto is considered something of a hero where I'm from. He tries to be a symbol of fear to the scum of the world and a symbol of hope to those who need it. For a long time, I was nothing like that. I did whatever I felt was necessary to protect people, no matter what the cost may have been. Not an awful philosophy really, but I soon began to go too far. There was a point where I started to take the human element out of it entirely, I'm ashamed to say. Before long, I got cocky and started to make messes that I wasn't able to clean up. One of them was forcing a little girl to genetically enhance powers she had no business using. She was out of control, nearly killed half a dozen people. Needless to say, I was unable to get a handle back on the situation. However, the man I mentioned before was. He tracked down that little girl, found her scared, unsure of what she was gonna do. She knew her powers were gonna end up killing her very soon, and the poor thing was terrified. Hard as it is to believe, he comforted her. Sat with her until her time came and then carried her to the morgue himself. To this day, I've never seen anything quite like it."

The council was on the edge of their seats, immersed in the story. All except for Danzo, who found it to be a tedious tale, "A lovely story, but what does this have to do with Naruto?"

"Seeing him do that is what made me realize that I needed to change who I was," Amanda said, ignoring the one eyed idiot, "I put that girl through so much pain, and in the end, it was for nothing. While I needed to protect my country, I needed to do it in a way that kept my morals and the morals of those around me intact. I would've killed myself out of guilt if I didn't. Naruto is like that little girl to me. He's a poor soul that needs someone who'll actually bother to train him. Bruce Wayne, the man I've been speaking of, is exactly the person who'll do that."

All of them knew that name, even if they knew little about the outside world. Shibi Aburame asked, "Bruce Wayne as in the rich philanthropist? He trains young children?"

Amanda gave them the vaguest answer she could, "There's more to him than that, but you don't need to worry about it. What you need to know if that if you give him the proper scrolls, Naruto will be able to come to the hidden Leaf's aid more powerful than you could ever imagine. Much more so than if the teachers here who hate him were to teach him. Not to mention, for those of you who care about the boy, this will give him one of the happiest lives you could imagine."

Once again, the council started to murmur to one another. It was a good deal, a damn good deal. Maybe they should actually hear her out on this one, if only for a little while. Hiruzen even liked the sound of it, "You're here for three days, so why don't you draw up some documents and let us talk it over a bit? Does that sound okay?"

Understandable, considering that offer almost sounded too go to be true. It gave her a chance to handle something of her own, "Sure, I've got to make a few inquires of my own anyway. Please, take all the time that you need."

Amanda walked out of the room to let the council discuss her proposal. There was one more person that she still needed to call. Odds were it was going to be a very awkward conversation.

* * *

"_You want me to what?" _A distinctly male voice yelled from the other end of Amanda's phone. It was the voice of someone that she hoped considered her a friend, one Bruce Wayne. He was more than a little upset.

Amanda had just told him about her little plan with Naruto. Needless to say, she had some explaining to do, "Bruce, you're just like the council, you won't even let me explain myself."

Bruce didn't care about what she said about the council, "_You suggested the I adopt a kid without some much as talking to me first!"_

Amanda knew that he had every right to be upset here, "There's more to it than that. Didn't you hear what I said about this Naruto kid? His life has been absolute shit. You adopted Dick when you felt he needed help, why not this one?"

"_So what, I'm just supposed to adopt every single kid that has a hard life? For god's sake Amanda, Dick was different! I was too close to that situation, I couldn't bring myself to turn him away!" _Bruce told her, referring to his surrogate son Dick Grayson, the one time flying trapeze artist whose parents had been killed when they refused to pay the infamous mob boss Tony Zucco protection money. Bruce had been the one who'd brought the son of a bitch to justice, as that was his job.

Bruce Wayne was the name he used during the day, but at night, he became the shining become of hope for Gotham, the legendary Batman. After the death of his parents when he was very young, Bruce's life had fallen apart. Despite the fact that he was still filthy rich, he was beyond unhappy. His parents murderer may have been found, but that didn't help him either. After a few years of being completely miserable, Bruce decided that he was going to do something about it. He'd seen his father, Thomas Wayne, work so hard to try and save Gotham from the cassum it'd fallen into. It became Bruce's life goal to save Gotham, to become a symbol to people who were forced to cower in fear. That, however, required training.

Bruce trained for years around the world to become the most powerful hero that he could be, training with people who would be called heroes and villains alike. His martial arts abilities were second to none, he was one of the smartest people in the world, and he had technology that would make any scientist jealous. His little trip turned him into one of the most dangerous people in the world. However, whether or not he had it in him to raise another kid reminded to be seen, "_Honestly Amanda, how can you just call someone up and tell them to adopt some child that they don't even know?"_

"Bruce, this isn't just some kid!" Amanda yelled, really needing to get this point across, "I'm terrified that this is gonna ten times worse than Ace ever was! I can't just stand by and let it happen!"

Bruce cringed at the very mention of Ace. Ace had been the little girl who Amanda had mentioned to the council before. He'd done his best to try and save her, but her powers were just too much for her body to handle. She'd died in her arms, "_How could something be worse than what happened with Ace?"_

This conversation was really starting to drain Amanda, but she still kept going, "This kid has an incredibly powerful demon thing sealed inside of him and he doesn't even know it. The people of this village see him as nothing more than the monster that had destroyed so many of their lives. If this keeps up, he could very well end up snapping and hundreds of thousands will die. Naruto's life will amount to nothing more than proving the assholes who tortured him right. Please, just let me send you his file. If you can look it over and honestly say that you feel nothing for this kid, then I'll leave it be."

Bruce supposed he could at least do that, "_Fine, send me the damn file. I guess that I can give it a quick one over. Send it to me as soon as you can."_

Amanda was cheering internally at her victory, "I had the whole thing scanned before I called you, you'll have it in a couple of minutes. Trust me, you aren't going to regret this. Even I can't believe what all this kid's been though."

* * *

"What in the sam hell?" Bruce muttered, as he looked over Naruto's file on the Batcomputer, the most advance computer on the face of the earth.

Alfred, his loyal butler, the man who raised him after his parents died and his closest friend, was standing right behind him and looked at the screen over his shoulder, "What's the matter Master Bruce? Something strange in the young boy's file?"

Bruce shook his head, typing in something on the keys, "No, I haven't read it yet. The computer can't seem to translate all of it. There's about a third of it that it can't identify at all."

Alfred squinted as he looked at the symbols the computer was trying to identify, "Oh, that would be because some of it is in a very ancient form of Japanese that's no longer traditionally used. I can translate it for you if you'd like."

Bruce was pretty impressed at his old friend's hidden skill, "Let me guess; you learned Japanese back when you were working for the British government at MI6?"

"But of course Master Bruce," Alfred said as he started to type in the missing words. He mumbled to himself as he worked, "Hm...oh dear...well that's unfortunate...my word, that poor boy!"

Bruce could already tell that wasn't gonna be good, "That bad huh?"

Alfred didn't even look up to respond, "This boy Amanda was telling you about has been through hell in back. Where did she say he was from exactly?"

"A country that doesn't even officially exist," Bruce told him, which didn't surprise Alfred in the least. You learned many shocking things by the time you were his age.

Alfred finished up his translation and then back away from the computer, wiping some sweat away from his brow. The machine was very warm, "There you are sir. I must say, I don't know what to think about a place that would do things like this to someone so young."

Bruce started to read the file, heeding Alfred's words as he did. The farther he got, the deeper the a pit sunk into his stomach. Losing his parent's had made his life less than enjoyable, he'd admit, but he'd never had it this bad. He'd spent years of his life chasing after justice, having made that and his little family that he'd created the most important things in his life. Reading this made him feel like he only had one option, "Dick, come here for a moment."

His 13 year old side-kick jumped down from his perch in the Batcave down to his mentor, "Hey Bruce, what do you need?"

"Get the Batwing ready," Bruce responded quickly, "We're making a little trip to Japan. You're coming to Alfred. I've got some translators, but I'll have to alter them to recognize the ancient Japanese you spoke of. "

Alfred nodded, going over to gather some of his things, "Gladly sir, it's always a pleasure taking a trip with you and master Grayson."

Once Alfred walked away, Dick turned to Bruce, "So, I'm getting myself a little brother?"

Bruce was startled by the question, as he didn't even know that Dick knew about Naruto, "How did you?"

"I was listening on your call," Dick said, giving his usual charming smirk, "Seriously though, we should take this kid if it's anywhere near as bad as they say. We both know what it's like to lose our parents, but he never even got a chance to have any. Plus, we can't let him fall in the wrong hands...and, on more of a side note, I really want a little brother."

Bruce rolled his eyes as he grabbed the overnight bag he kept in the cave and walked towards the Batwing, "Nothing is set in stone, we're just going to see if he really does need our help. If I feel like he needs to join our little family, then he will. Simple as that."

Dick grabbed his overnight bag as well, trying to think of ways that he could convince Bruce to take this Naruto kid. Having him as a surrogate father was great, and Alfred was nice too. Heck, even Barbra, better known as their occasional cohort in vigilantism Batgirl, was fun to hang out with, but he still got kind of lonely. He wanted someone a little younger than him that he could just kick back and relax with, and if he got to help out a fellow orphan well doing it, he was all for it. To him, Naruto was a perfect solution. This and many other things ran through his head as he jumped in the Batwing with Bruce, Alfred not far behind them. Amanda had already given him the coordinates, so getting there would be no issue.

Bruce took one last look at his various gages, and then started to lift off, "Hold on tight people, we're in for a fun ride!"

* * *

Naruto was almost certain that he was in trouble. He'd been called into the Hokages office and told not to move an inch, because the Third had some very important business to discuss with him. There was no one else here, meaning that the old man wanted to talk to him and only him. Yup, he was in trouble.

Naruto shuffled nervously on the couch as Hiruzen opened his office door. The moment he was in the room, the young boy practically tackled him, "Whatever I did I'm really, really sorry! I swear I won't do it again! Please don't be mad at me, please!"

Hiruzen picked the boy up with a small chuckle. He was the one person Naruto never wanted to be mad at him, "Now Naruto, you haven't done a thing...that I know of anyways."

The notorious prankster that he was, Naruto still had a couple of little stunts he wasn't sure if they knew about, "Um, let's just assume that that you caught me for everything, okay?"

The Hokage agreed as he went over to his chair and sat down, Naruto still in his lap, "The reason that I called you in here is very important. You see Naruto, there's a man who may want to adopt you,"

"What?" Naruto screamed, his shock completely apparent, "But almost everyone in the village hates me! Who would want to adopt me?"

Hiruzen could see there was both fear and hope in the child's eyes. If this didn't work out, he was going to feel horrid, "Well, he's not actually from here Naruto, not that it matters. He knows everything about you and he's still interested."

Naruto's big, blue eyes burned right through Hiruzen, "Does he know the reason that they all hate me? Because I don't even know that!"

Hiruzen had to fight to keep from flinching. He was too young to know about the creature that resided him. Naruto would need to be at least a teenager before he could understand, "As I said, he knows all about you. Like He's not from here, so if he likes you and you want to live with him...you'll actually have to leave the hidden Leaf village."

Naruto jumped off his lap, incredibly scared, "Leave the hidden Leaf? I don't wanna leave my home! Don't make me go old man, I promise I'll be good! No more pranks or anything!"

"This isn't a bad thing Naruto," Hiruzen told him, knowing that this would be the boy's reaction, "It's kind of a good thing. He's a man that can train you to become an incredibly powerful person. He'll give a very nice home, a family, everything that you've ever wanted."

Naruto had wanted all of those things alright, but he'd wanted them in the Leaf, "Old man, do you hate me like the rest of them do? Do you want me to go away?"

That was like a knife in the old Hokage's heart. He pulled Naruto into a tight huge, "Good lord, no! You're one of the most important people in this entire village to me. Naruto, I don't want to see you go, but I have to at least suggest it. I honestly think that this could be what's best for you. I think that you could finally have the happy life that you deserve. Will at least give this a chance, for me?"

Naruto looked in the old man's eyes and saw that he was nearly in tears. This man truly cared about him, he had Naruto's best interests at heart. There was only one answer Naruto could give, "Okay old man, I'll meet the guy. What did you say his name was?"

Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief at those word, "His name is Bruce Wayne, and he's here with his adopted son Dick and his friend Alfred, who's going to translate for us. He's come a long way to meet you Naruto, and I have a feeling that you two are really going to hit it off."

* * *

Three American's coming to a place like the Hidden Leaf was more than just a little bit of a culture shock. If hadn't been for the fact that Alfred was there, Bruce and Dick would've gotten lost half a dozen times. Thanks to his translation, they were very quickly able to get a handle on where the Hokage's office was and how to get there.

Bruce and Dick felt incredibly awkward as they walked up the steps of the Hokage's office, as they had no idea how to act. Alfred, on the other hand, knew how to be polite wherever he was and found that the people of Konoha loved him.

"Alfred, can you please stop socializing with these guys?" Bruce asked as he got to door to the room he was supposed to meet Naruto in, "I realize that manners make the man, but I'm quite eager to meet Naruto."

Alfred gave a quick bow to the woman he'd been talking to and then turned to Bruce, "Of course sir, forgive me. I can caught up in the moment at times. Please, let us meet young Master Naruto."

Dick had gotten tired of waiting, so he just pushed the doors open, "Okay, enough talking, let's see this kid."

The three of them walked in the room to find a young blonde sitting on the lap of an older man in robes. They sat down across from them tentatively. Neither side knew how to start. Naruto was clinging to Hiruzen for dear life, so Bruce decided to try and calm him down, "Hi, my name's Bruce, and this is my adopted son Dick. It's very nice to meet you."

Naruto watched him put his hand out as Alfred started to translate. The young boy nervously shook it, and then said in Japanese, "My name's Naruto, it's nice to meet you too. The old man says that you want to adopt me."

Alfred relayed the message, causing Bruce to respond, "We think that we might want to, yeah. We just wanna know a little more about you. Would you maybe answer some questions for me?"

Naruto listened to Alfred and then nodded, still unsure of how to feel, "I guess that'd be okay…"

Dick had the first question, "I heard that you like to pull pranks? Is that true," Naruto nodded once more, and Dick smirked mischievously "Great, I'll have a partner in crime!"

"Haha, awesome!" Naruto replied, starting to let more of his personality shine through.

Bruce was glad to see him smile, and started to ask a question of his own, "What do you want like to eat?"

Naruto only need a second to answer, "Ramen! It's the best food ever!"

That had the whole group laughing, and the air in the room started to lighten up a bit. From that point on, the meeting was much calmer. Naruto learned a little about America and was surprised to find out that Bruce was very wealthy. Bruce learned a little about the Hidden Leaf and hated to have to hear about the abuse that Naruto had suffered over the years. It was great for everyone. Bruce liked the young boy so much, he was almost certain that he wanted to adopt him. There was just one more question that he needed to ask.

"What do you want to be when you get older Naruto?" Bruce asked, certain that this question would let him make or break his decision.

Naruto gave him a determined look and then started to say, "I wanted be a super awesome ninja so that I can prove to the whole village that I'm not bad! Everybody seems to think that I'm evil or something, but I'm not! If can get strong and protect them, then I can prove that I'm good and they won't hate me anymore!"

Everyone in the room heard that answer and slowly started to blink at it. Bruce was the first one to speak, "So these people are mean to you, and instead of being mad at them, you wanna protect them?"

Naruto could see that he got it, "Yeah, if I try to hurt them, then I'd just be proving them right. I'm not stupid enough to do that!"

Alfred had to keep himself from the laughing as he translated. Once Bruce and Dick heard the words, they both looked at each other with the same feeling in their eyes. They knew that this kid needed to come to Gotham with them. Hell, he was just like Gotham in Bruce's eyes. He was something that people had given up on, but could be great if he just had the right symbols to guide him. For Bruce, this was a no brainer, "Naruto, you have no idea how smart you are for saying something like that. We'd really like you to come home with us, if you want to of course. We'll give a you home, food, a family, and I swear on my parents grave, I'll make you the great ninja hero that you've always wanted to be. It'll be a lot of hard work, but a boy like you should have no trouble achieve your dream."

Naruto heard this, from Alfred of course, and started to recede a little bit. Everything that he was offering him sounded amazing, but the Leaf was his home. Hiruzen could see his nervousness, and leaned down to whisper, "He's offering you everything that you've wanted Naruto. I'm not going to tell you to go, but, as much as I'd want you stay, I think this might be what's best for you."

Naruto could see how painful it was for him to say this, so he wouldn't tell him to go if he really didn't think it was best for him. He turned to Bruce and the others and asked, "You're not lying to me are you? You really want me to come and live with you guys?"

Bruce knew this boy had been hurt many a time, so his fears were perfectly natural, "We want to be a family to you Naruto. I promise, we'll make you as happy as we possibly can. Just come with us and we'll show you."

Naruto got off from Hiruzen's lap and walked towards Bruce. He looked up at Bruce and asked, "Can I...Can I call you dad?"

Bruce was a little startled by the request, and was even more startled by tears in his eyes. Dick had never asked to do this, but then again Dick had a father before. He looked to Dick who smiled and nodded, and then to Alfred, who'd translated the requested, and he seemed to think it was a good idea. A second later he looked back to Naruto, "If that's what you that's what you want, then yes, you can call me dad."

Naruto suddenly threw himself at the man and Bruce and started to hug him, tears streaming down his face, "Thank you...thank you...thank you!"

Bruce was a little touched by the action, and started to hug him back. Dick came by his side and put a hand on his shoulder, "Just think of me like your big brother, okay?"

Alfred translated, adding in, "And I'll be a part of your family as well. It's an honor to have you join us Master Naruto."

Hiruzen wiped a small tear away from his eye, both overjoyed to see Naruto get what he dreamed of, and sad to know that he was leaving. He got up and walked to door, calling to his secretary, "Get me the proper paperwork to complete Naruto's adoption. Our little friend has finally found a home."


	2. New Home, New Life Pt 2

Hello there, hope you're all ready for our next chapter of The Red Fox. This chapter will have a little bit more action and will feature the first villain of the fanfic. Also, Naruto will find out just what Bruce and Dick really are. Thank you all by the way, for the amazing response that I've gotten from this fanfic. I hope that you all continue to enjoy it. For those of you who are wondering what the pairing will be, I have some of them, but nothing for Naruto yet. Now, let's get started.

Chapter Soundtrack-Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody

* * *

While it might have happened thousands of times a day in the normal world, getting into a giant hunk of metal and soaring into the air like some giant bird was startling to someone from the Hidden Leaf. Naruto was in one of the two back seats of the Batwing along with Dick, Alfred and Bruce were sitting in the front. He was looking out the window at water below in fear, a natural reaction all things considered.

Alfred figured now would be a good time to give the boy a little something. He turned to him and said in Japanese, "I've got a little something from Amanda for you. It's something that you put in your ear and it'll translate English so that you can understand it, even with you using the old form of Japanese. I'll be teaching you English once we get to Gotham, and I'll be teaching Bruce and Dick Japanese, but this will do for now. We all have ones of our own so that we can understand you when you speak as well."

Naruto took the earpiece and put it in. Then he looked around and asked, "Can all of you guys understand me now?"

The earpieces translated Naruto's words, and Bruce responded, "Yup, we got every word. So, are you excited to be going to Gotham?"

"Yeah, but I'm kind scared too. I don't know anyone there but you guys. I don't even speak the same language," Naruto responded, holding on to his bag of belongings tightly. There wasn't a whole lot of things that Naruto had that he felt he needed to bring. A few small gifts that Hiruzen had given him over the years, some Kunai that he'd gotten from the ninja's who were kind to him, things like that. Bruce had promised to get him new clothes already, so that was going to be taken care of when they got back.

Dick knew how scary it was to be moving to a new place, so he tried to reassure Naruto, "Don't worry bro, Gotham is great...for the most part. There's tons of people that I can't wait for you to meet. Barbara is just gonna love you."

Naruto looked over at Dick, glad to have him as his new brother, "Thanks...Bro."

Bruce loved that little bit he'd added at the end. He figured he should get to some of the more serious things, at least for a little while, "So Naruto, I'm gonna wanna start training you as soon as I can once we get home. Hiruzen gave me lots of scrolls to start teaching you stuff, and he said that the first thing I should teach you is Shadow Clones. I guess that most ninja's don't learn them since they take up a lot of chakra, but that isn't an issue since you have so much of it. Did I pronounce chakra right?"

"Yeah Dad, you got it right," Naruto said, loving finally having someone that he could call that, "How come the shadow clones are so good and why do I have so much chakra?"

Bruce knew that he had so much chakra because of the Kyuubi, but Naruto wasn't ready to know that, so he danced around the question, "Hiruzen explained the chakra thing to me, but I didn't understand it. The shadow clones are great because when you, as he put it, disperse them you remember what they did. If you do something with 20 clones, they might each pick up something different and you'll learn something 20 times faster. Alfred, how fast did you say you thought Naruto would be able to learn English?"

Alfred seemed to be doing math in his head, "If Naruto is as smart as I think he is and can make enough clones, he'll be able to learn it in about two, maybe two and a half, months."

Naruto liked the sound of that, since learning things could be a really pain sometimes, "That's so cool! Does that mean that I'm gonna be able to learn all the ninja stuff that fast too?"

Bruce didn't see why not, "Unless something comes up, yes you should. I'll be teaching you the ninja stuff and some of my own fighting styles too."

"You have a fighting style?" Naruto asked, having caught that last part.

Dick just had to get this one, "He doesn't just have one, he's the best hand to hand fighter in America! One of the best in the world really!"

Naruto gaped at the finding that out about his new father, "Wow, where did you learn to do that?"

Bruce looked at Dick in a slightly scolding manner, but wasn't too upset. He was going to have to tell Naruto about the whole Batman thing before long, but he wanted to ease the boy into it, "I traveled around the world, learning everything that I could. My parents died when I was very young, and it was a very bad time for me. My dad had tried hard to be a good man, and, sort of like you, wanted to prove that Gotham was a good place. I became a hero so that I could do that."

"You're a hero? That's awesome too!" Naruto said, getting more and more excited. His dad was sounding like a real bad ass!

Bruce decided that this was a conversation that needed to wait, as it would be easier to explain later, "I think I'll finish explain all of this when we get home. It'll be easier there. Do you wanna start eating that ramen you brought with you? You don't want it to get cold."

Naruto pulled up the ramen that was in his lap and smelled it. It was just as delectably smelling as always. He saw the small paper attached to it and read it for what must have been the hundredth time, "_Naruto, we're really going to miss having you in the hidden Leaf, but we're glad to know that you finally have a family to call your own. Thanks for all the fun time you gave us at Ichiraku's. To us, you'll always be that greatful little boy who came to our stand thin as a piece of paper. We'll always remember you, Ayame and Teuchi."_

A sad smile graced Naruto's face as he read it once again. They were the only people in the village who'd been willing to feed them. Quite simply, they were some of the best people in the Leaf, "There's some people back home that I really wish I didn't have to leave. Not all of them were bad, ya know?"

"If it's any consolation, I spoke to them before we left and they gave me the recipe. I'll be able to make you it whenever you like," Alfred said, knowing that this must not have been easy for the boy.

Naruto took off the top of the container and got out his chopsticks, "That's nice, but it just won't be the same. No offense."

Alfred noted his eating you utensils, "Not at all my boy, I understand. Would you like me to teach you how to use a fork someday? Might help you integrate a little better if you did."

"Nah," Naruto said, digging into his food, "I wanna keep some of the stuff from the hidden Leaf. Can't forget my home entirely."

None of them could really fault him for that. The rest of the plane ride went more or less the same way, that is until Naruto fell asleep. He'd had a very big day, and he needed sometime to rest. Luckily, the seats in the Batwing were very comfortable. His dreams were filled with hopes for his new home, as well as those he'd miss from the home he'd left. It was one of the most peaceful sleeps he'd had in a long time.

* * *

When Naruto awoke, he found himself lying on a couch in a very elegant living room. Various forms of art lined the walls, nice vases were on the tables, the whole nine yards. He jumped off from the sofa and looked around the room, "Dad really is rich. This is the nicest house I've ever been in."

"Well thank you," Bruce said, coming up behind Naruto, "But it's just for show really. When you're a businessman like me, you need to keep up appearances."

Naruto gave him a confused glance, still unsure what his new father did for a living, "I thought that you said you were a hero or something?"

Bruce could see that it was time to get a little deeper into that, "Well, officially I'm a the owner of the long running, multi-billion dollar company. However, I don't really do much of that myself. I've got far more important things to attend to. Protecting Gotham City is my number one priority."

"How do you protect Gotham City?" Naruto asked, eager to finally get all the information out there.

Bruce moved his head from side to side, trying to decided how he wanted to put this, "I'm something of a Dark Knight for Gotham. The kind of guy who puts fear into the hearts of criminals. Sort of like your ninjas back at the hidden Leaf."

Naruto was liking this more and more by the second, "Really? Like how? Do you go and fight people, like take them out and stuff?"

Bruce was about to open his mouth to tell him he was on the right track, but he there was a very loud knock at the door. Whoever was at it, clearly wasn't going to wait to be answered, "Hold on to that thought Naruto. I need to go and see who that is."

Naruto watched Bruce walk down a short hall, then heard a door open. The voice of a young woman came from the hall, "Where?"

While he had no idea who that was, Naruto could tell that Bruce trusted her, because he said, "He's in the living room, but,"

The next thing Naruto knew, a girl with red hair bolted in front of him. It was the daughter of famous commissioner James Gordon, Barbara Gordon. She seemed very psyched to meet Naruto, "Oh my gosh, you're even cuter than Bruce said you were on the phone. I just love your little whiskers, they're so darn adorable!"

She started to rub her finger across them, and Naruto couldn't keep himself from giggling, "Hey, stop that! It tickles!"

"I have no idea what you said," Barbara said, as she had no translator in her ear like the rest of them.

Bruce took a translator out of his pocket and tossed it to her, "Here, put this on. If you'd let me finish, I would've told you that Naruto only speaks Japanese. We'll be teaching him English very shortly and Dick and I will try to learn to speak his language."

Barbara put it in and then turned back to Naruto, "Sorry about that. My names Barbara, I'm friends with Bruce and Dick. I was hoping that you and I could be friends too. How does that sound?"

Naruto didn't know her as well as he knew Bruce and Dick yet, but she seemed nice enough, "I guess that we could try that. I'm Naruto, and Bruce is gonna be my new dad. Dick's gonna be my new big brother too! Did you know that my dad's a hero?"

"Why yes, I did. In fact, I even help him with it sometimes," Barbara responded, then quickly looked like she'd remembered something, "Oh crap, that's actually why I came over here. Bruce there's something that we need to talk about. I overheard my dad saying something that I think you might be interested in."

As this point Alfred and Dick had come into the room, which was good, because Naruto needed some questions answered, "Her dad? Who's hear dad?"

"Oh, he's the Police Commissioner, which is like the leader of law enforcement here," Dick explained.

Barbara quickly told Bruce, "That guy who's been running Arkham Asylum, I think his name is Jonathan Crane, he's up to something."

Bruce frowned at the very mention of Arkham. It was an asylum for Gotham's most criminally insane, which they Gotham had plenty of, but it was as porous as a teapot. Criminals escaped from there left and right, and it hadn't gotten any better since the strange Dr. Jonathan Crane had taken over. There was just something unsettling about being around the man and Bruce didn't trust him, "What's the weirdo up to this time?"

"He's got some politicians visiting him at the Asylum," Barbara began, spitting out the word politicians with disgust, "And not the honest ones. I'm talking the people that Cobblepot usually work with."

Naruto didn't know any of these names, "Who's Crane and Cobblepot?"

"I'll explain it to you later," Alfred whispered to him then turned to Bruce, "What do you plan to do Master Bruce? It's the middle of the day, not really time for your more 'nocturnal' attire, but I'm to sure you have a choice."

Bruce knew that this was something that he had to attend to as soon as possible. Crane was way too much of a risk the way things stood, "Naruto, would you be alright if I stepped out for a bit? I know that you just got here and I don't want you to think I'm ignoring you."

Naruto understood it, as he knew that lots of ninja parents had trouble making time for their kids too. Adults were busy, "It's okay dad, if you need to go then go. I'll get to see you later though, right?"

"Of course, I'm gonna make time for you just like I do Dick. I'm usually only busy at night, so I'll be home for much of the day. I'll help you start some of your training tomorrow, okay? You need a day to get used to your surroundings anyways."

Naruto loved the idea of finally starting his training, "Finally! I'm gonna be a super awesome ninja guy!"

Bruce was eager to start as well, but he had to attend to something with Barbara first, "Let's get going Barb. You and me are gonna go and see if we can't sneak into the Asylum and listen in on their conversation. Maybe get a bug in Crane's office too. Dick, I want you to stay here with Naruto, okay?"

"Sure, infiltration missions are kind of boring anyways," Dick said, being rather blunt. That's not to say he didn't enjoy the infiltration missions from time to time, but he just found a good fight far more entertaining.

Bruce walked towards the hallway and motioned for Barbara to follow him, "Come on Barb. Let's go get dressed before we go."

Naruto watched them leave, mainly looking at their clothes, "But they're already dressed, aren't they?"

Dick laughed at his ignorance, "Not dressed right for what they're doing. Like Bruce said, it'll all be explained when they get home. You wanna go watch me do some of the tricks I learned in the circus and then we can go play some video games?"

"What's a video game?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Dick laughed a put a his arm around him, "Oh my little brother, I've got so much to teach you."

"Don't get him to absorbed in anything, tomorrow I start teaching him English," Alfred called as the two young ones ran off to have their fun.

* * *

Once Bruce and Barbara had left and Dick and Naruto ran off to have their fun, Alfred began to clean the house. He may have been a friend of the family, but he still took his job very seriously. He was in the kitchen at the moment, washing up the counters and doing a little dusting. The house was almost always spotless, and he was the sole reason for that.

As Alfred finished with the kitchen and stood back to admire his work, a very disturbing noise came from a few halls away. It sounded like cracking, so his first thought was that Dick and Naruto were breaking something. However, he quickly realized that sound was coming from the front door. When he finally reached it, he saw it had been splinter and was on the edge of being kicked in. Another loud thud was heard as the splints of wood shot from the door. Alfred had no clue what was going on, but at he did know it wasn't good.

His MI6 training kicked right in and he started to run to where he figured Dick and Naruto must have been, "Oh lord, of all the days for this to happen!"

In less than a minute he burst into Dick's room to find Naruto fidgeting with a controller that he clearly didn't understand, "Wait, which button did you say I pressed to jump?"

Dick would've answered if he'd been looking at Naruto, but Alfred's presence had thrown him off, "Alfred where's the fire? I haven't seen you run that fast in ages."

"No time to explain," Alfred panted out, "Someone's breaking down the front door. We need to get down to the Batcave now!"

Dick didn't ask anymore questions. He picked up a confused Naruto and ran out into the hall along with Alfred. Naruto was lost as he tried to see where his brother was taking him. It was all kind of a blur as Alfred ran up to a clock and began to toy with it's hands. Out of nowhere, the clock shot open like a door. Everyone ran inside of the opening it revealed and down the stairs that came along with it.

"Where are we going?" Naruto screamed, as the steps ended and he was surrounded by monitors and computers. There was all kinds of technology that he couldn't identify.

Robin sat him down and then ran to Batcomputer, starting to type stuff in, "This is the Batcave. It's our base of operations for protecting Gotham. You know how Bruce said that he was a hero?"

Naruto nodded, looking at all of the crazy new things that filled this place, "Yeah, does this stuff have something to do with it?"

"That it does," Robin started as he pulled up the security monitors, "He knew that it would put those he cared about in danger if people knew who he was, and that a symbol was more powerful than a man could ever be. The short version of this is, he became vigilante known as Batman, wearing a costume so that no one would know who he was. When he adopted me he made me his sidekick, Robin. Barbara is Batgirl. It's our job to protect this city from the crazies that run it."

Naruto wanted to see what was on the monitor, so he ran up beside Dick, "He puts on a costume? Like, he dresses up as a Bat?"

Dick knew that it sounded silly, "It doubles as armor and holds lots of gadgets for defending himself. I'll show what I mean later, we've gotta keep this place safe first."

"If people don't know who dad really is, then why is someone attacking his house?" Naruto asked, as some of Dick's statements were contradicting one another.

Dick was trying to answer Naruto's question as they spoke, "Hold on, I've almost got got a clear view of who they are. Let me see if I can get the audio up and running."

That's when everyone quieted down as on the screen a group of men appeared. Five men, all in grungy, black clothes, and oddly colorful masks. They were followed in by a slightly overweight man in dirty street clothes. He was covered in various forms of technology. There was a woman holding a gun to the back of his head. As he walked forward, they got a view of a woman with blond hair tied in two ponytails wearing a half red, half black corset, with matching pants and shoes. She was a curvy, seductive girl, and she was grinning from ear to ear. The final member of the party walked in. It was a man with green hair, white skin, and blood red lips that had been carved into a twisted smile. A purple suit with a little flower was what he wore. One look in his eyes was all it took to see he was one deranged son of a bitch.

"Why is a clown trying to break in here?" Naruto asked as he looked at the bizarre man walking into the house.

Dick told him before he silenced him, "That's not a clown Naruto, it's one most insane men ever to live. The notorious clown prince of crime and our old nemesis, The Joker. He thinks the whole world is a joke and simply spends trying to, as he puts it, 'Have fun.' His idea of fun is destroying and killing just about everything in sight, along with his other brand of bizarre crimes. The blonde is his whipping girl, Harley Quinn. As for the chubby guy, I think it's a local hacker nicknamed the Calculator. The rest of them are just the Joker's goons. Listen close now, I wanna see if he'll say why he's here."

All of them listened closely as the audio became a little more clear and the Joker began to speak, "Well, isn't this a swanky place? Just look at all the fancy little nick knacks around here. Pity we had to break the door down, that looked expensive. Oh well, the guy's rich! He can replace it all. Oh hey, let's line up some of the vases like bowling pins and we can use Calculators head for a bowling ball!"

"But Mr. J," Harley Quinn started in her bizarre, squeaky kind of voice, "We still need this guy to keep the mansion's security offline. That's why we kidnapped him, right?"

The Calculator scowled as the Joker ranted on, "Eh, I'm a terrible bowler anyways. The important part is, we need to find that kid! The one with the spiky blonde hair from the paper!"

The group in the Batcave audibly gasped as one of the Joker's men pulled out a newspaper with Bruce on the front, carrying Naruto inside Wayne Manor. It must have only been printed a few hours ago, since Naruto had been in Gotham for less than a day. The fact that it made the cover of Gotham Daily made sense. Bruce had told his publicist that handled all of his affairs for Wayne Tech. to inform public he was adopting again on the way back from the Hidden Leaf, so the papers had already latched onto the story like a group leeches. That was the media for ya.

The Joker grabbed the paper his goon had and looked it over, "I've been thinking of having a kid for years, but I don't want poor Harley to ruin that flexible little body of her's popping out a kid!"

Harley put her hand on her hip and said with pride, "You know it Puddin'! There's no why I'm going through the so called 'Joys' of childbirth!"

"Exactly. So, this little kid here," Joker said, smacking the paper, "Is the answer! Just think about it! I'll teach him how throw playing cards, make high powered explosives, mix up some laughing gas, skin people alive and make their face's into a mask. Ah, the joys of fatherhood. All mine ever did was throw a baseball around with me."

One of goons turned to him, "Really?"

The Joker shrugged, "Maybe, hell if I can remember. Now come on, let's find that kid!"

Back at the Batcave, Dick and Alfred watched as they all spread out to look for Naruto. Expect for Harley Quinn that is, who was busy keeping an eye on the Calculator as he typed something out on a little tablet he had on him. Alfred was at least happy about one thing, "Well, they don't know who Master Bruce is. That's an upside. However, Naruto could be in danger though. We need to keep him in here until the Joker's is apprehended."

"Good idea. So Naruto, don't," That's when Dick noticed that Naruto wasn't there, "Naruto? Naruto!"

Naruto was no where to be seen. In fact, he wasn't even in the room at all. Alfred was both terrified and impressed, "I heard that he'd escaped from the ANBU Special Ops back where he was from, but I figured that was just a rumor. Where did that boy run off to?"

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Dick yelled, looking back at the monitors.

Alfred saw that Dick was looking at the corner monitor, which was showing Naruto sneaking around the halls with his arms full of various little gadgets that Batman was famous for using. It was clear was the boy was planning to do, "He's going to try and take them out himself. Set some traps and things like that. I don't even think he knows what half of those things do."

Dick got a little nervous, "Well...I was sort of showing him a lot of them in my room before we started playing video games. I just told him that they were something Bruce's company made. Not a lie actually."

"Master Grayson, did you really think that doing something like that was wise?" Alfred asked, grinding his teeth a little. He loved the boy like his own, but this was not the time to be taking risks like that.

Dick could tell how much trouble he was going to be in later, "Look, I know what I did was stupid, but this really isn't the time to judge. We need to get the security systems back online, and it looks like that tablet that the Calculator has is what's causing the jam. If Naruto knew how to avoid those ANBU guys, he can manage a couple of Joker's henchmen for a while. I'll get in close, hack the jamming signal wirelessly, and then go and find Naruto. He'll be safe, and the security system while either takes those guys out, or make them run for the hills."

Alfred was glad to see the boy still had some logic in him, "Now that sounds like you're using your head a bit more. Get it done, I'll keep an eye on our 'friends' from here and radio if any issues should come up."

Dick nodded and then ran off to get dressed. He need to do this in his Robin outfit if he was gonna do it at all, as he was able to move much better in that. Alfred was mumbling to himself as Dick left, "Please Naruto, you're already like family to us. Don't let us lose you so soon."

* * *

Naruto hadn't grown up with a lot. He'd had next to nothing actually, so now that he had a family, he was going to protect it! His big brother had shown him how to use all kind of cool stuff a little earlier, and he had plenty of ideas as to what to do with them. Five of the guys who were coming at them were just goons, Naruto knew that he could trick them. It was finally time to put his pranking skills to use!

Two of Joker's grunts were walking through the house with their handguns at the ready. Of course they wouldn't actually shoot the kid, they just needed the guns to scare him was all. They walking down the hall, chatting each other up. One of them leaned over and said, "So does the boss really think that this kid is worth all the trouble? When you kidnap the son of the richest man in Gotham, it's gonna kick up a shitstorm."

The other one seemed to be in agreement, "Maybe, but are you really gonna argue with the Joker?"

"Hell no," the first one scoffed, "The last guy who did that was strung up by his thumbs. Joker said he wanted to see if his argument could, 'Hang in there.'"

The other one shook his head at the antics of his boss. There was times that he thought about leaving this gang, but you never crossed the Joker, not if you wanted to live anyways. Before he could respond, a small tapping came from the kitchen. It almost sounded like little feet pattering across a tile floor. One of the grunts looked to his partner and gave him signal to be quiet. They put up their pistols and turned to enter the kitchen. In less than one second, they realized their mistake.

A small ping was heard, and both of their eyes shot down to see that they'd tripped a wire under their feet. Three cylinders that had been held to ceiling by duct tape were pulled down by the wire. They went off when they hit the ground, releasing a sticky, yellow substance all over the criminals.

"What in the hell? These are the Bat's Glue Grandes!" One of the criminals screamed, struggling just to try and move as the substance covered him.

The other one was just as confused, "He hasn't used these bastards in years! Why the hell would he,"

Before he could finish, a small disk slid towards their feet and made a distinctive click. Waves of electricity shot from the disk and at the Joker's grunts. They both fell to the ground unconscious as a Naruto poked his head out from under the table, "Ha, that was easy! I'll just tie em up and let dad do the rest when he gets here. Now, how to take care of those other ones…"

* * *

While his little brother was busy trying to take out the issue in his own way, Robin was off to try and take out the heart of the issue. He had his earpiece set so that he could Alfred could communicate with him and keep him updated on how Naruto was doing. Speaking of which, a voice then came into his ear, "_Master Grayson, you're not going to believe this. Naruto actually managed to take two of those fools out."_

"Really? Huh, guess his pranks must have been better than we thought," Robin responded in a whisper, making sure not to alert anyone that was around him. He knew this mansion like the back of his hand, so he was making to Harley very quickly. His plan was just to not alert her at all, as she was one hell of a fighter. She'd gone toe to toe with with plenty of heroes on more than one occasion. Luckily, there was a way to circumvent Harley altogether, all he would need was a little help from the Calculator. If he could get it anyways.

* * *

If there was one thing to admire about the Joker, it was the fact that he always got down and dirty with his men. That included looking for the little boy that was currently the object of his attention. He had been searching for twenties minutes in fact, and was starting to get bored, "Come on, where is this little brat? Maybe I'll just burn the house down. Either he'll run out and I can catch him, or he'll die, and he wasn't worth my time anyways. Of course my men could die too...meh, I'll file it under a maybe."

It was as he was ranting to himself that he stepped on someone's leg. The leg belonged to one of his men, and he was tied up along with another person. Joker could see they were covered in some kind dried goop, and they had some electrical burns on them as well. All of the sudden the Joker started to jump for joy, "Batsy's here! Oh goodie, goodie, goodie! This just got a lot more fun!"

One of his men groaned and he gave him brief pat on the head, "Now you two sit tight. I've got some work to do. Forget the brat, it's time for the bat! Hahaha!"

The Joker practically skipped away, completely unaware that Naruto was still hiding in the kitchen having just finished tying up the goons. He figured that it was only natural that the Joker thought his dad was there, since he was using his tech. Naruto was thinking hard about what to do next when he heard the Joker suddenly call to his men, "Anyone who's still up and can hear me, we've got a friend here! I don't how the Batman knew we were coming, but he's already taken out two us! One of you go and take care of napping twins, the other two come with me!"

Once Naruto heard that, he knew just what to do. He took out one of the smoke bombs and held it tight in his hand. Footsteps got closer and closer to two men, and Naruto's palms started to get sweaty. There wasn't going to be a second shot at this, so he needed to make it perfect.

"Oh come on. He's using that glue shit again. It's impossible to get off your clothes. Man, I'm in my best duds too," The lackey complained as he finally got the two men. As soon as Naruto knew that he was in range, he went into action.

He threw the smoke bomb right at his foe, causing a cloud of smoke to surround the Joker's goon. Naruto started to run as the man coughed from inhaling the smoke. Even though he couldn't see what was going on, the goon started to head right towards what he thought was the Batman. The moment that he got out of the smoke, something caught his legs and fell flat on his face. What he didn't know was that Naruto had taken some of his leftover wire and quickly set up a nice little trap. The wire was strung out just far enough for the goon to trip over, and, before he could even get up, Naruto grabbed frying pan and whacked him over the head with it. The moron was out in no time.

"It wasn't pretty, but it worked," Naruto said to himself. If he'd had more time he would've come up with something better, not that it mattered. They were knocked out now.

"Hey, I heard something over here," Someone yelled from the other room.

Naruto knew that meant it was time to leave, so he ran to get back to the Batcave, "That's all I've got Dick, hope you can handle the rest!"

* * *

Robin was literally about ten feet away from the Calculator, hiding behind a wall so that Harley Quinn couldn't see him. He raised up his arm, activating his holographic computer interface. This was probably the most advanced piece of equipment that he had, as it connected him to the Batcomputer. He began to type on the holographic keys, hacking into the Calculator's system's. Either this was gonna fix everything, or it would nearly get him killed. His fingers were crossed that it wasn't the latter.

The Calculator soon noticed that there was text appearing on the corner his tablet that hadn't been there before. It read, "I'm going to turn the silent alarms back on. I know you're not here of your own free will, so just let me to it and don't tell Harley. The cops will come and scare Harley and Joker off. It'll be a win for us both-R."

The Calculator knew the R must have been Robin, having dealt with the kid plenty of times before. He was more than happy to sit there and the police come, he'd just hightail it out of there once they got close. This issue would merely work itself out.

Alfred began to sound off in Robin's ear as he got the systems back up, "_Master Grayson, tell me that you've almost got this fixed. The Joker and his men are making a real mess of the mansion."_

"It'll be back in few seconds," Robin confirmed, "What about Naruto? Is he alright?"

Alfred was glad to have to some good news for this one, "_He's one his way back to the cave as we speak. He should be here far before the Joker's goons find him. There's only two of them left thanks to him. Actually, they're not to far from you. Maybe once you're finished, you can go and take them out. Might make the Joker leave even more quickly."_

Robin couldn't see why not, "I'll do just that in a second. First thing's first though."

Robin quickly typed the last of the codes in the system and finally got the silent alarms going. The police would be here in a matter of minutes, which would have the Joker running for the hills. He'd just broken out of Arkham, he wouldn't want to risk going back so soon. The man was crazy, not stupid. Once he finished, Robin turned hologram off and out his bo staff. It was time to end this little intrusion.

* * *

Getting chewed out was something that Naruto had gotten used to over the years. The old man, adults, other kids, pretty much everybody liked to yell at him. The only first in this situation was that it was Alfred who was yelling at him, "Master Naruto, I realize that you felt the need to go and prove yourself, or protect us, or something along those line, but what you just did was incredibly dangerous! Did you not hear us say just how insane the Joker is? He could've killed you!"

Naruto slumped in his seat. He'd only been back in the cave a few seconds before Alfred tore into him, "But I did good, didn't I? I took out the bad guys."

"I know you did Naruto, and that was impressive, but what if something had gone wrong? Everyone here cares about you very deeply. Can you imagine how we'd feel if something happened to you?" Alfred questioned.

That one hurt Naruto. He never wanted to make his new family sad, "I'm sorry Alfred, I'm still getting used to a lot of this. Most people didn't care when I ran off at my old home."

Alfred sighed, knowing that there was some truth to what the boy had said, "That may have been the case there, but here you must do as we ask of you. Please Naruto, just wait for us to tell you what to do from now on."

Naruto nodded glumly and walked over to Alfred, giving him a small hug, "I promise I'll be careful."

Alfred hugged the boy back, finding it near impossible to stay mad at him, "Well, that's enough of that. How about we just go and see if your brother is managing alright with the Joker and his friends?"

Naruto quickly ran over to the monitor, Alfred not far behind him. They found that Robin was in the living room, beating the ever loving crap out of one of the Joker's goons. The other one had already been knocked out, and the Joker himself was standing on the side with a chair, seeming to be waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Robin swept the goon's legs with his staff and knocked him to his feet, then swung it back around and hit him in the temple. Needless to say, the man wasn't awake for long. That's when the Joker struck, "Let's see how you like this one Birdbrain!"

The Joker ran up behind him with the chair, but Robin spun around used his staff to block. A chair was no match for the well built weapon of the boy wonder. It broke over the staff, causing the Joker to scowl, "Oh come on! Can't you people just use something cheap for once?"

Robin smirked, actually finding what the Joker had said funny. That was until the Joker grabbed the flower on his shirt a began to spary acid at him. The acid nearly burned Robin's face, as he'd only managed to dodge it by a few inches. Taking out his knife and spinning it around in his hand, the Joker started to gain the upper hand, "If I can take the Batman, I can take a punk like you. I haven't even gotten out half of my toys yet! Why don't you just point me to the boss man so that you can run along home, huh?"

"Batman isn't even here genius," Robin said, going in for the kill, "The only people who are coming here is the cops, because I managed to turn the silent alarms back on."

The smile left the Joker's face and he began to scowl, "Dammit, I can't get caught yet! I've still got a few gags to set up before I had back to the Asylum. Harley, cut the Calcu-what's-it loose! We've gotta split!"

Harley pulled her gun away from the Calculator and shot at the window, breaking it open, "Right behind ya puddin'!"

The Joker ran over to the window and dove out, Harley quickly following suit. The Calculator soon fled as well, though he went in a different direction. Robin ran to the window just in time to see them run to their car for a quick getaway. It was a relief to see them go, even if it meant they were escaping. He turned around and took off his mask, "Well, that was a close one."

"I noticed," A voice behind him said, and Robin didn't need to turn around to know it was Bruce in his Batsuit, "Care to explain to me what the hell happened here."

Robin faced Bruce and saw the Babara was still with him, "The Joker busted in to try and kidnap Naruto. I guess when he heard you had a new kid, he thought that he might take him for his own. At least we got him out of here with… lets say minimal damage."

Barbara looked worried, even with her mask on, "What about Naruto? Is he okay? Oh, he must have been so scared."

"Actually, he took out three of the guys himself," Robin told her, shocking the fifteen year old girl, "I'm not kidding. He nabbed some of your guy's gear and used his pranking tricks to to knock them out. Go check the kitchen, that's where they're at."

Before any of them could, Naruto and Alfred appeared. They could come out now that they knew it was safe. Naruto ran right up to Batman, "Dad, that's your costume? It's so cool! Can I get one?"

Bruce took of his mask and looked down at Naruto, "I don't know, I just heard that you went and attacked a bunch of armed criminals. There's no way that Alfred just let you do that."

Naruto got a sheepish look on his face, "Oh, about that…"

Bruce waved it off for now, "We'll talk about it later. Let's get all this cleaned up and then we can share stories about what all happened to today. Although something tells me that yours was more interesting."

The next few hours were spent cleaning up and handing the criminals off to the police. Five of the Joker's men was something the police was happy to get, though it did force Bruce to come up with some kind of excuse for everything that had happened. In the end, it all worked out for the best. Everyone was safe. That's what mattered.


	3. Training Pt 1

Welcome back readers, to The Red Fox. Glad to see that many of you enjoyed the last chapter and are still wondering what the pairing will be. If you guys have any suggestions for the pairing or specific villains that you'd like me to use, please, leave it in the reviews. This chapter will pick up on something that I mentioned in the last chapter and be the start of Naruto's training. It'll also bring someone from Konoha visiting. It'll focus a little more on the Dark Knight, but there'll still plenty of Naruto stuff as well. Okay, enough talk, it's time to begin.

Chapter Soundtrack-AC/DC: Night Prowler

* * *

It was a dark, damp alleyway in the heart of Gotham. There was dripping sound from water falling from a nearby fire escape. Trash covered just about everything in the alley, giving the whole place a disgusting smell. This was the type of the place the criminals loved to gather, even with the threat of the Batman lurking overhead. That was why this is where Rupert Thorne had chosen to meet his latest business client here.

Thorne had appeared to be a legitimate businessman for years, but he was merely dumping all of the money that he'd made from his intimidation racket into his supposedly legal ventures. He kept himself safe from the law by giving money to politicians who then made sure the police looked the other way. With a new mayor being up for election, it was time for Thorne to push his money towards someone who would help him later on, and at the moment that was the white collar criminal king Oswald Copplet. However, Thorne was keeping his options open, and meeting with someone who was representing another possible candidate for mayor.

"How long before Crane's guy is supposed to get here?" One of the Thorne's men groaned, tired of standing in the cold alley.

Thorne, a tall, large man, chuckled deeply, "Be patient now, he's not even late yet. Crane said that we'd know him the moment we saw him, so just be quiet and let him come to us. Light cigarette or something."

"I'd rather he not," A raspy voice said from the other end of the alley, "I'm not much of a smoker."

A man in a black trenchcoat walked out. His clothes under it looked like they'd been fashioned out of burlap sacks and his he had some kind of bag over his head. Two eye holes were cut into into the bag along with a jagged mouth. The man was holding on to a sickle and he had a dusty old hat. To top it all off, there was noose around his neck and blood splattered on the coat. Thorne had to admit, it was a scary look, "Intimidating, but nothing more than a Halloween costume really. Are you the guy Crane was supposed to send."

"Yes," the man replied, still in his raspy whisper, "I'm here to discuss the possibility of you funneling your money into Dr. Crane's campaign rather than the Penguins."

Thorne had almost forgotten about Cobblepot's nickname, "Oh right, that's what everybody calls him isn't it? Must be all the suits he wears and fact that he's a fat little midget of a man. He's like, four feet tall, right? And he's got that long ass nose. God help whatever girl has to go down on him."

The masked man frowned, though it was impossible to see, "That is really none of my concern. At the moment, I only care about showing what Dr. Crane has to offer you in exchange for you support during the campaign."

Now he had Thorne's full attention, "Right, that little drug your boss manufacturers. Well there's plenty of drugs in Gotham, so yours better be good. Is it an upper or a downer?"

"It's not that kind of drug Mr. Thorne," The masked man said, taking off his hat and pulling out a yellow capsule, "This is used more for offensive purposes. Did you bring someone you don't care about so I may show how it works?"

Thorne motioned to his men who brought over a man who was bound and gagged, "This fella here is an runner for a rival gang. I couldn't give two shits if you tested it on him."

The masked man put his hat back on and walked over to bound man. He ripped some duct tape from his face and raised the capsule above his his head, "I'm not testing it Mr. Thorne, I know it works. This is just so that I can show you the fear this substance produces."

He threw the capsule down the bound man's feet. A powder began to rise from the ground, slowly getting up to the man's nose. The one in the mask backed away, seeming very eager to see what was going to happen. It was noticeable the moment it entered his system. His heartbeat began to quicken, his eyes got buggy, and he began to sweat.

The bound man began to panic, but he didn't know why. It was like his body was involuntarily terrified. He looked to the mask and his fear grew even more than he ever thought possible. It's eyes had turned a glowing yellow, a strange smoke began drift from its maw, and mask itself began to twist and contort.

A loud scream came from the bound man's mouth, and he began to try and scoot away as quickly as he could, "Get it away! Oh god, please, get it away!"

Everyone around the bound man was stunned, except for the man in the mask that is. To them everything looked normal. Thorne gave a low whistle at the display, "Well would you look at that? What the heck did that crap do?"

"It puts the body in a state of extreme panic to the point where it begins to hallucinate, which it what our friend here is likely doing," The masked man said, seeming very satisfied with the results, "It's called a fear toxin, and if you side with Dr. Crane, I'll give it to you by the pound. This stuff has a thousand uses Mr. Thorne. It can be airborne, put in drinks, just about any way you might want someone ingest it."

Thorne liked the sound of all that, but had one question, "This is great stuff, but what's to stop him from making the same offer to my competitors? If make this deal, I want to be the only who has access to it."

The masked man felt that was a fair request, "Dr. Crane is the only one that can make it, so that shouldn't be a problem. We will have other supporters, but we've promised them political favors. You'll get the toxin along with your usual protection from the police. Do we have a deal?"

Thorne reached out and grabbed the masked man's hand, startling him, "Damn right we've got a deal! I think that this is the start of a beautiful friendship. What's your name man, I wanna buy you a drink!"

The masked man turned around and started to walk away, "I'm afraid that won't be an option. I've got other things too attend to. As for my name...you can call me the Scarecrow. Fear is power Mr. Thorne, be sir that you use it wisely."

Thorne started to watch him walks away and suddenly heard something whizzing through the air. The Scarecrow's sickle hit the bounded man square in the head, splatter blood everywhere. The twisted little move made Thorne look at the leaving Scarecrow with a grin, "I already love him! Haha!"

* * *

Wayne manor was nearly full at the moment, just about ready to burst. Although, the people that filled it were only in three or four of the rooms...and all of the people in it, were Naruto.

It had been a week since the incident with the Joker, and Naruto's training had begun. The first thing that he learned how to do was make a shadow clone, just as Sarutobi had suggested he do. All someone needed to do was make a hand seal and then attempt to distribute your chakra evenly. The scroll that taught it even suggested that a person try to make as many clones as they could the first time they did it, if only so that they could know what they're limit was. As Bruce wanted to follow the scroll to a tee, he did just that. Imagine his shock when Naruto made over 50 clones and was hardly even trying.

From that moment on, Naruto trained with 30 clones a day. Not so many that it'd knock them out, but enough to speed up the training. 15 were with Alfred learning English, which was their main priority at the moment, 5 were taking general lessons so that Naruto could join the second grade class at Gotham Academy in a few months, and 10 were training with Bruce to learn martial arts. The boy was making great progress with each day, and he'd likely be ready to go on just about everything in three months.

Dick was the only one who wasn't busy at the moment. He'd gotten his training done for the day and was eating some lunch. A nice cheeseburger was all the the youth needed, "Finally, time to get some food in me!"

"Looks tasty," A new voice said behind Dick, "We don't really have anything quite like that where I'm from."

Dick had never heard the voice before, prompting him to turn around. He found a tall man with long white hair, red robes, and a headband with a funny symbol on it. There was a scroll on his back to. The man had spoken Japanese, so it was a good thing Dick still had his translator on, "Um...that's neat. Did Alfred let you in? Are you here to help with Naruto or something?"

"No, actually, I kind of snuck in here," The men responded, looking around the massive house.

Dick tensed at this, nervous that this might be a new villain coming to Gotham, "You broke into our house?...Wait, how the hell can you understand me, you don't have an earpiece in?"

"Oh, I speak fluent English," The man said, this time actually in English, "I just kept going in my native tongue because you could understand me. By the way, you can relax. I'm not here to hurt you or anyone. I'm just here to talk to Bruce about Naruto."

Dick really didn't trust this guy. He seemed nice enough, but what kind of guy just broke into someone's house? Grabbing his pocket radio, Dick decided to call this in, "Hey Bruce, can you come up here for a bit? We've got a...guest up here that you really need to come meet."

Jiraiya looked at him as if found of Dick was doing amusing. Then Bruce came over the pocket radio, "_Just give me a moment and I'll be up. Hold tight Dick."_

"You know, you're not a very trusting person," Jiraiya said, still enjoying screwing with the boy.

Dick had a strange urge to smack the man across the face. The problem was, he still didn't know how dangerous the guy was yet, "I live in Gotham buddy. When someone in a funny costume breaks into your house, you assume they've got bad intentions."

Bruce walked into the room, Naruto was right behind him. He looked dead tired, having trained with 10 clones and all. It was clear he needed a break, "Naruto, go get yourself a glass of water. I've got a guest that I need to attend to."

"Okay Dad, we had a good session though, right?" Naruto asked, wanting desperately to please him.

Bruce ruffled his hair reassuringly, "It was a great session, now go get something to drink."

Naruto ran off, Jiraiya giving him a sad glance as he did, "He really calls you dad huh? That's great, really great."

Bruce could tell that there was a sadness to Jiraiya's tone, which made him curious, "I don't believe that we've met. I'm Bruce Wayne, the owner of this place and these guy's father. How can I help you Mr?"

Jiraiya shook himself out of it and shock Bruce's hand, "Just call me Jiraiya. I'm from the hidden Leaf, one of their most powerful ninjas actually. Sorry about scaring your son here, I'm just used to walking around wherever I want. Where I'm from, if someone like me pops into your house, you just kinda go with it."

"Well here, it's frowned upon," Bruce said, a little irritation in his voice, "Now, as I asked you before, what can I do for you?"

Jiraiya could see this had turned hostile, "It seems we've gotten off on the wrong foot, and that's almost entirely my fault. Can we go somewhere private and talk please? There's a lot to explain."

"Fine, follow me into the living room," Bruce replied hesitantly, "Naruto, just relax for now. Maybe let Dick make you some lunch if he's up to it."

Jiraiya breathed a little easier as Bruce lead to the living room, Naruto asking Dick for something to eat all the while. Something in Bruce's pocket started to make noise as they walked. The dark knight pulled it out of his pocket and groaned, "For the love of god, stop calling me. I'm not gonna fund you, you psycho!"

Jiraiya found that little action bizarre as he watched Bruce put his phone back in his pocket, "Care to explain what that was about?"

"Jonathan Crane, the head of our local insane asylum, is running for mayor and wants me to help fund him," Bruce said, his bitterness about it completely on display, "Not that it matters to you. Now, for one last time, why are you here?"

Jiraiya looked at the ground, having a tough time keeping up his usually slick personality, "The hidden Leaf needed someone to make sure Naruto was adjusting well to his new home, and I offered to take the job. This visit is mostly so that I can make sure he's happy where he's at."

"Oh, well why didn't you just say so?" Bruce asked, as this made plenty of sense to him. There was no need to be so convoluted about it.

Jiraiya had a hard time choking out the words he was about to say, "Well, the reason I wanted to see Naruto in the first place is because...I was supposed to be his godfather."

There was instant silence in the room, as Bruce began to stare down Jiraiya. His rage made no attempt to contain itself, "Hold on, are you saying that Naruto, a kid who was beaten day in and day out back in the hidden Leaf, was supposed to have you as a guardian if his parents died?" Jiraiya nodded, "And you're also telling me that you didn't bother to fulfill your obligation, leaving Naruto to fend for himself," Jiraiya nodded again, but this time with shame, "So why, Jiraiya, should I not punch square in the face right now?"

"You have to believe that I wanted with all my heart to take Naruto," Jiraiya began desperately, "But the council wouldn't let me. I'm on of the legendary sannin, and that's a big deal where I'm from. I've got a massive spy ring that I'm the head of as well, which I wouldn't have time to handle if I adopted Naruto. I begged to get out of it, but"

Bruce raised up his hand to stop him from talking, "Alright, I get it. You were backed into a corner. Did you at least try and do something him?"

Jiraiya pulled out a book and showed it to him, "This a book of my financial records. If you could read it, you'd see that I've been sending him money since the day he turned two. If I'd known more about the beatings, I would've hired him a bodyguard or something too."

"Well, I'm sorry for your troubles," Bruce said honestly feeling sympathy for the man, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you come to be the boy's godfather?"

Jiraiya wasn't about to open that can of worms, "I trained his father, let's just leave it at that. It's safer if you have no idea about his heritage."

"I already know about his burden, what's so risky about his heritage?" Bruce asked, having a hard time believing that this could be that big of a secret.

Jiraiya had no idea that Bruce knew that much, "Well, looks like you're more in the loop than I thought. Have you been training him with clones, like Sensei suggested?"

Bruce deduced that this guy must have been the Hokage's student, which would explain why he was supposedly so powerful, "That I have. It's been working very well for him. Of course we have to make sure that no civilians are around when he uses them, but other than that it's great."

"Well that's perfect then. You know, if you wanted me to stick around and make sure that Naruto's being trained right, I'll be more than happy to do it. I can spare a couple of days here," Jiraiya told Bruce, seeming very hopeful.

Bruce knew that he really just wanted to spend time with Naruto, but if he really did help with the boy's training, it could be beneficial for everyone, "We've got plenty of extra rooms here, so I'll take you up on that if you're serious."

Jiraiya was shocked he agreed so quickly, "You have no issues with an extremely powerful stranger that you just met staying at your house? None at all?"

Bruce gave Jiraiya a slight glare, "I've taken on plenty of powerful people in my day. Don't think that I'd be an easy fight, even with your chakra."

"You've got balls sir," Jiraiya said as he walked by Bruce, "You'd need them if you were gonna take on me. The Sannin vs The Batman, wouldn't that be something?"

Bruce figured he'd found that out from his spy network, "I guess that would be something. However, there's no way that billionaire playboy who can hardly even tie his own shoes without his butler could be the Batman, right?"

Jiraiya knew the point he was making with that one. He was saying, 'Try and get Gotham to believe that I'm the one running around like a flying rat, "No, you're right. After all, I like to learn all that I can about the man who's going to be raising my godchild. Researched you a whole lot, and you look just fine to me. Please, show me to my room. I'm about ready to pass out from exhaustion here."

If you'd been in the room, you would've been able to feel the mutual respect the two of them had for one another. Most people would've assumed right off that bat that Jiraiya could take Bruce because of the fact that he had access to chakra, but Jiraiya was smarter than that. Maybe if there was no for Bruce to escape, it could be a sure thing for Jiraiya to win, but that wasn't a likely situation. Bruce could escape just about anyone, and, given enough time to plan it, beat just about anyone.

Both of them knew this as Bruce lead Jiraiya to his temporary room. There would hopefully be no reason for them to fight, as they both cared deeply about the well being of Naruto. These next few days, Jiraiya would hopefully get to know the boy better. At least, that was his sincerest hope.

* * *

"Are you sure that we should've left Naruto with that Jiraiya guy?" Robin asked, as he stood atop one of various tall buildings that lined Gotham with his mentor.

Batman could understand his concern, as they'd only met Jiraiya less than a day ago. The fact that he broken into their house didn't help the matter. Yet, Bruce was very good at reading people, and felt that Jiraiya and Naruto would be fine on their own, "It's okay Robin, Alfred's there to keep an eye on them. Besides, Jiraiya will be a good teacher for Naruto in these early stages. Now come on, we're only a couple hundred yards from the sight of the murder."

Batman and Robin started to jump from building to building, making their way to the location of a rather gruesome homicide. They soon found themselves at the bottom of a dark alley where the dead body had once lain. There were blood splatters on the walls and a strange scent filled the air. Batman didn't like the look of it, "Robin, pull up the file and tell me everything that police have been able to dig on up this case. I'm gonna see if they missed anything."

Robin got his holographic computer up and running, starting to look over the case file the police had gotten started, "The victim's name is Charles Yuttits. He was part of Carmine Falcone's group, but he went missing a few days ago. They suspect that it was because he was in a rival gang's territory."

"That would be the most logical conclusion," Batman said, noting that there was a yellow precipitate on the walls, "This doesn't look like anything we've dealt with before. I'm gonna wanna get some samples, see if it's some kind of new street drug."

Robin made a mental note of that for later, "The cause of death was curved blade being flung into his skull. Ouch, now that had to hurt."

Batman found the choice of weapon odd, "Hm, a curved blade? That's not really something any of the current gangs has ever been known to do. I'll have to keep that in mind. I'm going to scrape some of this off the wall, take it back to the lab to get analyzed. I just wish we had better material to work with."

"If you wanted a simple, all you have to do is ask," A raspy voice came from above them. Both Bruce and Robin looked up to see the Scarecrow standing above them. Of course, the two of them had no idea who he was, leaving them at a disadvantage.

Robin went right into making jabs at him, "Looks like we've got a new bad guy in town. What's your name new guy? Ragdoll seems pretty fitting."

"Try Scarecrow little man," the dark man replied, "And if you don't want to find out why, you should leave this place as soon as you can. There's nothing here that concerns you."

Batman looked back him with his infamous glare, "You do know who you're talking to don't you? Ideal threats mean nothing to me and my partner."

A few small pellets fell from the Scarecrows sleeve, "I'm not making threats. You may have been the master of fear in Gotham up until now, but allow me to show you why I'll be the new king."

Scarecrow threw the pellets down at Batman and Robin, allowing them to burst into a fog of yellow power. Both of them tried to cover their faces with their capes, but there was only so much that they could do. It they'd had time, they would've gotten their gas masks on. Batman had the quicker reaction of the two, which was only natural since he'd been training for so long. Robin didn't have quite enough time and some of the powder went into his lungs. That was something that he was going to regret very much.

Robin soon began to cough uncontrollably, "Uh, this stuff is horrible! What the hell is it?"

"You'll find out soon enough," The Scarecrow said, jumping in front of the vigilantes, "You know Batman I wasn't trying to insult your early with the 'King of Fear' remark. I admire you for use of fear. You understand as well as I do that it's fear that drives all of our actions in this world. Oh, and I'd keep an eye on your partner there. He doesn't have much longer before,"

Robin's started to scream, horribly and with ear piercing volume, "Get away from me! You're not real, you can't be real! I watched you die!"

No one else could see it, but in Robin's mind two bloody figures were walking towards him. A man and a woman, both dressed in circus clothes, had Robin ready to pass out from fear. They both pointed out a bloody finger at him, "Why Dick? Why didn't you save us? Why did you let us fall? Why didn't you do something?"

"Mom, Dad! I tried! I did everything I could to save you, I swear," Robin continued to scream, tears in his eyes. An aspersion of one's dead parents was not something you wanted to see.

Batman looked at the boy wonder in fear and then looked at the Scarecrow, "What did you do to him?"

The Scarecrow took a sickle out from his coat and spun it around in his hand, "I introduced him to the miracle that is the fear toxin. It really is something special. I wouldn't get too close to him if I were you. That would just scare him even more."

Batman could see the Robin was only getting worse, as his screaming had gotten louder and he'd backed up against a wall. The boy was damn near catatonic, "Scarecrow, if you don't give me the cure for this stuff right now!"

"Cure? Ha!" The Scarecrow scoffed, "There's no cure for this you fool, just as there's no true cure for fear! All your brat can do now is cower as his darkest visions take hold!"

Batman saw only one other option, "Well then I'll have to beat you until you give me something that I can use! I hope that you fight as well as you talk!"

The Scarecrow chuckled, "I suppose we could fight for a bit, I'm a pretty decent opponent. I've got my own style and everything. You know, I actually killed the victim here with a blade just like this one."

"So you killed him," Batman mused, "Why does that not surprise me?"

He lunged right at the Scarecrow, planning his attack strategy as he did. The Scarecrow swung his blade Batman as he approached, who ducked and tried to counter with an uppercut to the jaw. It was close, but the Scarecrow was just barely to avoid it. He tried to retaliate with a nice spritz of fear gas from his wrist dispenser, but Batman merely dodge to the left and grabbed his wrist. Batman twisted his arm around and slammed his enemy into the wall, knocking the wind out of him.

The Scarecrow felt as if this was already going poorly for him, "We haven't even been fighting that long and you've already made me lose some faith in myself. Very impressive. Perhaps it's time time for me to move out."

"Giving up already? And here I thought you were the master of fear," Batman taunted, sounding almost like Robin for a second, "So, about that cure,"

The Scarecrow stood up and dusted himself off, "Oh there really is no cure, and I'm not giving up. The first phase of my plan is just ready, that's all. One of you is unable to continue do to my fear gas, and I doubt you'll leave a terrified Robin here alone. It was a joy to finally meet you though."

The Scarecrow turned around began to run. As soon as Batman considered following him, he realized that Scarecrow was right about him not being able to leave Robin. The boy was still hyperventilating, and now he was on the ground, crying. He ran over to the boy and looked him over, but the only thing that he could say about him for sure was that he seemed scared.

"Well, at least there's more of this fear toxin around for me to work with," Batman said as he got his communicator out, "Alfred, I need your help. We've got a new villain in town and Robin got hit by something he chemical he manufactured. I need you to send somebody to pick him up and take back to the cave. I also wanna send you a sample of the chemical so that you can try to synthesize an antidote."

Alfred came back on the communicator, "_That may be an issue Master Bruce. Batgirl is out of town and anyone else we can trust is otherwise disposed. You could send the Batmobile to pick him up if you like."_

Batman heard Robin scream again and knew that wasn't going to be an option, "No, someone needs to watch him. I think that you should take the Batmobile and drive out here to get him."

"_What about Naruto and Jiraiya?" _Alfred asked, as leaving them alone in the house was something they couldn't do.

Batman had an easy for that one, "Take them with you. Not like it'll really be any different from being with them at the mansion. I'm send you the coordinates now, please get here fast. I need to track down the Scarecrow."

"_How do you plan to do that sir?" _Alfred wondered, sure that Batman did in fact have a way to do it.

"I got a tracker on his sleeve when I grabbed him," Batman said with a little pride, "Now get over here. We don't have much time before Robin goes into cardiac arrested from the fear."

* * *

"Alfred, why won't you tell me what's going on?" Naruto asked from the backseat of the Batmobile.

Jiraiya was in the front seat passenger side, taking in his surroundings, "100 miles an hours, really? How the heck do you make a big hunk of metal go this fast? I always thought these things were just myths."

Alfred had a lot to explain, but luckily he didn't have to drive since the Batmobile did that itself, "Naruto, I just don't want you to worry. Your brother got hit with some kind of chemical and we need to pick him up and take him back to the cave. It's no big deal, it comes with the territory."

"Dick's in trouble! We have to get to him right now!" Naruto yelled, scared for his brother's life.

Jiraiya had been around long enough to know how to talk someone down, "Naruto, I'm sure that this isn't the first time Robin's been in trouble like this. He'll be fine as soon as we get whatever chemical it is in him out of him."

Alfred was liking this guy already, "Well said sir. Now quite down everyone. We're here and we need to get Dick in the Batmobile as quickly as possible."

They pulled up to the ally and pulled the top back on the Batmobile, letting the cool night air hit them. Batman started to walk towards the Batmobile with a thrashing Robin in his arms, "Keep the back set clear, he's gonna need a lot of room."

Naruto jumped towards the front as his dad placed Robin in the back. He was still terrified and mumbling to himself, "Stay the hell away from me you psychos! You're not real! Help me, please!"

As scared as Robin was, Naruto seemed equally as scared for his brother, "Dick, it's okay. I'm right here!"

"He can't hear you Naruto," Batman said as he backed away from the car and tossed Alfred a vial full of yellow powder, "The Batcomputer should know what's inside of this. Use the info you get make the cure, the Batcomputer should actually tell you what to use for it."

Alfred nodded thankfully as Batman noticed something strange: Jiraiya was getting out of the car, "Not to be rude, but what in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Jiraiya shrugged as he got out of the car as if it was obvious, "I'm coming with you. You're gonna need back up if you get hit by that fear gas. It's not like I'm gonna slow you down."

"I'm not sure how to feel about this," Batman started, giving Jiraiya a suspicious glance, "But I guess a little back up couldn't hurt. Let's go."

Naruto was about to jump up, "Wait, I wanna come with you!"

Jiraiya was having none of that, "No way, it's far too dangerous! I don't want you to end up like you're brother!"

Naruto was adamant, like most eight year old's, "But I could totally help you guys!"

Batman knew just how to take care of this, "Naruto, don't you think that you should stay here and keep an eye on Robin? I know that he'd appreciate it if you were there when he woke up."

Now that had Naruto's attention. He looked at the stirring boy and then nodded at Batman, "Okay dad, I'll stay. Him and Alfred are gonna need someone to protect them at the cave, right?"

"Good man," Batman replied with a proud little smile, "Now get back home. I'll be there in a little bit. I've gotta take care of the Scarecrow."

Batman nodded to Alfred, you set the Batmobile to take them back to Wayne Manor. The top slide back on and Jiraiya and Batman watched them drive off. Jiraiya seemed a bit envious of the man, "You're really good with him, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know," Batman replied, thinking about the little boy who'd worked his way so easily into his life, "But he makes it easy on me. He's a good kid. Once he's trained, he'll be a hell of a crime fighter too. Just a few more months and he'll be ready."

Jiraiya only had one other thing to say, "Just keep him safe and happy, and we'll have no issues. Now, let's go find this psycho son of a bitch."

* * *

A typical criminal might rob a place like bank or store, someplace that you know has a lot of cash on hand. Universities had a lot of cash, but most of it wasn't just lying around in a vault somewhere. The only other option was to try and find items that were valuable and steal them so that you could sell them later on, and Gotham University had plenty of nice thing to take. That was just what the Scarecrow's men intend to do.

"Take every single painting that you see! The sculptors too, those gotta be worth some cash!" One of the men yelled.

Scarecrow was in the center of the room, watching about a dozen people taking various things from the Gotham University library. They weren't technically his men, as he'd borrowed them from Rupert Thorne. All of them were nobodies that Throne couldn't care less if he lost. There were hundreds on his payroll, men like these could be bought and sold as if they were nothing.

"Hey Vinnie, should we tried and tear this gold shit off the wall or what?" Another one of the men called, referring to light fixtures.

You could almost hear Vinnie rolling his eyes, "You know how much time that would take? Just get easy stuff, we can't stick around long. The bat is gonna catch up eventually!"

The man agreed, moving on to something that he could easily carry. A crystal vase on desk seemed just fine to him. Just as he was about to reach for it, something caught his sleeve and pull his arm to the wall. It seemed to be some kind of fancy throwing knife, one that ended in a strange little hoop. The man had no idea that this was a kunai, and he also had no idea what him when Jiraiya snuck up behind him and knocked him unconscious.

Batman was over hiding behind two men in a nice, shadowy corner. The moment that the two of them were in range, he grabbed their heads and slammed them together. In an instant, the two men fell into a deep slumber.

A few more minutes passed with no issue, not a soul noticed the unconscious men. Vinnie picked up more valuables, doing his best to try figure out what was worth the most. He noticed an ivory pen sitting on a desk and slipped it into his pocket. It was a nice little score, at least that's what he'd been thinking before his feet were suddenly kicked out from under him, and his head was slammed into the ground by Batman. This finally caused enough noise to alert the other eight people men that Scarecrow had with him.

All of them turned to face him, but Batman had already dropped his smoke bomb, making it impossible for them to see him. The few of them that had guns fired at the cloud of smoke, but it did them no good. The dark knight jumped over the cloud of smoke and descended upon the men, taking another two of them out by landing right on top of them. Only two men with guns were left now, and they were pointing them right at Batman, who was just standing there.

"What, you ain't gonna try and run? Is the Batman so strong that even bullets don't scare um'?" One of the men taunted.

Batman felt no fear at the moment, "I don't need to worry about the bullets because you aren't gonna have time to fire them."

The men gave a clearly thought that he was insane, because they gave him a lost look. All of a sudden, two more men just fell to the ground. No sound was heard before they went, they just toppled over. All of them turned around to see what'd happened, only to find an older white haired man standing behind him, "Hi there! You're pointing your weapons at a friend of mine, and I'm gonna need you to stop that. If you don't well…"

The men were shocked as Jiraiya appeared right in front of them, kicking one of them right in the face. He then turned to the two with guns and grabbed them both by the ankles, flinging them into a nearby bookshelf. There weren't many of them left at that point, but the ones that were left were running the hell out of their. First Batman, now this guy? No way in hell!

Batman noticed that the Scarecrow seemed to be running as well, which he couldn't let happen. He pounced on the villain forced him to the ground, being sure that he couldn't escape, "Not today you madman! There's gonna be a nice comfy cell for you back at Arkham."

"Wait, I'm not the Scarecrow! The guy just gave me his suit and told me act like I was in charge! I'm not him, I swear!" The man screamed in a high pitched voice.

Batman could tell just be his voice, this wasn't the same guy. The suit switch must have been why the tracker lead them here, "Well then where's the real Scarecrow? Where can I find him?"

The man wanted to pretend like he didn't know, but wasn't stupid enough to do that with the Batman, "The guy who runs this place, the campus president or whatever, he stores a ton of unmarked cash in a vault he's got in the office. Only the boss and me knew about it. He went to go and get that. I never saw his face though, and he's probably long gone by now! That's all I know"

"Thanks," Batman murmured bitterly, and knocked the man out. He was useless to him now, "Well this was a colossal waste of time."

Jiraiya could see why he'd feel that way, "A little bit, but at least you got some criminals off the street. A guy like the Scarecrow won't stay hidden for long. He's clearly got some kind of agenda, you just need to figure out what it is."

"When you're right, you're right," Batman said, still a little upset, "But I don't have to be happy about it. Let's get back to the cave. I wanna make sure that Robin's alright. Oh, and Jiraiya...nice job back there."

"Thanks, you too," Jiraiya said, and with that they were off.

* * *

Alfred had never been more grateful for the Batcomputer than he was right now. The miracle of a machine managed to create a formula for a cure in a mere 15 minutes, and Alfred had been able to make said cure in just five. It turned out the toxin was made from a flower indigenous only to forests on the outskirts of Gotham. There was a few other things in it as well, but the flower, known as _Flos Matas, _was the main ingredient.

Once the cure was ready, Alfred put it into a syringe and injected it in the best vain that he could find on Dick. He'd stripped the boy of his costume and put him in simple street clothes. Hopefully this cure worked fast, or they were going to be in big trouble.

"Alfred, Dick's gonna be okay right?" Naruto asked, standing right beside his brother.

Alfred knew that he needed to try and keep the boy calm, "I'm sure that he will Naruto. Just give the cure some time. It has to work...it just has to."

The minutes passed by like hours for the two of them. Dick just laid there, his trashing slowly starting to die down. After six agonize minutes, the boy finally shot up, gasping for air, "Who? What? When?"

Naruto ran right to him and wrapped the boy in a hug, "Dick, thank god you're okay! I thought that I lost you for a second there."

Dick hugged him back, fear still filling his eyes, "Holy crap that was awful! I've never felt anything like that! It was like a nightmare that just wasn't gonna end."

"Well it's over now Master Grayson, just be thankful for that," Alfred said, grateful that the boy was going to be alright.

More footsteps were heard as Bruce and Jiraiya entered the Batcave, "Glad to see that everything worked out. Alfred, make as much of that cure as you can. Make sure that if we ever get hit with the toxin again, we can counter it."

"Good idea," Jiraiya said, but added in, "Maybe make sure that you can mass produce it if you need to too. Never know if this Scarecrow guy might plan to use that stuff on the whole city."

Naruto was happy to see them as well, "Dad, Jiraiya! You're okay! Did you get that creepy guy?"

Bruce took off his mask and hung his head, "Unfortunately, no. He managed to escape. I'm still not even sure what his end goal was, other than the money."

"You'll find out one day Dad, you're like the best detective in the whole world!" Naruto said, having faith in his father.

Bruce went and sat down, but gave Naruto a small pat on the head first, "I'm sure you're right. I just hope that it's not too late when I do. We all should get some rest, Naruto's gonna have to train with Jiraiya tomorrow. Dick, you've got tomorrow off. After tonight, you've earned it."

Dick was to tired to even show his gratitude. He just waved and went off to bed. All of them had a very long night. A little sleep sounded pretty damn great right now.

* * *

Dr. Jonathan Crane had many goals that he strived to complete in his life. He'd become a psychiatrist like he'd always dreamed, and he'd managed to get the prestigious post of the head of Arkham Asylum. However, he had yet to show the world the true power of fear. Fear was the force that drove all living things in the world, whether they liked to admit it or not. The fear of being alone forced people to get married, the fear of being broke forced people to get jobs, the fear of death forced people to look out for themselves. Yes, fear was a very powerful motivator, and no one knew that better than Jonathan Crane.

After the number of time's he'd been locked away in an abandoned building by his Grandmother for weeks at a time and had been beaten for being the scrawny kid in school, he sort of had to learn about fear. At first he hated fear, but over time, he grew to respect the good that it did. It kept people in line in this world, and Jonathan intended to use that to improve Gotham. However, he need to be more than just a psychiatrist to do this.

"$250,000 dollars huh? Now that's quite a pretty penny. I can't wait to see the good that you'll do me in my campaign," Crane said, looking down at the briefcase full of cash that he'd gotten from the university. That wasn't the only thing in the briefcase either. Inside there was also a sack like mask, cut to make the face of a Scarecrow. It was his spare mask.

"You served me well tonight old friend. I can't wait until I get to use again," Crane said, eager for his next little run as 'The Scarecrow,' "This is going to be a very interesting campaign. I really can't wait. Haha! Haha! Hahahaha!"


	4. Training Pt 2

Hey there my amazing readers, great to see that you've returned for the next chapter of the Red Fox. Sorry that it ended up having to be Friday morning that I posted, but like I said, it's been hectic. This one is gonna focus on Naruto once again, and we'll even have some visitors from the Hidden Sand. By the way, part of this will involve Gaara's early childhood, and if something in his timeline regarding his age is off, it's just part of the fanfic. We'll also be getting a little look into why Batman choose the the symbol that he did. To top it all off, this all being taking place at a party with a guest who intends to ruin the whole thing! Who is that guest? Read so that you can find out! Thank for you reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-America:Horse With No Name

* * *

A month and a half had passed after the the Scarecrow incident, and there had been no further action from the villain after that. He must have been trying to lay low after making such a big play at the university. Jiraiya stuck around for about a week, during which time he laid out the perfect plan for Naruto's training. In an amazing short amount of time, Naruto was speaking near fluent English, was smart enough to get into just about any academy in Gotham, and could fight better than half criminals in the city as well. By the time his three month adjustment period was over, he was going to be a force to be reckoned with.

However, today wasn't one in which people planned to fight. Today Bruce had to throw a party in Wayne Manor, one in which he would appear to actually to care about the politics in the city. A small part of him did care about who became Mayor in the next four months, as they'd be Mayor for the next four years. This was the time of year that candidates begged for money, and someone as rich as Bruce had to choose somebody to back. Crane was beyond untrustworthy, and the Penguin was someone that Batman had been fighting for years. The only person left was Quincy Sharp, a foolish man who simply liked the power that came with being Mayor, but was essentially harmless. Sad as it was, he was the lesser of three evils. Bruce would be backing him in the campaign, as much as it pained him to do it. That was why he and the rest of his family were setting up for a party this very instant.

"Dad, why do we have to throw this guy a stupid party," Naruto groaned in English, trying to speak it as often as he could to improve himself, "You don't even like the person."

Bruce corrected his broken English first, "The way you said it is okay Naruto, but don't even like this guy would've been better. And it doesn't matter if I don't like him, that's how politics work. Don't ask me why either, because I don't know. Being involved in politics in this country that I really hate."

Naruto and Bruce were setting up a snack table in the main dance hall of the manor. It was lined with various punches, liquors, and assorted sweets. It was a very big drag, but it had to be done. In the meantime, Naruto decided to talk about something productive, "Hey dad, you said that you chose a bat for your symbol because they scared you, right?"

"Correct, I wanted to use what I was afraid of to scare the criminals I was chasing. It's worked out very well for me," Bruce said, placing some cups on the end of the table.

Naruto had been thinking for over a month what he wanted his superhero name to be, and he wanted one like his dad. It was hard to think of what exactly scared him the most, but he was eventually able to come up with something, "I think that I want my name to be The Fox Red."

Bruce knew that his son wanted that to be a dramatic name, but his grammar made it a little comical, "I think that you mean The Red Fox Naruto. Actually, that has a nice ring to it."

"The Red Fox huh? That does sound better," Naruto said, trying it out the proper way, "I tried to think of something that made me scared, and the nothing scares me more than this thing called the Kyuubi back home. He's like a giant red fox with nine tails who could destroy cities and stuff, and Fourth Hokage had to die just to kill it. That's scary! So, I went with The Red Fox."

It seemed like a perfect choice, at least to Bruce. Of course Naruto had no idea just how perfect, with Kyuubi being sealed inside of him and all "Hm, I like it. We'll start going over designs for your suit tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, I am gonna try and make sure that you can enjoy this party too."

Naruto was skeptical at that, "How do you plan to do that?"

"I've invited some people from a place called the Hidden Sand to the party. The hidden Leaf wanted me to get to know some ninjas from other nations for public relations and what not, so I found a family that had some kids your age and invited them. The Kazekage, the hidden Sand's leader, is coming tonight and he's bringing his children," Bruce said, happy his son would have someone to play with and get to be a kid with tonight.

That actually did perk Naruto up a bit, "Awesome! What do you know about them?"

Bruce visibly tensed at this, "Well, Temari is ten and is training to be a ninja like you. Kankuro is nine and wants to learn how to use some kind of battle puppet things. And Gaara has a sort of...burden, inside of him. There's a creature that resides inside of him that gives him powers that he can't always control."

"Is he going to be safe to come here then?" Naruto asked, a very legitimate question.

That was something that Bruce had been worried about as well, but had a plan to take care of it, "As long as we don't scare him too much, it'll be fine. He's only a danger when he gets really scared."

"So we shouldn't have the Scarecrow come then?" Naruto joked, trying to show that he was okay with the situation.

Bruce rolled his eyes, but found the joke pretty funny, "No, but he's not invited, so that should be fine. Come on, let's see how Alfred and the others are doing. We've only got an hour before the party and we still need to get dressed."

* * *

In the hidden Leaf, the normal attire for an important event was a dress kimono. Apparently in America, it was this thing called a tux. The moment that Naruto put on his first tux, he decided that it was an evil, evil piece of clothing and wanted to rip it off of himself as soon as possible. Only his brother stopped him.

"Oh come on Naruto, they're not that bad. They make the girls go crazy," Dick said, straightening Naruto tie as they stood in his room.

Naruto could've cared less about girls, "I'm eight! I don't give a crap about what girls think!"

Dick noticed that he went back to Japanese when he got angry, "It's just for a few hours Naruto. You don't have to wear one that much, so just get yourself through this one, okay?"

Naruto pouted, but nodded as well, "Fine, but they better have some good food down there."

"Actually, Alfred made some ramen just for you. They should be serving it right about now," Dick said, knowing exactly what was coming next.

Naruto didn't even say a word, just zoomed down to the dining hall. Dick put on his own tux and then followed him down, only he actually walked there. Inside the dining hall, Dick could see just about every person in Gotham with a large bank account had showed up for the party. Bruce was at a table in the center of the room, Quincy was sitting right across from him with a drink in his hand, and Naruto was next to him, eating all the ramen that his stomach would hold. People were all around Quincy, chatting up the man for information on his champaign.

Dick started to walk towards them when a man with reddish hair stopped him, "Excuse me young man, would you happen to know where Bruce Wayne is? My name is Rasa, and my children and I were supposed to be meeting with him."

"Oh, you're the Kazekage," Dick said in a low whisper, making sure that no heard the title so that they wouldn't ask questions, "I'm actually one of his son's. Follow me, I'll take you to him. Gotta admit, you speak excellent English sir."

They all walked behind Dick, the Kazekage feeling a little uncomfortable as they did, "I must say, going by my first name while I'm here feels bizarre. It's been a very long time since anyone called me by it."

Dick could understand why, after going by his title of Kazekage for so long, "Just try and enjoy it I suppose. There isn't really any pressure on you tonight. We just wanted someone for Naruto to spend some time with."

"Ah yes, Naruto. He's a demon child as well, correct?" Rasa asked, glancing at a boy behind him with blood red hair, who seemed a tiny bit hurt at the words.

Dick found the term 'demon' a little offensive, "He's just a container for that Kyuubi thing, nothing more. I'd ask that you not tell him about it, as Naruto still doesn't know about his burden."

Rasa found it silly not to tell a weapon just how powerful it was, but didn't object, "As you wish. I hope you've got some strong alcohol here. I can't ever seem to get my assistants to bring my something decent to drink."

Rasa went and sat down at table, quickly looking over the drinks that the party had to offer. He'd never even said a word to his kids, which was more than a little sad. Dick decided that it was time to introduce them to Naruto, "Hey Naruto, come over here for a second. I wanna introduce you to some people."

Naruto finished up his fourth bowl of ramen, lord knew where the kid put it all, and walked over to his brother. He saw three kids standing behind him. One of them was a blonde girl with four ponytails in her hair who looked very interested in what was going on around her. The next was a boy with brown hair who looked a little annoyed to be at the party. Lastly, there was a little boy with red hair and strange tattoo on his forehead, who looked incredibly nervous. There was no need for Naruto to ask who they were.

"You're the kids from the hidden Sand," Naruto said in his natural Japanese dialect, "It's really nice to meet you guys. My name is Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne. What about you guys?"

All three of them seemed scared to answer, but finally the blonde girl said, "I'm Temari and these are my brothers, Kankuro and Gaara. Are you from a hidden village too?"

Naruto was happy to answer the question, "I'm from the hidden Leaf, but I moved to Gotham when my dad adopted me. I'm still totally gonna be an awesome ninja though!"

"Cool, I'm gonna be a ninja too, and I think that's what my brothers are planning to do as well," Temari said, starting to to warm up to the boy.

Kankuro seemed interested in Naruto too, "What kind of stuff have you learned to do?"

"I can make shadow clones, but so far that's about it. Well, I am working on one other thing right now, but haven't gotten to use it much," Naruto told him honestly, but Kankuro still seemed to find it interesting.

Gaara still remained silent, which made everyone nervous. Naruto decided to break the tension, wanting to know about the boy who was closest to his age, "So Gaara, do you really plan on being a ninja too?"

The other two siblings seemed interested in his response, as Gaara quietly said, "I want to be a ninja... I have lots of powers, and I want to learn how to control them. My uncle says that he'll help me if I really want to do it."

Both Temari and Kankuro seemed relieved by the answer, although Naruto didn't know why. He was just happy to have the kid talking, "Awesome. So, you guys wanna go and get something to eat? We've got some really awesome food here and tons of stuff to drink! We can go and play in my room later if you want."

All of them smiled and let Naruto lead them to the food table, Dick grinning the whole time. It was really nice to see him making some friend his own age. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Barbara had come to the dinner too, likely roped into by her father. Commissioner Gordon was talking with his daughter, who was happily talking back. It wasn't often that they got to spend time together, so they enjoyed it whenever they could. Beside them was Ellen Yin, a detective of asian descent who was the toughest woman in the precinct, and Harvey Bullock, a tall, stocky man who had redeemed himself after becoming a dirty cop.

Dick knew them all, so he decided to walk over and say hello, "Commissioner, Barbara, it's nice to see that both of you could make it out tonight. Nice to see you too detectives."

"Dick, I was hoping to run into you. How's Naruto adjusting?" Barbara asked, making sure not to seem too chumming with Dick.

Commissioner Gordon had heard about the whole adoption thing and was interested too, "Oh that's right, you just got a brother. How's he doing?"

Dick gave them a brief rundown of how Naruto had been doing, leaving out of course the parts about him eventually joining the Batman family. Everyone seemed very happy, especially Yin, "That's wonderful. I'll have to meet this Naruto at some point. What about you Bullock?"

Bullock had been stuffing his face, so he had to stop between bites. Once he was ready he said in his thick city accent, "Maybe, but I don't know when I'd have time to meet the brat. Bruce seems like an alright guy, so I'm sure his kids alright too."

"What about me," Dick asked with his trademark grin, "Aren't I an alright guy?"

Bullock played along, as he had a soft spot for the boy, "You Dickie? You're not just an alright guy, you're a friggin' saint! You're a hero, like the crazy guy in a flying rat suit!"

"Calling Batman a hero?" Yin said, a little bit shocked, "Never thought that I'd hear you admit that."

Bullock shrugged, getting up to get more food, "I'm warming up to the nutjob. Good talkin' to ya Dickie."

Bullock walked off and Dick said goodbye to the others at the table. Now he had to go off and socialize with the snobs. It sucked, but you kind of had to do it. Hopefully Naruto was having a good time, because Dick knew he wouldn't.

* * *

Naruto and Sand Siblings were having just as much fun as Dick hoped they were. After eating as much at their little bellies could hold, Naruto brought them to his room to show off some things from his new western culture. There had been lots of intresting things, but the coolest had to be the video games. For people who barely even had a tv back home, it was pretty freaking cool. After that, Naruto took them to the room where Dcik did all of his tricks that he learned back at the circus. Once that was done, they went back to the party and just went on bugging the adults. Temari and Kankuro were having a blast, and even Gaara seemed like he was having fun. It was great! Although playing tag in a crowded room wasn't always the best idea.

"Haha, Naruto, slow down! You're gonna knock someone over," Temari yelled, as they weaved their way through the crowd.

Gaara was right next to Naruto, laughing just as hard as the rest of them, "Haha, this is great! No one's looking at me like I'm bad or something."

Naruto never cared much when people looked at him, having gotten used to it back at the Leaf, "Let them look, it's not our problem if they wanna be all snobby!"

Kankuro was really starting to like this kid, "You got it Naruto! Screw those jerks!"

They kept running and laughing, until Naruto finally ran into someone, knocking himself on the ground. The man who he'd hit turned around, and boy was Naruto shocked at the man's appearance. It was a man who was as short as Naruto was, portly, had a long pointy nose, beady little eyes, greasy black hair, and slightly sharpened teeth. He was dressed in a fine suit, had strange looking black umbrella, and had a monical of all things.

Seeing such a nasty looking man in such nice clothes was a bit of shock, but Naruto still forced himself to apologize to him, "Sorry about that sir. We were just playing."

It threw the Sand Siblings off that he spoke english, but the man had seemed very happy to meet the boy, "Oh that's alright lad, no harm done. My name's Oswald Cobblepot. Now don't tell me, you must be Wayne's new son, Naruto, right?"

"Um, yeah, that's me," Naruto said noting his British/Cockney accent, "How do you know my dad?"

Cobblepot gave a terrifying smile at the boy, "We used to be friends back in our younger days. I was hoping that Bruce would fund my campaign for Mayor because of that, but I guess he had to stick to his bloody principals."

Naruto could tell that he said that last part bitterly, and decided he wanted to get out of here, "Well, I'm sure he wasn't trying to be mean. I'm gonna go play with my friends now. It was nice to meet you...I guess."

Naruto around and ran away. Both he and the Sand Siblings found the man to be incredibly creepy. Gaara in particular, "And people in the sand say I'm creepy."

Kankuro was actually laughing, "Dude, he looked like some kind of freaky penguin!"

"Don't call people names Kankuro, even if they are fitting," Temari scolded, trying not to laugh.

Once they were out of sight, Cobblepot began to scowell. He hated dealing with kids. They were annoying, sticky, and loud. Those three things did not mix well. The fact that Bruce Wayne had two of them was just even more of a reason to hate him.

Walking away from the rest of the guests, Cobblepot began to look for what he'd comer to this party for in the first place. He walked out of the dining hall and looked around until he found the garden of Wayne Manor. This was exactly what he wanted to see, "Now, let's get this party really started."

Cobblepot quickly found a sewer grate tucked away in the corner of the garden. It was clearly meant to guide all of the Wayne's used water to city's waste disposal system. The manor was massive, so Wayne's had more elaborate pipes, hence the grate. Bruce had been smart enough to make it steel plated and keypad locked so that no one could use it to sneak in.

"A cute little lock, but let's see how it handles this," Cobblepot said, putting his umbrella over the lock. Once he was sure he wasn't in the direct line of sight of any video cameras, he twisted the umbrella, causing it's head to pop off. A strange acid poured from the umbrella and onto the keypad, hissing as it did so. Clinking metal was heard as acid worked, and finally loud 'Clunk' was heard. The grate popped open, finishing up Cobblepot's part of the plan.

He leaned down into the sewer, despite the foul smell, and called, "It's done people, get your asses up here! I payed good money for you bastards!"

Three men popped out from the grate. Two of them were just normal guys, but one of them stood nearly 7 feet tall and was wearing a heavy trench coat. You couldn't see his face, but he had a gruff voice, "Thanks for the entrance Cobblepot. I've always wanted to hit this place, but I couldn't find a way in. This is gonna be perfect."

"Well I didn't do it for free," Cobblepot snapped, "You know the deal. I want that place torn to shreds! Everything you can destroy, get's destroyed! Wayne's gonna be paying millions in repairs for not siding with the right bird. Bloody hell man, does loyalty mean a damn thing to that prick!"

The man in the trench coat shed the coat, letting the moonlight hit his his slimy, scaled skin. He had piercing red eyes and a muscular frame. His teeth were long and sharpened, matching his fingernails. His whole body seemed to be covered in skin just like that of a crocodiles, "Well he'll learn loyalty alright, or my name ain't Killer Croc."

Cobblepot took out a cigarette and lit it, trying to make himself seemed relaxed in the presence of this disgusting man, "You come highly recommended when it comes to scaring the piss out of someone. Do you really take a bite out of people sometimes?"

"Oh yes, human flesh is real tasty," Killer Croc said, licking his lips, "I might take a little chomp out of the people here actually! I wanna see how rich people taste!"

Cobblepot shuddered, unable to hide it, "Well, isn't that pleasant?"

Killer Croc and his men walked past Cobblepot, laughing at his fear, "Calm yourself down Penguin, it's just a little hobby of mine. Think of it like wine tasting. I don't take enough to empty the bottle, just enough to get a little bit of the flavor."

Cobblepot just shook his head, partially at his horrible nickname. Of all the villain names to get, he had to get that one. Oh well, at least he could afford the terrifying Killer Croc to do his dirty work for him. This was the kind of thing he didn't like to do himself.

* * *

Back at the party, the adults were drinking, the kids were playing, the cops were eating, everyone in general was just having an amazing time. That was until a loud crash erupted from the entrance of the room, getting everyone's attention. Loud screams filled people's eardrums when they saw the large, scaly man who was standing in the doorway.

Killer Croc actually enjoyed the outburst, deciding to play it up, "Ladies and gentlemen, for those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Killer Croc, a regular foe of the Batman. The name givin' to me at birth was Waylon Jones, right before I killed my own mother during birth. My looks hurt me bad in my life, people were very quick to judge. This world took a real big bite out of me. Now, I'm gonna take a bite out of the world right back. If you fight this, it'll only make it worse. Just sit back and give us your valuables, and no one gets hurt. We're just gonna tear up Wayne's place a little bit before that."

"The hell you will," the booming voice of Commissioner Gordon yelled, as he pulled out his handgun and pointed it at the men. Four other officers had stood up as well, all pointing their guns at the criminals.

Killer Croc found the guns to humorous, "Just as brave as always Commissioner. Always trying to find the most righteous path that you can. Put those useless toys down. They might kill my friends here, but my skin's too thick for that shit. It'll just sting me a bit."

While this mexican standoff was beginning, Naruto was quietly talking to his new friends, "We've gotta make sure that these guys are distracted until the big guns get here. The police can't beat this guy, but I think that someone else's who's coming can. Will you guys help me?"

Temari and Kankuro nodded, but Gaara wasn't paying any attention. He seemed like he'd seen a ghost or something, "...It's almost like looking into a mirror…"

Naruto had no clue what he was talking about, but Temari and Kankuro seemed to get it. There was a lot of parallels that could be drawn between what all Gaara had been through at the hidden Sand and what Killer Croc had been through in Gotham. Gaara had killed his mother during birth, been labeled as a monster because he had a tailed beast sealed inside of him, and just had everything horrible that could happen to a person happen to him. Much like the Croc.

"Gaara? Hello, Gaara?" Naruto said, trying to get the boy's attention, "You're gonna help me with this, right?"

Gaara finally shook himself back into reality, realizing that if didn't wanna end up down the road Killer Croc was on, he had to at least try to help, "What do you need me to do?"

Naruto tried to think logically like his dad had been teaching him, "If they attack the croc guy, he's gonna attack them back. We need to try to keep the cops from shooting at him."

Temari could feel the tension in the room, "How are we gonna do that? Sooner or later that croc thing is gonna attack and then they'll use those gun things on him."

"Unless Croc thinks that it's too hard to attack," Naruto said, getting an idea, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna try out a new trick that I just learned!"

Kankuro watched him run off, a little frustrated, "What the heck? He's asks for our help and then runs away!"

Gaara wasn't paying a whole lot of attention, "He goes anywhere near them, I'm going to attack to have mama tear him apart!"

Temari was creeped out by her brother's words, but figured that it was good that she had someone to defend them, "Let's just wait and see what Naruto has planned first."

All of the sudden, a dozen extra footsteps entered the room. They belonged to a dozen more police officers who'd just arrived on the scene. They all pointed their guns at Croc, increasing the pressure on him. Gordon had no idea where they'd come from, but he was happy to have them, "What do you say now Croc? I don't think even you could take seventeen clips worth of bullets being emptied into you!"

Killer Croc had to admit, it would at least hurt like hell to get hit that hard, and Batman was still more than likely going to show up. What was he to do now? "Well, this situation just got a little stickier, didn't it?"

Bruce and Dick watched the situation unfold, rather confused. Dick puzzled, "Wait a minute, we didn't invite that many cops to this place."

"They're not cops," Bruce said, figuring out what was going on, "I think that Naruto is trying to give you and I a distraction to get ourselves a little better dressed. Let's go, we're not gonna waste it."

It hit Dick that they'd just finished teaching Naruto the transformation jutsu, which let him change his appearance to look like just about anyone. He must have made the clones and changed them into cops to make Killer Croc a little more nervous. This was indeed the time for them to go and get ready for a fight. Croc was a tough person to fight, as he was about twice as strong as a normal man, and had teeth and nails as sharp as knives. They were just hoping that Croc wouldn't cause too much damage before they got him out.

Being the bright girl that she was and having seen the transformation technique before, Temari soon figured out what was going on, "Good plan, but how is he making that many clones?"

Before she could get an answer, something occurred to Killer Croc, "Wait a second. How did this many cops get here so fast? If they'd already been here, they would've stood up the first time you pigs did. You're not trying to pull a fast one on ol' Killer Croc, now are ya?"

It was then that Gordon realized that only five cops had even been invited, so he had no idea who these other guys were. Yet, he had to act calm, "...Look scumbag,"

"Got ya," Killer Croc muttered, as he saw the fear forming in Gordon's eyes. He charged at the man, causing the five real officers to fire. Croc was hit with seven bullets total, and they hardly even left a mark in his thick hide.

Killer Croc lowered his shoulder and hit Gordon with it, sending him reeling. The other officers he just swatted away like flies, expect Yin, who dodged it, and Bullock, who was too big for that. Naruto had forced his clones to fade back into the crowd and disperse. He'd changed back to normal while no one was looking, but that soon made him catch the eye of Killer Croc, "Ah, a rich little brat. I wonder how someone like you would taste!"

Naruto ran as Killer Croc began to chase him. The massive monster of a man soon began to gain on the boy, until he stopped in his tracks. Something hit him in the chest like a ton of bricks. Well, more accurately, like a ton of sand. Some kind of massive bullet made of sand hit him with such force that it knocked him on his back. Everyone stared in awe, unaware the Gaara had just tapped into the power to control sand that was given to him by the demonic tanuki sealed inside of him.

"Son of a bitch, that hurt!" Croc yelled, noticing the sand slowly pulling away from him. He had no idea what was going here.

It only got worse for the man as a voice came from the ceiling, "To bad for you, it's about to get much more painful."

Batman and Robin dropped down right in front of the human crocodile. Killer Croc jumped back up, very unhappy, "As if things couldn't get any worse with you. What, are you controlling sand now or something?"

Batman had no idea what he was talking about, and he did really care to find out, "The only thing that you need to know about me is that I'm about to kick back into the sewer you crawled out of!"

Croc wasn't one to back down from a fight, even against the Batman. He opened his mouth as wide as he could, bearing his sharpened teeth. Batman threw his hands out in front of him and caught Croc mouth to keep him from snapping down and tearing his head clean off. Robin saw his opening, and got out his bo staff. With one big swing, Robin took the staff and hit Croc in the abs.

Croc pushed Batman away from him, holding his side, "Nice shot shithead, but lets see ya do it again!"

With his massive hand, Killer Croc grabbed Robin by the throat and pulled him into the air, squeezing the boy so that no air could get to his lungs, "I...can't...breath…"

"Put him down before I break you in two," Batman growled in his most intimidating voice.

Killer Croc scoffed and squeezed the boy's neck harder, "Come here and try, I'm beggin' you!"

Batman took the challenge, getting a special pair of brass knuckles from his utility belt. Croc took his sharpened nails and slashed at the dark knight, who ducked and rolled under it. Once he was behind him, Batman hit Croc in the back with the brass knuckles. While it did add a little extra power to Batman's strike, it was actually unique because it would send a large shock through whoever it struck. In this case, that unlucky person was Killer Croc.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH," Croc screamed out in pain. He fell to his hands and knees, a little steam coming off from his as he did. The shock would evaporate that sweat on a person, so that was where the steam had been coming from.

Batman was happy to see that Croc couldn't do much to them. Robin decided this was the best time to taunt him, "You know, we could just skip the butt kicking this time and take you right to Arkham. It would save everyone a lot of time and hassle."

Killer Croc hated being teased like that. Yet, he'd battle against these guys on enough occasions to know he would likely get beaten here. There was only one other option if he was gonna win this thing. He jumped up and grabbed a young man, putting one of his sharpened nails to the man's throat, "You guys better throw your weapons on the ground now! If you don't, I'm gonna give this place a new paint job! Blood red, my favorite color!"

Batman and Robin didn't know what they were going to do. They were sure that Killer Croc meant it, and might even enjoy doing it. Luckily, Batman had a plan for just this occasion. He looked at Naruto and for a millisecond and flashed him a wink. Naruto knew just what his dad wanted him to do. He disappeared back into the crowd to get ready.

"Alright Croc, let's just stay calm now. We're putting everything down. No need to hurt an innocent man," Batman said, taking off his belt and various other gadgets. Robin soon followed suit, making them just about emptied handed.

This is just what Killer Croc wanted to see, "Ah, good ol' hand to hand combat. Let's see just how strong you are without all your little toys."

Croc started to walk towards them, wondering whether or not he might try a little taste of these guys. If he was being honest, he didn't really like the taste of human flesh. Real food tasted far better, but eating people put far more fear into the hearts of men. This little distraction would cost Killer Croc dearly, as he completely failed to notice someone moving through the crowd. A small ball hit the ground in front of him and sent off a blinding light. It was one of Batman's flash grenades, which had been thrown by Naruto. He'd gotten it early from his fathers stash just in case something bad happened.

"What the hell? I can't see a damn thing," Killer Croc proclaimed, covering his face with his hands to block out the light.

Batman and Robin's masks were designed to let them see in conditions like this, so they were unaffected. The duo sprange right into action, planning their finishing blows. Robin took his bo staff smacked the end right into Killer Croc's chin. Cursing, Croc's head sprung backwards and he began to take a few steps back. With his grappling hook, Batman fired a stream of wire around Croc's legs and pulled it tight.

The Dark Knight smiled as Killer Croc went right to the floor, setting Batman up to end it all, "Game over, you slimy little reptile!"

Batman jumped on top of him with his electric brass knuckles on and hit Croc right in the head. The shock it sent through him put Killer Croc out cold, finishing up the battle. Everyone cheered as the two henchmen began to run away.

"Don't worry, I've got them," Robin said, then jumped off to make sure they didn't get away.

Batman finished tying up the big baddie as Gordon came up to thank him, "We've been chasing this guy for months. Seems like you're the only one who can ever bring him in. Thanks Batman, we appreciate it."

Batman was a man of few words, so he said shortly, "Not a problem. You might wanna leave the party. It seems to be getting a bit crowded to me."

With that, Batman raised up his grappling hook and shot towards the ceiling. He soon disappeared into the shadows, out of everyone's sight. Everyone knew that he wouldn't be seen for the rest of the night, he never was once his job was done. Once the criminals were taken away, all of the guests went back home. Quincy Sharpe had actually been very happy about the whole thing, because it drew a lot of attention to his campaign. Bruce wasn't nearly as happy, since he had to help clean the entire mansion. No one had been hurt though, and that made the day a win for the good guys.

* * *

"I really wish they didn't have to go home," Naruto pouted, sad that his newfound friends had left.

The two of them, Naruto and Bruce, were sitting in the living room, unwinding from the long week that followed the party. Bruce had something that he was pretty sure would cheer Naruto up, "Don't worry son, you'll get to talk to them all the time."

Being certain that that was impossible, Naruto gave him a strange look, "They live in the hidden Sand, how would I ever get to talk to them?"

"With this," Bruce said, tossing him a cellphone, "It's a phone. I gave your new friends one just like it before they left. If you ever get lonely, just find their name on there and call them. Simple."

Naruto marveled at the little miracle that sat in his hand, "Woah, that's awesome. Can I go and call them right now?"

Bruce could feel how eager he was, "Sure, and you can call the Hokage with that too. Be sure to call him when you're done with the others."

Naruto nodded very happily and ran off. Once he was gone, Dick entered the room, "So, did you figure out how Killer Croc got in here?"

Bruce leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples, "Yes I did. Someone melted out the lock on the sewer grate. Take a wild guess who that could be."

"Cobblepot," Dick spat out, knowing that he was the only one who had a bone to pick with Bruce at the moment.

Bruce nodded his head, "Hard to believe he thought that was somehow a good idea. Too bad he did leave enough evidence to prove it. I would love to finally nail him."

Dick knew the feeling, "What can you do? Someday he'll slip up and then we'll get him."

"We can hope that'll happen one day," Bruce said, not so sure that fate was certain.

Naruto came running back into the room, very excited about something, "The phone works! I talked to Gaara and those guys. He was doing really good too! He said that he tried just ignoring what the people said like I told him too, and it's kind of working. He plays with his brother and sister more too!"

Bruce had no idea Naruto would have such a positive effect on these guys lives, "Good job Naruto, you're really making a difference."

Naruto shot off his foxy grin, "Yup, and Gaara's gonna learn how to control his powers better too. He can move sand and stuff."

"So he was the one who knocked Croc down before," Dick noted, "We'll have to thank him for that."

Bruce was still thinking about other things, "We will, but first, Naruto needs to go and call the Hokage to tell him he's alright, don't you Naruto?"

Naruto gave a mock salute and went off to make the call, "Okay dad, be back in a couple minutes."

"We're going to start designing his costume tomorrow," Bruce said, rather randomly.

Dick still felt it was a good idea, "Sure thing. Hard to believe he's almost combat ready now."

Bruce agreed that it was amazing, and it needed to be done. Naruto was gonna face some dangerous people in Gotham, and he needed to be prepared for them. Weather he liked it or not.


	5. Training Pt 3

My spring break may be over, but at least I can commence with another chapter of The Red Fox. This chapter will introduce another classic Batman villain, as well as delve a little bit more into Harvey Bullock. I love the character, so it's going to be interesting for me. Also, Naruto will have his first run as The Red Fox in this chapter. Lots of fun stuff, plus another Naruto character sprinkled in there. No more chatter, let's get down to business now. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Fallout Boy: My Song Know What You Did In the Dark

* * *

The chilly night air cut right through Bullock's coat as he waited by the famous Bat Signal for the Dark Night. He'd always felt that the signal was a bit ridiculous, but he'd found a use for it now. With the situation that he was in, Batman just might be Bullocks only hope of getting out of it. It wasn't easy to be a good cop in Gotham, especially when you were being accused of being a dirty one. This was why Bullock had been enraged by the accusation that he was running his old intimidation racket again, as he'd spent years trying show that he'd changed. He was a straight arrow now, and there was no way that he was gonna let anyone tarnish how hard he'd worked to prove that. There was no doubt to him or his closest friends, he was not dirty!

Problem was, there was a lot of evidence piling up against him. Half a dozen shop owners in Gotham were claiming that he was forcing them to give him money in exchange for protection. Even worse, they had tapes to back it up. Bullock had no idea how this was possible, since he'd never been in a single one of the shops. He'd gotten lucky though, as he had an alibi for the time that the first two tapes were taken. That was enough to force the matter to be looked into further while Bullock was on, 'Administrative leave.' Basically, he had a week to find some way to prove that he was innocent. While there was no way for him to do that, he knew of someone that just might be able to do it for him.

"You rang," A deep voice boomed behind Bullock.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around to see that it was just the Batman along with Robin and someone that he didn't recognize, "Jesus Batman, you scared the crap outta me. Hey, who's the new guy?"

The person he was referring to was a kid, no more than eight years old, in a full body suit. Much like his two friends, his suit was more like armor, with a black and reddish-orange color scheme. Most of his body was covered, even the hair on his head, making only his blue eyes visible. Batman introduced him, "This is our latest recruit, the Red Fox. He's very, very talented."

"You just keep getting them younger and younger, don't you Bats?" Bullock said, sizing up the latest member of the Bat family.

Batman could understand his skepticism, "He was a special case. Now, tell us why you called us here Bullock? Usually if there's an issue, Gordon would call us."

This was where Bullock could finally start explaining, "I know that you and I don't always get along, but I need your help, bad! I don't know if you've heard, but,"

"There's been claims that you've gone back to your old tricks," Batman cut in, "Believe me, I'm aware. We keep tabs on things like that."

Bullock could've been angry, but instead he chose to be happy that he didn't have to tell the whole story, "Alright, but what you don't know is,"

"You didn't do anything," Robin said, being the one to cut him off this time, "You were somewhere else when the first couple incidents occurred."

Bullock decided just to keep moving, "That's right, but the most recent ones,"

"You don't have an alibi for," The Red Fox said, finishing up for the trio, "Making things look a little bad for you."

Now that even the little one was getting in on it, Bullock's irritation began to grow, "Nice to know that my private life isn't the least bit private. Ah, screw it! Look, are you gonna help me out or not?"

Batman knew he was scared, so the stringing him along had to end, "We're detectives Harvey, we search for the truth. Weather you asked us or not, we'd prove your innocence if that turned out to be the case."

"Oh holy shit, thank you," Bullock cried in relief, "You won't regret it Batman, I swear. I'm gonna owe you big time for this one!"

Robin put the man's mind at ease, "You don't owe us anything. Staying clean after being a dirty for so long is more than we could ever ask."

Bullock tried not to puff his chest out too much, "Well, you've been good for the city, I guess the I'm just trying to do the same. Now, I think that you guys oughta' start with,"

"Clayface," The Red Fox told him, glad he'd gotten the name right, "You were the one who figured out his plan to bust out The Riddler. He's likely still angry with you because it cost him a lot of money."

Bullock was starting to feel a little useless, "Wow, kid really knows his stuff. I didn't figure it out though, I just got lucky. Made an inside joke to one of the guards at Arkham and he didn't get it, so I knew something was up."

The Red Fox shrugged, "Sometimes luck is good. Please don't call me kid either, I'm a superhero."

"Whatever floats ya boat," Bullock said as he turned off the Bat signal, "I'm gonna head home. Technically I'm not supposed to be here. Good luck to you guys, for my sake."

Bullock head over to the stairs on the roof and started to head down. Once he was out of earshot, Batman turned to his youngest friend, "Not bad Red Fox, you're English was perfect. Good to see that you read the case file like I asked you to."

The Red Fox, better known by most as Naruto, took the compliment with pride, "Thanks Da-, er, I mean, Batman."

Robin patted the boy's head, "Nice job, but one something just occurred to me. Isn't Clayface still locked up in Arkham?"

"It's Arkham Asylum, and he's got the record for the third most escapes. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that he was out and about," Batman said, thinking back to past encounters with the criminal.

The blue eyed boy stared at the others for a moment, "Who is Clayface exactly? I know that he can change shape or something, but how is he able to do that?"

That's when Batman remembered that Naruto had barely any of the story, "His real name is Basil Karlo, and he used to be an actor before a horrible accident destroyed his face. The movie that he was most famous for was a horror movie called 'The Terror.' It was actually all about a monster named Clayface. Karlo got angry when he found out they were remaking it without him as the lead. There was too much damage done to his face, so he couldn't star in the movie. They kept him on as a producer, but that wasn't enough for him. He started using this illegal face medicine that was supposed to fix a person's scars so that he could star in the movie. There were some horrible side effects and his face started to melt. Being the idiot that he was, he thought that injecting himself with more of the medicine was a good idea."

"Wait, did the medicine like, melt his whole body?" The Red Fox asked, starting to feel like he was actually in a horror movie.

Robin wanted to get in on this, "It sort of did. After paying for the smartest people that money could buy, Karlo was able to turn himself into that freaky Clayface thing that we know today. His ability to change forms has gotten him out of Arkham more than once, and he's got super strength to boot. He's one of the most dangerous villains in our rogues gallery."

"This guy sounds weirder than some of the people in the hidden Leaf," The Red fox mused. It was sort of the truth, as pretty much everyone there was a solid person.

They all agreed and left to finish their patrols for the night. As soon as they were done they'd start their research on Bullocks case, just as they'd promised. All three of them were certain of his innocence, so clearing his name was going to be a pleasure.

* * *

"So, what do you guys think we should look into first?" Bruce asked as he sat down at the Batcomputer.

Naruto ran right up to him, plenty of ideas in mind, "If we think that it's Clayface, we should figure out how he escaped. If we could prove he's free, that would make it really easy to show that the Bullock guy is innocent."

Alfred had just arrived on the scene, "Ah, so it's our ex-actor friend causing Mr. Bullock trouble, is it?"

Dick began to type something into the computer as they were talking, "Looks that way. I'm connecting to Arkham's database right now to see if there was any time that he could've escaped."

"You know that I could do that myself," Bruce muttered as Dick kept working.

Alfred saw an opening when Bruce said that, "Actually Master Bruce, there's a red haired visitor upstairs that you need to attend to."

Bruce heard red hair and his mind instantly went to Barbara, "So Babs is here, just send her down. Maybe she could help us."

"While Ms. Gordon is present, I was actually referring to a Ms. Mei Terumi. I believe that she's a ninja from one of the hidden village, but I'm not certain. Why don't we leave Master Grayson down here to attend to his while we head upstairs to see the woman?"

Bruce knew better than to keep a stranger waiting, "Fine, just give me a second to get the whole playboy facade going. If she's the least bit attractive, I'll have to hit on her. Gotta keep up appearances and all that."

Alfred chuckled softly, as if he knew something that they didn't, "You'll need your A game for this one sir. She got even this old heart racing."

Bruce straightened up his clothes and started to walk towards the stairs, "Well let's go and see her then. Come on Naruto, this could be fun."

* * *

Mei Terumi was one of the most beautiful women in the world. She had long red hair, smooth skin, full lips, piercing green eyes, legs that went on for miles, and curves that were the envy of any woman. Barbara was a little jealous of her actually, as she sat next to her at the kitchen table, "Don't take this wrong way Mei, but man, you're absolutely beautiful."

Mei gigged, but not in a stuck up way. She honestly found it funny, "You're not the first woman to tell me that, and you won't be the last. I attract a lot of attention back home. You're a very pretty girl yourself though. Must be the red hair, right?"

This time, it was Barbara who giggled, "Must be. So where are you from exactly?"

"Oh, I'm from the a village in the Great Ninja Nations called the hidden Mist. The people I work with needed someone to speak with Bruce, and I was the only one we had who spoke English."

Barbara took a sip of her coffee and nodded, "That makes sense. Seems like more of you guys from there speak English than I would've figured."

Mei shrugged, sipping on her own coffee, "Not really, there's only like 30 people in the whole country who speak it. Only a couple hundred people even know America exists."

"Well, they couldn't have sent a more beautiful woman to come to America, I'll tell you that much," Bruce said, finally entering the room. Naruto and Alfred were right behind him.

Mei saw Bruce and she had to admit, he wasn't bad looking, "Well thank you. You must be just as charming as they said that you were. Oh, and this is the little ninja you adopted. Aren't you just a cutie?"

Mei got up to shake Bruce's hand, then leaned down to tickle Naruto's whisker marks. It wasn't long before Naruto started fussing, "Haha, stop it! Why do girls always do that?"

Everyone laughed at his ticklish nature, particularly Barbara, "Those things are just irresistible, aren't they?"

"So you girls keep telling him," Bruce began, "So Ms. Terumi, did you say that the hidden Mist's government sent you?"

Mei stopped tickling Naruto and turned to Bruce, "Now I never said anything about the Mist's government. It's sort of the opposite really."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Mei suddenly got very serious and proper, "I've heard rumors that you're incredibly wealthy man. You're house more or less proved that. What I'm here for is to request funding for a rebellion that has begun to form in the hidden Mist. We want to overthrow our government, and we need your help to do it."

You could've heard in pin drop in the kitchen the moment after Mei said that. Even Naruto, who wasn't fully able understand what was going on due to his age, knew this must have been something big. Alfred was hardly able to stutter out, "Overthrow your government? Why in heaven's name would want to do something like that? What's got the people where you're from the riled up?"

Mei looked down at the floor and sighed, "It's very long story, and one I'd rather not tell in front of someone so young. Bruce, may you and I speak alone about this matter?"

Bruce couldn't bring himself to say no, "I suppose I could make some time for you, but I must warn you, I'm a very busy man. I'm not sure just how much time that I can give you."

"Once you hear my story, you'll make time," Mei said confidently, then began to walk into the other room.

The excited voice of Dick Grayson stopped her, "Hey guys, I think I've got something...holy crap, who is she?"

Mei laughed internally at the boy's reaction, "I'm Mei Terumi, a friend of you fathers. You must be the last one that Barbara was telling me about, Dick. I'm sure that we'll have to time to meet properly later. Bruce, please come with me."

Mei walked off, leaving a stunned Dick behind, "Bruce, you really do have all the luck when it comes to pretty girls."

"I suppose that I do," Bruce said with a fake arrogance, "Go and show the others what you've found. I'll catch up later. You, Naruto, and Barbara should be able to hold down the fort until I'm done."

The three younger crime fighters nodded and head to the cave to get started. Alfred decided that he would go with them to make sure things didn't get out of hand. That left Bruce to go and handle Mei, "A beautiful ninja with with red hair and livewire personality. God help me."

* * *

Once down in the cave, it didn't take Dick long to pull up the file he'd found, "I was looking around Calyface's Arkham files for recent activities for the whole Bullock thing and I found something interesting. Barbara, you know what we're talking about, right?"

Barbara smacked her forehead in frustration, "My dad's the police commissioner, of course I know about the whole Bullock thing!"

Robin felt a bit foolish, "Right, sorry. Anyways, I was looking at the tapes from when Clayface was brought in last time, and I found something interesting. Watch this."

A tape began to play on the Batcomputer, the one of Clayface being brought to his cell. He was in some kind of metal tube that was meant to make sure he couldn't escape. A guard pushed the tube into the dirty cell on some kind of trolley, rolled it off, and walked out. Once he was out of cell, a clear door made of kind of reinforced plastic shut the tube in, creating an airtight seal. The tube finally open and the glob that was Clayface crawled out.

Dick stopped the tape there, "Stop, right here, do you see what I see?"

Just as Barbara was about to shake her head, Naruto suddenly yelled, "Wait, can you slow the video down? I think I saw something."

Dick rewinded and then picked up in slow motion. Just as the guard was about to walk out, Naruto yelled, "Right here, pause it!"

"Right what I wanted you to see," Dick said, pausing the tape. He pointed to the man in the cell's boot. There was something clinging to it. Well, more like crawling up it actually.

Naruto knew that nothing moved like that, "Is that like, a piece of Clayface or something?"

Alfred thought so, "Seems that way. Easy to see how someone could've missed it, since his boot is the same brownish color as Clayface's body. Good eye Robin, Naruto."

"But how did any of him get out of that tube thing? It was locked up tight," Barbara pondered, not sure if she bought into this yet.

Dick actually scoffed, "We're talking about Arkham here. How hard would it have been to have guard payed off to make sure the cap was loose?"

Barbara had more to say, "Okay, but why bother with all the secrecy? Why not just bust right the hell out?"

"Because he wanted to pin it on Bullock, right?" Naruto tried, really wanting to contribute something to the conversation too.

Dick realized instantly that he was right, "Of course! Naruto, you're a genius!"

Barbara realized what the boy meant, "You're saying that if they knew Clayface was out, they would've figured out that Bullock might be innocent?"

"That's why he got so careful after the first couple robberies," Alfred said, putting the pieces together as well, "He wanted to be sure Bullock got the wrap. I don't get it though, why go through all this for revenge? It's really not Clayface's style."

Naruto was wondering something else entirely, "How can that little bit of clay turn into a guy as big as Bullock?"

Dick recalled his past experiences with Clayface, "He can store parts of body off in other places and then reconnect with them later. Don't ask me how he does it, we've been trying to figure out the extent of that guys powers for years and we've gotten nowhere."

"Extent?" Naruto repeated, "I haven't learned that word yet."

Though he'd gotten far, Alfred still had a few words to teach Naruto, "It's like his limit, sort of."

An alarm started to go off on one of the screens, prompting them all to look up at it. There was a man on it, Harvey Bullock to be exact, and he was standing in front of store owner. Dick seemed to be expecting it, "The police told any shop owners who see Bullock to give them a call. I set it up so that we'd know about any of those calls. This tape was taken a few minutes ago at grocery store not far from here."

"Well let's go then," Naruto yelled excitedly, "We need to go and stop this Clayface guy so we can prove Bullock is innocent."

Alfred didn't like the idea of him running off to fight with a dangerous villain, "Naruto, why don't you just let the others handle this one? After all, we're still not even sure why Clayface is desperate for revenge. There could be more to this than we think."

Naruto was going to go weather Alfred liked it or not, "No way! I've been working really hard, and I can totally help you guys! I'm not as good as the others yet, but I can still do some stuff to hurt him."

Alfred wanted to object again, but Dick wouldn't let him, "How's he ever gonna learn if we don't let him go out in the field? As long as he does what we tell him to, it'll be fine."

"Gotta go with Dick on this one," Barbara agreed, wanting to see what Naruto could do, "It'll be a good indication of where he's at. Go get Bruce and tell him we're leaving. Naruto can ride with Dick on his bike, and I'll follow behind him on mine. Bruce will catch up I'm sure."

Dick grabbed his suit and some extra supplies, Naruto not far behind him, "Wait, we're taking bikes there? Won't that take a long time?"

Dick laughed and slapped Naruto's back, "Brother, you are thinking of the wrong kind of bike. Just wait till you see it."

* * *

Bruce had lived in Gotham for a long time, and heard some relatively disgusting stories while he'd been there. Yet, this woman's tale made his stomach churn with disgust that he hadn't felt in years, "Wait, you're telling me your village officials are hunting down and killing everyone who has these genetic mutations in their chakra?"

"Everyone who has a Bloodline, or mutation as you put, yes," Mei confirmed for him, "Our leader is a young man by the name of Yagura. I won't go into the complicated situation of how he came to power, but I will tell you that he's gone mad and fully intends to commit this genocide of his."

Bruce leaned back into his chair, "Mother of god, sounds like you guys had your own version of the Holocaust or something. Don't worry about what that is, just tell me, are there any bloodline users left?"

"Not nearly as many as there used to be, but there's still enough of them," Mei said, "I've been very nervous myself, since I have two bloodlines. I'm one of the leaders of the resistance, and were starting to gain some speed, but we need funding. So...what do you say? You've adopted Naruto like one of your own, so I know you must have a big heart. Will you be willing to pitch in?"

Bruce respected that she was playing to his sentimental side, "Well, I suppose that I might be able to,"

Bruce was cut off when Alfred burst in, "Master Bruce, something has come up that requires your immediate attention. Barbara and your sons went off to attend to something that's very important."

Bruce shot up like a bullet, "I'm sorry Ms. Terumi, but this is going to have to wait. Perhaps we can meet later tonight if you like."

"No, I have to leave in a few hours! Please, we were about to make a deal. Can't you wait for just 10 more minutes?" Mei begged and grabbed Bruce's arm. It was huge deal for them to get this money.

Bruce looked in the woman's eyes and knew that she wasn't going to let him leave. He had an idea that he thought might work, "How about I drive you to wherever it is that you need to go on my way to see the kids? We'll discuss this in the car."

With that suggestion, Mei regained her composure, "A nice drive would be lovely. I don't get to ride in one of those car things often. Let's go."

Alfred watched her walk to the door and whispered into Bruce's ear once she was gone, "What are you doing sir? You don't even know where we're going yet. I'm about to take you to fight Clayface of all bloody people!"

"Yes, and we'll drop her off before we get there," Bruce said calmly, "You really should learn to calm down Alfred. Not everything has to be a production ya know?"

Alfred's jaw nearly hit the floor, "Says the man who runs around dressed like a damn giant bat!"

* * *

"This is awesome!" Naruto yelled as Dick's 'bike' went at speeds he didn't know was possible for something so small. The motorized bike had barely enough room for the two of them, but Naruto didn't care. Riding this thing was the most fun he'd had here yet!

Dick loved showing his brother new things, "Yeah, it's pretty great. Wait till I show you this though!"

Dick lifted up the handles and began to drive on just one wheel. It was scary, but Naruto was having a hell of a lot of fun. Both he and Dick were in their costumes, along with Barbara, counting on a fight with Clayface. He never went down easy.

Robin clicked on his communicator to ask a question, "Batgirl, you grabbed the freeze Grenades, right?"

Batgirl called right back, "Oh yeah, and they're the new ones we based off from Mr. Freeze's tech. This should be easy enough if we can just get close to him."

"Perfect, we're only a mile or so away. Karlo isn't gonna know what hit him," Robin said happily, but The Red Fox was a little confused.

The young boy asked him, "Who's Mr. Freeze? Is he a good guy too?"

Robin had to fight to keep from laughing, "No way! He's a full on villain. Well, I guess that he had his reasons. I'll tell you later."

Red Fox wanted to ask more question until he saw a group of people ahead of them. Robin came to skidding halt, along with Batgirl behind him. It was group of people surrounding and shouting at someone who appeared to be Harvey Bullock. Cries of, 'I knew he couldn't be trusted' and 'Screw you, you freaking pig' could be heard all around. Bullock was laughing, "Hey, hate me if you want. A fella's gotta make a living. You gotta a problem, take it up with the precinct."

"Wrong Clayface," Red Fox yelled, wanting to try out his first superhero scream, "We're going to take it up with the lying, cheating, washed up actor that you really are!"

Bullock looked a little hurt, "Washed up? Now that's just not true!"

All of the people around him started to back away, unsure of what was going on, but knowing that Bat Family being there meant bad things. Batgirl called over to them, "Back away from him, that's not Harvey Bullock! It's the notorious criminal Clayface in disguise!"

The false Bullock started to laugh as everyone backed away in fear, but it wasn't the voice he'd used before. He was using his normal voice, as he started melt from Bullock into the horrify brown blob that he really was, "Oh man this has been fun. Hell, I think I deserved an Oscar for that performance!"

"Yeah, and they can present it to you behind bars," Robin yelled, giving one his classic quips, "You're nowhere near full strength with half your clay still at Arkham! We'll take you down easy!"

Clayface gave a bizarre sort of grin at them, "But you don't have Batman here with you. The way that I see it, that makes us even!"

Batgirl reached into a pouch on her belt, "We'll see about that."

She threw one of the freeze grenades at Clayface, but he wasn't that easily beaten. He raised up his hands and fired fired a glob of clay at the grande and shot it to the ground. The clay he'd fired turned to ice, but at least his main body was untouched.

"A nice try, but you'll have to do better than that," Clayface said proudly, "Let's see how you handle this."

Clayface increased the size of his hand and changed it to the shape of a club. He swung his arm down right at the group of heroes. They all dodge the hit, which left cracks in the pavement. Red Fox started to get a little nervous, "Holy crap, this guy's strong!"

Batgirl had a feeling this was going to be a tougher fight that she'd thought, "Everybody take some freeze Grenades! We'll try to attack from as many angles as we can!"

Clayface chuckled in dark manor as his body began to separate into three equal pieces. While a little smaller, they were all the exactly the same as Clayface in the looks department, "How do you like me now?"

"Neat trick, but I can top it!" Red Fox yelled as he made a hand seal. A puff smoke came, followed by half a dozen clones of the Red Fox.

Robin and Batgirl felt a little better as Clayface tried to comprehend what was going on, "So you've got someone with actual superpowers now? Fine, let's see how the handle them!"

Clayface shifted his hands into blades and ran for the group with killer intent. This was going to be an interesting fight to witness, for all those who were watching. It was time to see how Gotham latest hero faired!

* * *

Mei looked at the check in her hands with utter shock and awe, "Bruce, this is very generous. I was hoping for half this much. Why are you so willing to help people that you've never met before?"

"Because I've got more money than I could spend in five lifetimes," Bruce said, which was absolutely true, "If this money can do any good, than I want you to use it.

Mei was so happy to have the money in her hands, "This is amazing. I've got the funding two hours before my deadlines. Hard to believe that someone from Gotham is actually giving money to a war cause. Isn't your hero extremely against killing in any form?"

Weather or not she knew it, Mei had just asked the perfect person this question, "Not exactly, he just refuses to kill anyone himself. He's a symbol to Gotham, a perfect thing that they can all strive to be. He knows that if he crosses that line, there's no going back. He'll never be the same beacon to the people that he was before. Cops and Soldiers kill people because they have to, and only when they're permitted to. If Batman killed anyone, he couldn't have the same relationship with the police that he has now. Killing someone who pollute everything he's done."

Mei tried to take that all in, even with how fast he was talking, "Well, that explains that. I suppose it makes sense when you think about it. Either way, I'm grateful for what you've done for me. This may seem a little unprofessional, but I've got two more hours. Would you maybe like to come up and 'take a look' at my hotel room?"

Bruce noticed the way she was blushing and knew he had to keep from blushing back, "As wonderful as that sounds, I really do have something to attend to. We're almost at your hotel, so we'd better let you go home and save that for another time."

"Well, I must say, that's the first time that I've ever," Mei started, but got no chance to finished.

Alfred suddenly jerked the wheel as hard as he could, sending the two people in the back flying, "Hold on back there! There's something bad up ahead!"

Bruce had a feeling he knew what it was, "Is there someone attacking Gotham?"

What Alfred had been trying to dodge was a car door that had been thrown by the infamous Clayface, "It appears that Basil Karlo has found his way out of Arkham. There's three young heroes fighting him as we speak."

"Speaking of young, the kids are in this area," Bruce said, throwing the car door open and grabbing a special briefcase, "I've gotta make sure they're alright!"

Mei couldn't believe he was just running off like this, "Bruce, wait! Dammit, if I chase after him I could end up in fight! If I use my powers here, who knows what they'll do to me back home? Alfred, can I stay and wait for him with you?"

Alfred had no objection to a little company, "Stay as long as you'd like Ms. Terumi. Frankly, it'll be nice not to worry alone for once."

"Bruce do something like this often?" Mei asked.

Alfred's eye actually twitched at that, "You have no idea."

* * *

Back in the battles, the Clayfaces and the heroes were currently neck and neck. The freeze grenades had to hit a Clayface directly to freeze it, and Red Fox and the others had only managed to get a side shot on a couple limbs so far. Every time that they got close, he'd find someway to smack it at least somewhat away from him.

Two of the Red Fox's clones were helping Robin, and the same went for Batgirl. The real Red Fox had three clones helping him as he charged at Clayface, who was standing by himself gloating, "You brats haven't gotten a good hit on me yet! I really hope you can do better than this, cause it's gonna be awful boring if you can't."

The Red Fox's weren't happy about that little line, "Oh yeah? Well let's see what you think about this!"

The first two clones jumped on the other two's backs and used them to launch themselves into the air. Each of them had a freeze grenade in their hand. They threw one grande at his arms and legs, freezing all four of them. Just as he was about to break out, another freeze grande coming flying right at his chest. It froze him completely, finally taking one of the Clayfaces out.

"Yes, score one for the good guys!" The Red Fox yelled, excited he to have gotten one of them. However, he was all out of freeze Grenades, and Batgirl could see it.

She yelled over to him, "I can't give you anymore Red Fox! I've got three left and Robin's only got four! Split your clones fifty-fifty, half over here, half over there! Help us take them out!"

One of the Clayfaces found that damn funny, "Oh really, with barely any of your little toys left? Let's see how that goes!"

"They've got more than just toys now Karlo," Batman's deep voice said as he landed right in front of the Clayfaces.

Karlo saw him and nearly threw a temper tantrum, "Batman? Oh this is the last thing on earth that I need."

Batman knew that he needed to end this as soon as possible, and he was going to have a limited number of chances to do it. This was going to be challenge, "Everyone, throw your freeze grenades to me! Red Fox, surround each of the Clayfaces with an equal amount of clones! Robin, Alpha formation, Pincer Style Attack!"

In one smooth motion, everything that Batman had said was done. The Clayface's only watch as Robin ran at them and Red Fox's clones surrounded them. Robin took out two disks at the first Clayface, both of which hit his legs. They exploded, literally taking his legs out from under him. Although he was able to catch himself, Clayface could see Batman coming up with a grenade in his hand. This was not something he was going to let happen.

"Back off you freaky little pest," Clayface screamed, and swung one his arms the Batman. At least he thought it was the Batman. Once he hit the large man, he mearly burst into smoke. While Clayface had been busy falling, Batman had disappeared into the shadows and the Red Fox had transformed one of his clones to look like him.

Batman appeared from out of nowhere and threw the freeze grenade at Clayface. Thanks to the Red Fox, he didn't have time to defend took the brunt of the blow. He was frozen like the Clayface before him, "And then there was one."

Robin was very glad to have his mentor back, "That was brilliant! Seriously, where do you come up with this stuff?"

"It's all about experience Robin," Batman said shortly, "Now, let's show this gooey creep what we can do."

The last Clayface started to back away, "Never figured one little job could go this bad."

Batman caught that in a second, "Little job? So you're not just out so you can get back at Bullock?"

Clayface never planned on getting back at Bullock, "Oh please, he's not worth the time! Some new player here in Gotham wanted him out of the picture. A guy in a Scarecrow outfit. Something about him making it hard for a guy to become mayor I think."

So this was directly related to the campaign for mayor. Why was Batman not surprised? The next question was, who wanted Bullock out of the way? "Bullock's a straight arrow, so I could see how he'd be an issue going down the line. Who's after him?"

"Wouldn't know, I just did what the creep told me to. When the check's that fat, I don't ask questions," Clayface said, giving an honest answer.

That left only one question for the heroes, "So why are you telling us this? Seems like you'd wanna hide all of it to me."

Clayface's answer was a simple one, "I'm done for this time. What've I got to lose?"

"A fair point. On that note, finish this Red Fox!" Batman yelled, tossing the clones the remaining freeze grenades.

The clones surrounded Clayface, attacking him from every angle. After being hit by the various grenades, a mist of ice was created that surround the villain. Once it was clear, he was nothing more than a block of ice.

The Red Fox was stoked when he saw it, "Alight, I took down my first villain! This is so cool! I'm like a real superhero now!"

"Yes you are, and like a real hero, it's time for you to leave before to many people show up," Batgirl told him, starting to walk away, "Helping the police is important, but we can talk to them later. It's easier to discuss things with them when there's not a crowd around."

The Red Fox saw that the others were walking away too, so he followed them. They probably knew what they were doing more than he did. They'd been doing this a lot longer than he ever had.

* * *

Once they'd shed their costumes, Bruce and the others went back to where Mei and Alfred had been waiting. Needless to say, she was a little upset that Bruce ran off like that, "Really, who just leaves someone like that without so much as a word? Better yet, who runs towards a psycho monster made of clay, or whatever it was, at all?"

Bruce motioned to his kids, "I needed to make sure that they were okay. You understand that, don't you."

Mei never had kids, but still knew he must have felt obligated to see them, "Fine, when you're right, you're right. I have to leave in a bit, but still, thank you all so much for helping me out with all this. I owe you all in a huge way."

Bruce gave bow, half mockingly and half out of respect, "You're very welcome. Always happy to assist a woman as beautiful as you."

Mei giggled and walked over to him. She planted a small kiss on his lips. Nothing intense, but enough to show a little affection, "You're a sweet man Mr. Wayne."

"Oh, you made Master Bruce blush, that's impressive Ms. Termui," Alfred said, poking a little fun at his old friend.

Mei walked over and gave Alfred a little peck on the cheek, "I can made you blush just as well you old fox."

Dick leaned over and whispered to Naruto, "Looks like we're getting left out of this one."

"Not likely," Mei said, popping up behind Naruto and Dick, giving them each their own kisses on the cheek. Dick blushed very heavily, and Naruto more or less did the same.

Barbara was laughing hard at this point, "Oh, that is just too cute! You should come over more often."

"Oh, I'm not usually this affectionate. It's just that I'm in a very good mood," Mei said, then headed towards her hotel room, "Again, thank all of you so much."

Bruce was kind of sad to see her leave, "Darn, I would've liked to get to know her better. She seemed fun. Oh well, not important for now. We'll have to start trying to figure out which mayoral candidate Scarecrow works for tomorrow."

Naruto was in already, "Heck yeah! More hero stuff, that's gonna be awesome!"

"So when are you gonna tell him he has to start school soon," Alfred said in a low voice so that Naruto couldn't hear them."

Bruce would tell him in due time, "Tomorrow or that day after that, I don't really know. I can tell you one thing though, he's not gonna like it nearly as much as he like this stuff."

"Not by a longshot," Dick said, as they all began to walk home. The fight had been a fun one, and they'd gotten a little info out of it as well. Not to mention the boys had loved meeting Mei. Seemed as though everyone but Clayface got a win on this day.


	6. Integration Pt 1

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for another exciting chapter of The Red Fox. This one is going to feature the first appearance of everyone's favorite feline, Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, and will feature the return of an antagonist we've seen once before in this fanfic. You might be expecting Scarecrow with the way I mentioned him last chapter, but that's not the case. He will come into play again, but he won't be seen for now. As for Naruto, the next two chapters will be about him integrating himself into Gotham's culture. We'll cover a little bit of the school stuff this time, but more of it will be in the next chapter. I'm rambling again, aren't I? Let's get going already!

Chapter Soundtrack-John Legend: Who Did That to You?

* * *

There are some who say that the most dangerous thing in the world is a man who has nothing to lose. Other's say that the most dangerous thing in the world is fool with a cause. In Gotham, anyone would tell you that the most dangerous thing in the world was a bored Joker. Nothing had ever done more damage to their city than the times that psycho had run out of things to do. This didn't bode well for Gotham, as the Joker was free right now, and possibly more bored than he had been years.

"Lord have mercy Harley, it's quieter than a dead audience around here," Joker said as he sat in his lair, an abandoned joke shop this time, pouting, "And believe me, I know what a dead audience sounds like!"

Harley, who had been busy giving their pet hyena's a path, stopped to respond to her lover, "I'm sorry puddin, but there's nothing for us to do right now. We could go shoot up an arcade or something if ya'd like?"

Joker waved that idea off, "No, that's no good. Not nearly as much fun if we don't at least give some of them time to rebuild. I am in the mood blow something up though. Anybody got any ideas?"

"How about Catwoman," A new female voice said, one that no recognized.

The Joker hardly even acknowledged it, "I don't know, I think Batsy has a thing for her. Might piss him off...on second thought, that's a great idea!"

The Joker looked up to see who'd said that. It was a woman with short dark hair, darker eyes, a slim figure, and had a black and red shirt with matching pants. Her clothing was lined with all kinds of weapons, "Glad that you think so, because that's just what my master needs you to do."

"Master? And just who would that be, little miss ninja?" Harley asked, walking over to join the conversation. Her ninja remark was very accurate, as the woman's looks and weapons certainly gave off that vibe.

The woman shot Harley a glare, clearly unhappy to be here, "My master is none of your concern. You may simply refer to me as Lady Shiva, and nothing else."

The Joker liked the way she'd just walked in and took control of the room, "Haha, quite a pair you've got for a woman. So you want me to blow up Catwoman huh? Well what's in it for me, besides the pure pleasure of knowing that I've robbed Gotham of the sexiest woman in the city, besides my Harley of course."

Harley cuddle up with Joker for a brief second, "Aw, thank you Mr. J!"

"Oh get off from me," The Joker said, pushing her from his lap, "It's not like it's a surprise! The most gorgeous woman in Gotham goes to me."

Lady Shiva had already grown tired of this man, "I see you're both as professional as I thought you'd be. If Catwoman is found dead, and it doesn't matter how she dies, then you'll be given a quarter of a millions dollars for your services. Does this sound fair?"

The Joker's twisted smile once again graced his face, "Now that could buy me a whole lot of fun! I've just got one tensy little question before I say yes."

"Name it," Lady Shiva said, still showing no real emotion.

The Joker leaned back, his grin still on his face, "Well, it's two question really. I'm a liar, what the hell are you gonna do? First off, why do want that whip cracking dominatrix dead at all? Number two, why not just kill her yerself? You took out pretty much all of my men here on your own, so you must be pretty dangerous."

That's when Harley looked around and realized that all of their men who'd been guarding the place had been knocked out, "Now when did she,"

Lady Shiva didn't let her finish, "Well Joker, you're much more observant than you look. To answer your first question, she's started stealing from businesses owned by Oswald Cobblepot. My master has a bit of an investment, if you will, in Cobblepot, and needs him to become mayor. If this Jonathan Crane person was to win, his personal agenda would undoubtedly make it impossible to work with him."

"Oh that's right, Penguin is running for mayor, isn't he?" Joker remembered, surprised at how everything in Gotham had started to revolve around this campaign.

Lady Shiva got back to her point, "Yes he is, and we intend to help him win. We'd kill Catwoman ourselves, but we don't want to draw attention to our organization. Batman doesn't know we're in town. If you were to kill her, well nobody would bat an eye then. You're the Joker after all."

The Joker was happy to help, "You make a very compelling argument. I'll happily murder her for you! Haha, this gonna be fun!"

Lady Shiva's work was done, "Glad to have you on board, at least for now. You'll get fifty thousand for a down payment, and other two hundred once she'd dead."

"Not giving it to me before hand only to have me screw up like Clayface did?" Joker asked, having heard the story from Gotham's grapevine.

Lady Shiva knew better than that, "Clayface did his job and earned his money. Bullock, who had been speaking out against Crane, had his character drawn into question. This will make it harder for him to be taken seriously when he attacks Crane's character in the future. It was a brilliant move really."

The Joker laughed, rather typical for him, "Haha, you guys are real twisted! Just the way I like my employers!"

"I'll bet that's true," Lady Shiva said, preparing to make her exit, "You may rest assured that you'll get your money when it's all over. We're not the kind to double cross someone."

The Joker laughed, more insanely this time, "Oh, that's a good one! I don't care who you are or who you work for, there's no one dumb enough to get into a fight with me expect for the Batman! If anyone else tried it, well...I'd use their screams for my answering machine! Hahahahaha!"

Lady Shiva heard this and nearly cringed. She left as Joker and Harley were laughing with each other, as she knew that if she stayed much longer she would end up showing just how much the man disgusted her. The Joker was a beast all his own, but he was right about one thing. No one wanted to face off against him.

* * *

Naruto had dreamed about being let into the ninja academy back when he was in the hidden Leaf. It had more or less been in his only goal while he was there. However, that school let him become a ninja. The school that his father was making him go to took out all of the cool parts, and left him with just the boring math, history, and various other lame things. As you can imagine, Naruto was not happy, "Do I really have to go there five days a week? It totally sucked!"

Bruce, who was driving the boy home, was amused by the complaints, "It's school Naruto, it's not optional. You have to go there so that you can learn."

"But I already learn stuff at home," Naruto protested, "Why do I need to learn more stuff at school?"

Bruce knew there was a decent point there, "Yes, but you won't have to do as much at home now. You'll still have some lessons, but not nearly as many. Now we can focus on teaching you something different: The Art of the Detective."

Naruto had heard about this before, "Didn't Dick say that you're the best detective in the whole world?"

"I'd say that he's over exaggerating a bit, but I honestly think he's not far from the truth," Bruce said, a tiny bit of pride in his voice, "There's few people on earth who can outsmart me. That's why you need to be in school. So that you can get smart so that people can't outsmart you either."

Naruto just rolled his eyes, "My teacher said I'm like the smartest kid in the class."

Bruce had an easy counter for that one, "All the more reason for you to make sure your talent doesn't go to waste. First thing's first though, it's time for one of the village's check up visits. They're sending one of their psychologists, someone named Inoichi, to come and check you out. I guess his daughter Ino is coming with him too."

"Seems like we're becoming a hotel for people from the hidden villages," Naruto mused, aware that that was just because they were the only place the ninjas could go, "Do they speak english?"

"Not a word," Bruce told him, knowing why he was asking, "You'll have to speak to the them in Japanese. I'll try to, but I'm still not perfect with it. Oh, and the Ino girl is your age, so you might get to make a new friend."

Naruto was worried about his other friends at the moment, as they'd come into trouble, "I wonder how Gaara's doing. I mean, his uncle was trying to kill him, that must have been hard. I'm just glad that he called us so we could talk him down."

Bruce remembered that as being a very rough night, "True, and it didn't help that we found out his seal was bad too. Jiraiya's gonna fix it, so he'll be okay. At least I hope."

Naruto almost forgot about that, "Oh yeah, the whole thing with the demon in him. Must be really awful to have something like that inside you and know that everyone hates you because of it.

"It couldn't be fun," Bruce said quickly, trying to get past the observation, "So you've been talking to Temari on the phone almost as much as you have Gaara and even more than you do Kankuro. You don't have a crush on her, now do you?"

Naruto gagged like any eight year old would, "Ew, gross! Dad, you're the one obsessed with girls!"

Bruce threw his head back laughing, "Trust me kiddo, in a few years, that's what you'll be obsessed with too. Let's get home quick now. I wanna get this psychology stuff taken care of so that we can be sure you're ready for patrols tonight. Something tells me it's gonna be interesting tonight."

* * *

Ino Yamanaka was the spitting image of her father, just in a more feminine way. She was eight years old, had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Her father looked more or less the same, but was taller, more muscular, and had with green eyes instead of blue. They were family, that was for certain.

Another thing that they both had in common was their interest in Naruto. Ino was interested because she remembered that every adult in the village, expect for most of the clan heads, seemed to hate him for no reason, and Inoichi because he'd seen what all the boy poor had been through. As an expert in psychology, someone managing to stay glued together after that interested him greatly.

Right now, Ino was sitting at on the couch in the Wayne living room, watching her father and Naruto start their conversation. Bruce was sitting next to Naruto as Inoichi began to speak in Japanese, "Hello Naruto. My names Inoichi. Is it alright if you and I talk for a little bit?"

"Would it work if I said no?" Naruto asked, rather sarcastically.

Ino laughed at the joke, and her father did too, trying to make Naruto more comfortable, "I suppose that it wouldn't. How about we start this way instead: you ask me a question, and then I'll ask you one. Does that sound okay?"

That had Naruto intrigued, being the curious child that he was, "Sure, I can do that. You're a ninja, so what kind of jutsus do you use?"

"Getting right into, I like that," Inoichi said, before he began to explain, "Our clan, the Yamanakas that is, use a mind transfer jutsu that lets us control and look inside the minds of our enemies. Pretty cool, huh?"

Naruto that it was cool alright, "Awesome! I could pull so many pranks with that!"

"I have no doubt that you could, but right now it's my turn for a question," Inoichi said, starting off with a very ambiguous one, "How do you feel about the hidden Leaf?"

Naruto didn't really get the question, but answered it as best he could, "I don't know, it was my home. There were parts about it that I liked, and other parts that sucked. If people had been a little nicer to me I might have stayed, but that's just not the way that it was. I know that I'd help them if they were in trouble, so there's that. The only thing that I really want to know from them is why they hate me so much."

Inoichi sat in stunned silence while Bruce smiled proudly at his son. He'd gotten just enough of it to understand what Naruto had said, "Good answer Naruto. You should always try to have all the facts before you get too angry."

"Wow, you're really smart!" Ino yelled, never having heard someone her age talk like that.

Naruto kept hearing people say that, but didn't believe it, "Eh, I'm okay I guess. Did you have any more questions Inoichi?"

Inoichi knew that he had to ask more questions, but almost felt like he knew everything he needed just from that one question, "Um...sure, just a couple more. You need to ask me a question first though, don't you? Just keep in mind, I can't answer you as to why some of the villagers hate you."

Naruto thought about it for a second, "Yeah, I figured. Can I ask Ino a question actually?"

"Oh, well of course. That is, if Ino's okay with it," Inoichi said, figuring the boy must find someone his own age more interesting.

Naruto looked as though he was going to ask Ino a very serious question, then said, "Is the ninja academy in the hidden Leaf fun? The school here is really lame!"

"It's so cool!" Ino said, breaking into a huge smile, "There's all kinds of awesome stuff we get to throw, and the teachers know how to do all this cool stuff! We're learning how to transform to make ourselves look like someone else."

That bummed Naruto out a little bit, "Man, that does sound cool. I can already do the transformation though."

Ino was stunned, "What? No way! Show me right now!"

"Not now sweetie," Her father said, still having work to do, "I've got to finish talking with him first. After that, you two can run off and have the all the fun you like."

Ino wanted to start pouting, but doing that in front of parents was always dangerous. She stayed quiet and let Inoichi continue his work with Naruto. There would be plenty of time to play later.

* * *

Selina Kyle had not had an easy life. A mother who'd killed herself, a father who drank himself to death, and a life on the dirtiest streets in Gotham were just some of the highlight of her early childhood. She'd been forced to adapt and teach herself how to survive. Slowly but surely, she'd worked herself to the point where she could fight and bend like any cat, could use a whip better than Indiana Jones himself, and could steal anything without anyone being the wiser.

All of theft that she'd committed over the years had simply been to provide for her and others in the slums of Gotham. The way she saw it, those rich pricks could give up a little of their endless riches so that others didn't starve. She thought that she was the only one in Gotham who was trying to change things for awhile, until the Batman came along. He was doing everything in his power to take down the scum of Gotham, even if he was dressed like a crazy person. This gave her the idea to get a costume of her own. Just like that, the Catwoman was born.

Even though the two of them didn't see eye to eye, as Batman didn't approve of how she tried to change Gotham, there was an undeniable attraction between them. There had been a few 'heated' moments between the two of them, but the whole, being on different sides of the law thing made it kind of hard to start a real relationship. It was for the best, as both of them had their own goals to complete. What Catwoman didn't know is, her goals were about to take a back seat to surviving.

She was out and about at the moment, planning on stealing an incredibly valuable statue of a bird made out of emerald from the Penguin. Cobblepot may very well have been at the top of her list of people who were ruining Gotham city. Catwoman crouch on the gate to his mansion, eager to get started, "I think it's time for this kitty to go and get herself a nice birdy for supper. Hmph, this is gonna be a cakewalk."

"I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you," An insane voice said from behind her. She knew the voice the moment that she heard it.

Catwoman turned around to see that the Joker was indeed there, along with Harley Quinn. He had a large bag over his shoulder as well, "Joker, whatever your planning, I don't have time for it. If you wanna fight someone, go and see if Batman's busy. Leave me out of it."

The Joker reached into his bag, looking for something, "Sorry Catwoman, but I'm actually here especially for you. I think that it's finally time that I test out whether or not you really have nine lives."

"You must be joking," Catwoman said, narrowing her eyes and trying to hide her fear. If he was serious, she was in for a whole world of trouble.

As soon as she said that, the Joker pulled a pistol from bag, "Do I look like the kind of person that makes jokes?"

Catwoman tensed, ready for anything, "You tell plenty, they're just not the funny kind."

"Oh, now that hurts Catwoman. You make me wanna do something like this," The Joker said, pointing the gun at her pulling the trigger. Catwoman jumped as if she was trying to dodge it, but once she was off the fence, she saw that it was just one of the Joker's trick guns. There was a flag with the word 'Bang' on it at the end of a small metal stick.

The Joker began to laugh like a madman, "Hahahahaha! Oh, the look on your face! It was just priceless! I thought you were gonna need a litter box for a second there, eh miss kitty? Haha!"

Catwoman breathed a sigh of relief, "Screw you Joker! You scared me half to death!"

"Only half to death? Well in that case, I didn't do my job. Please, allow me to correct that," The Joker said, bringing his gun back up and pointing it at Catwoman. He pulled the trigger again, sending the flag flying along with the metal stick.

The metal had been sharpened, and struck Catwoman right in the shoulder. She screamed in pain, "AH! What the hell are you doing?"

Harley reached inside the bag as well, pulling out a bat that had red and white stripes, "Like Mr. J said, we're testing out how many lives you have. You should be thankin' us, we're doing you a real favor here!"

"Looks like my plans for a big night out just got postponed," Catwoman mutter, as she saw Harley beginning her assault.

Harley took the bat and tried to hit Catwoman in the leg. The feminine feline held her bleeding arm while she used her heel to deflect the bat. It went flying from Harley's hands, landing safely a few feet away from them, "Hey, I liked that bat! Woman, you are in for it now!"

Catwoman took out her whip and smacked it onto the ground, making a distinctive leather smack, "Bring it on bitch!"

Harley reached into the bag again and pulled out a whip of her own, "Mine's bigger!"

"Two beautiful women fighting each other with whips. I'd bet you anything we could sell tickets to this," Catwoman said in a seductive tone. She wasn't trying to seduce Harley of course, but it was just so much fun to play with her.

Both woman swung there whips at one another at the same times, causing them to meet and and tangle together. Harley gripped the rope tight and pulled hard, "Get your lather waring ass over here!"

Catwoman couldn't do as much with one arm, so she was more or less at Harley's mercy. That was until she used the moment from being pulled to jump forward and kick Harley as hard as she could in the gut. Harley grunted in pain right before Catwoman kicked her once again, this time in the face.

"How do you like me now, little miss over confidant?" Catwoman asked snidely, as Harley realed backed away from the hits. Not wanting to let her get away, Catwoman wrapped her whip around Harley's ankle and got ready to strike.

Before Catwoman could finish her attack, a knife came whizzing by her head, just grazing her cheek. The Joker was of course the one who'd thrown it, "As much as I'd love to watch this catfight continue, I need to move on to the part where I kill you now! Ah, twinkle, twinkle, little cat, I'll send your head to my favorite bat!"

Catwoman knew that she needed to get out of here, as she couldn't take on the Joker in her current state. She'd let her guard down and had gotten wounded. Fighting someone like this psycho while wounded was a death sentence. Luckily, she had just the thing in mind.

"I'm going to need my head for a while, so maybe another time," Catwoman said, pulling a small capsule from her belt, "A little something I picked up the last time I was fighting Batman. See you later Joker!"

She threw the capsule, which was actually a smoke bomb, on the ground, filling the area with a dense, grey fog. The Joker finally pulled out a real gun and started to shoot into the fog. It was too late though, Catwoman was gone, "Aw damn! Now we've gotta go and track her down. Get up Harley, we've got work to do!"

* * *

"What do you mean she's down at the precinct?" Bruce asked in his Batman voice. He was on frequency that he'd given Gordon to call him in case of emergencies. Apparently one of the villains had shown up at the police station. Even stranger, she was actually asking for Batman.

Gordon did his best to explain, "I'm telling you, Catwoman's here and she says that she'll only talk to you. We caught her trying to turn on the Batsignal. She didn't even put up a fight when we tried to capture her. I don't know if you're on patrol, but can you come and check this out?"

Bruce was actually at home with Naruto right now, who was busy comparing ninja powers with Ino. He didn't want to leave them alone, but Catwoman was important to him, more than many people knew. She needed saving, and he couldn't say no, "It'll take a bit, but I'll be there. Sit tight."

Bruce cut the line off and walked from the kitchen into the living room. Inside, Naruto was doing one of his hand seals, "Okay, now check this one out!"

Naruto made two clones, both of which did a flip and stood on Naruto's shoulder. Inoichi was even more impressed than her daughter, "Shadow clones? That's very impressive for some as young as you Naruto. Did your father teach you that?"

"Yeah, it's awesome, isn't it?" Naruto asked excitedly, "It's really rare for someone my age to be able to use them! I've got a ton of chakra though!"

Ino was a little jealous, "Daddy, when am I gonna learn how to do stuff like that? All you ever wanna teach me is taijutsu."

Bruce finally cut in, "Hey, hand to hand combat is important. Taijutsu, as you put it, is the only thing you'll have if you run out of chakra. Learn how to fight, then learn how to work your powers and weapons into it, that's what I say."

Inoichi couldn't have put it better himself, "You're a wise man Mr. Wayne. I think that I'm starting to see why you were chosen to train Naruto."

"I'm just grateful to have gotten him all," Bruce said in total honesty, "Now as much as I hate to do it, I'm gonna have to leave. Something major came up at work, and I need to attend to it right away. Inoichi, if I leave you here with Alfred, would you be okay with watching the kids? Again, I hate to push this on you."

Inoichi didn't mind, "I'm no stranger to getting called away at the last minute. Go and take care of whatever you need to do. I'll go and introduce myself to Alfred. He speaks our language, right?"

Bruce nodded, just glad he kept up with the Japanese this far, "Yes, much better than I do. Hopefully I haven't made a total fool of myself tonight."

"You've been doing very well Mr. Wayne, don't worry," Inoichi said, standing up to shake his hand, "Thank you for letting us stay here tonight. You should be proud of how well you've help Naruto integrate into your culture."

Bruce loved to hear that, but still whispered into Inoichi's ear, "I'm glad you said that, but there's one thing I could you use your help with. I think that Naruto may have issues making friends at school because he feels he won't fit it. Please try and help him with that."

Inoichi nodded, trying to make sure the kids didn't notice, "Of course. Good luck with your affairs."

"Hey dad, is this anything that you're going to need my help with?" Naruto asked, feeling like this wasn't part of the affairs of Wayne Tech.

Bruce had to word this very carefully, so that he wouldn't arouse suspicion with Inoichi and Ino, "Dick's off on a date, so worse case scenario I'll need you to come and help me run some papers. It's too late for my secretary to still be there, but I should still be okay. Have fun you guys."

Bruce left, letting Ino ask Naruto, "You help your dad at work?"

"Oh yeah, all the time," Naruto replied, not giving her the full story, "Me and my brother help him run papers and stuff. He's trying to teach us that we have to work to earn our money. Doesn't want us to be snobby rich boys."

Ino got a dreamy look in her eyes, "Not all rich guys are jerks. Some of them are cute, like Sasuke…"

Inoichi rolled his eyes, "You and that Sasuke boy. I'm telling you Ino, you're too young to be thinking about stuff like this."

This time Ino did pouted, "I just said he was cute, it's not like I want him as a boyfriend or anything...yet."

"Yuck, I don't wanna a girlfriend," Naruto said, "I wanna learn to be an awesome ninja! We should go and spar so that I can show you what I can do!"

Ino figured that Naruto would be a pretty good fighter, so she wasn't sure, "I don't know. You seem tough, I really don't wanna get hurt. Daddy, you'll make sure we're okay, right?"

Inoichi would never let his little girl get hurt, "Come on princess, I'd never let any harm come to you. Go and show Naruto that you're my ninja princess."

"What's this about a spar I'm hearing," Alfred asked, finally entering the room.

Inoichi had been expecting to see him, "Oh, you must be Alfred. I was just about to come looking for you. The kids here wanna have a little taijutsu spar. Can you think of anywhere that we could do that?"

Alfred motioned for them to follow him, "Oh of course. There's plenty a lovely spot in the gym that should be perfect for this. It should be fun to see how far he's come."

They all went to the gym with him. It wasn't normal for a fight to be an event in a home, but normal wasn't in any of their vocabularies. A good spar was something all of them wanted to see.

* * *

Batman had went up against the Joker more times than anyone else during his career, no one else even came close to him. It wasn't even uncommon to see him try and kill other villains if it struck the clown's fancy. However, this was the first time he'd ever gone after Catwoman, making it a new one for Batman, "Why on earth would the Joker be trying to take you out? You've got nothing to do with him."

Catwoman was very aware of this as she stood on top of the police station with Batman, "Believe me, I know. Let's face it though, with the Joker, there's never a good reason. If it moves and pisses him off, he'll kill it."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Gordon said, entering the conversation at last, "However, there is the small issue of Catwoman being a wanted criminal. I should be arresting her right now."

Catwoman gave him a strange look, "Who would you rather have out there on the streets right now, me or the Joker?"

That shut Gordon right up, "Good point. We'll let you help capture the Joker, but once we've got him we'll be coming after you once again. Got it?"

"Fine by me, I just want that freaking psycho in Arkham. He's got a short attention span, if it's not related to this handsome fella here," Catwoman started, winking at Batman when she mentioned him, "So he'll probably lose interest in me given a little time."

Batman knew that she was right, "Once again, she's right. We all know that I can handle him, so I say we just use her to draw him out into the open and let me do the rest. Once he sees me, I'll be all he's able to focus on."

Gordon had always been fascinated with Batman and the Joker's obsession with one another. It really was a case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. Someday there was going to have to be a final battle between the two of them, and Gordon didn't wanna be around when that bomb went off, "If that's what you guys wanna do, then go for it. As usual, I had nothing to do with this and had no idea what you planned to do, correct?"

"Of course Gordon, this won't come back on you," Batman assured his old friend, "I think that I've already got a plan for how to do it too. We can't actually use Catwoman for bait, so I'll have to call in the new guy to make sure she's not in too much danger."

Catwoman had heard about the new guy, The Red Fox, and was glad to finally meet him, "Glad I won't be in the line of fire, but how is this shortstack you just got gonna help us?"

Batman smirked, almost like Robin would, at her ignorance, "He's far more than just some kid. In fact, I think that he just might end up being one of the greatest heroes this world have ever seen."

* * *

One had to give credit to Ino for how hard she'd tried during her spar with Naruto. She'd ducked, blocked, struck, dodged, and kicked just as the academy had taught her to do. Unfortunately, Naruto had been taught far too well. He quickly figured out her form and used it to his advantage. If her shins were open, Naruto hit them. The same went for her arms and stomach. From the start, it was clear that Naruto was going to win.

Even so, Ino, bless her heart, just kept coming at him. She seemed very determined to prove something. Getting into her stance, Ino took a large swing at Naruto's jaw. The swing was too large in fact, so when Naruto dodge, Ino fell completely off balance. This allowed Naruto to give her a slight hit in the gut, knocking the wind out of her a little, "Ow! Dang it! Can't I land even one hit on you?"

Inoichi gave her some advice, "Keep your arms closer to you. You're making it harder to block."

Ino heard this got ready again, keeping her arms closer as her father had said. Naruto tried to kick at her chest, but this time Ino blocked it. As soon as his leg started to go down, Ino hit his shoulder. It wasn't hard, but it was just so satisfying to finally get him.

"Nice hit Ino," Naruto complimented, "But we're gonna have to hold off for now. I can hear my phone going off. I'll be right back, I've gotta go and answer it."

Naruto ran off and Ino gave her father a look of confusion, "Daddy, what's a phone?"

Inoichi wasn't sure himself, "I think it's sort of like the radios back home. They use them to communicate back and forth."

"That's about as well I think you could've explained it," Alfred confirmed, "You're very skilled for your age Ms. Yamanaka. I'm glad that Master Naruto seems to have made a new friend."

Ino was glad to have made a new friend too, "Totally, Naruto's really nice! I don't get why some people were so mean to him in the hidden Leaf. He's gonna be an awesome ninja one day!"

Inoichi liked the side of Ino that he was seeing on this trip. He was worried that she'd been getting a little spoiled, so seeing another privileged kid work hard was good for her. There was one more question about Naruto that he needed to ask though, but he had to whisper it so Ino wouldn't know, "Do you think that you'll ever tell him about the Kyuubi? If so, do you think that he'll be able to handle it? I realize that it would be a relief to know why at last, but it would also be shock to discover you had such destructive power in you."

Alfred had been thinking about that himself, "We're going to have to eventually, maybe even sooner than we thought. I think that Naruto will be able to handle it though, even knowing what the creature did."

Naruto re-entered the room as they were speaking about him, "Looks like dad's gonna need my help after all. There's gonna be a car that comes and get's me in like ten minutes."

Inoichi realized that he still had a request to fulfill for Bruce, "Hopefully you have fun with that. I know Ino had a good time today, and I'm grateful for that. Do you have many friends at school?"

"Tch, no way," Naruto scoffed, "I don't even try. We're way too different for me to get along with them. At least Ino's from the same place as I am."

Inoichi could see what Bruce had been worried about, "Do you really think that's the case? Have you even tried to make friends with other people?"

Naruto started to shuffle his feet nervously, "Well, I didn't really talk to any of them. Mostly I just said a couple of things to the teacher and that was it."

"Naruto, you need to make friends if you're going to survive here," Inoichi said, sounding stern, but kind, "Friends help to keep your mind off from things when life gets too stressful. Your family is great, but they can't be all you have."

Naruto didn't agree, not totally anyways, "But we have nothing in common! How am I supposed to make friends with people like that?"

Inoichi knew where the boy was coming from, "I know that it might seem like you've got nothing to relate to, but you'd be surprised. There are somethings that everyone can understand. Just make an attempt, for your father's sake. He worries about you."

"Oh, I guess that I never thought about that," Naruto said, feeling a little bad about making his father feel that way, "Maybe I could give someone a chance, if it would make dad happy."

Inoichi had gotten through easily enough, not surprising with how long he'd been doing things like this, "Good, now go and wait for the car. I'm sure your father will be very happy to see you."

* * *

Batman was indeed going to be excited to see his son arrive, as he was a key to his plan. The car dropped Naruto off just a block from where he was actually supposed to go. It was an abandoned apartment building with plenty of places for him to sneak in and get dressed. After becoming The Red Fox, he quickly went to go and find his father.

Naruto jumped from one fire escape to the next, getting himself to the roof of the building. He'd been expecting to see Batman, but not the leather clad woman next to him, "Hey, who's the cat the lady with the messed up shoulder?"

"It's Catwoman shorty, but close enough," Catwoman said with a playful look, "So you're the new kid Batman's taken under his wing. What, did an old girlfriend leave him on your doorstep?"

Batman nearly rolled his eyes, "Not exactly. The only thing you need to know about him right now is that he's going to be keep you from having to face the Joker yourself. Red Fox, I'm going to need you to make a clone and transform into her."

The Red Fox actually did roll his eyes, "Again with the clones and transformation? Is that all I'm good for?"

"Sometimes," Batman said jokingly, "It's a very useful skill to have. Mostly it's just coincidence, so I think that once you pick up some more abilities we'll use it less. I don't want you or the rest of the team to become too dependent on it."

Red Fox was still feeling like a one trick pony, but made the clone and transformed it nonetheless, "There you go, a perfect copy of leather lady."

Catwoman snorted in laughter at the name, "Leather lady? I think that almost would've been better than my real name."

"It was very comical, but we[re low on time," Batman said, trying to get things back on track, "Send the clone out and wait for the Joker to notice you. He's not far from here according to the police scanners, so it won't take long."

The fake Catwoman nodded, then jumped down to find the Joker. Batman followed, wanting to be close when the Joker was located. That left Catwoman and Naruto all alone up on the roof. She decided it was time to get to know the boy a little better, "The Red Fox huh? That's a decent name I guess, but what's your real one?"

"Do you think that I'm stupid?" The Red Fox asked bluntly, "There's no way that I'd tell you that!"

He wasn't it giving up, which was no surprise to Catwoman "Can't blame a girl for trying. So, how come you're working with tall, dark, and broody? Was it by chance, or did you choose to?"

Red Fox felt like answering that would cause problems, so he avoided the question, "How about we just wait and watch Batman beat the crap of the Joker, huh?"

"That's fine," Catwoman said, a bit disappointed, "I do wanna see the Joker pay for screwing up my shoulder. I won't be able to fight right for a month with this thing. That asshole better get a few teeth knocked out."

Now that was something that the Red Fox could get on board with.

* * *

The Joker had never been a patient person, so spending a half an hour to look for Catwoman was very boring to him. As stated before, a bored Joker, is a dangerous Joker, "Ugh, this is awful! Can we go and rob a liquor store or something? I need to see an explosion or I'm going to go crazy here...Oh, wait,"

"Mr. J, look, over there!" Harley interrupted, pointing frantically at something. It was Catwoman, ducking into a nearby alley.

The Joker's mood perked right up, "Now we're talking! Come on Harley, time to see how many ways we can skin a cat!"

The two villains sprinted towards the alley, their eagerness all too apparent. Batman watched them from the shadows, ready to strike the second they realized what was going on. However, there was something bothering him. This all seemed far too easy for a confrontation with the Joker. Just as the crazed clown was about to enter the alleyway, he stopped and turned around.

The Dark Knight's fears were about to be confirmed, "You can come on out now Batsy, I know you're there! You didn't really think I was gonna fall for the exact same trick you used on Clayface, now did ya?"

Batman jumped from his hiding place to face the Joker, "I should've known you couldn't make it simple. It's not as though it matters. I got just what I wanted; A one on one fight with you."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Batman," The Joker scolded, "Do you really think we're just going to fight and that'll be it. We've done that a hundred times. Why not make it more interesting?"

Batman never liked the Joker's version of 'Interesting,' "I take it you've got something already planned?"

The Joker pulled what looked like a detonator out of his bag, "But of course Batman, I never come unprepared. All my little minions have been searching for Catwoman just as hard as I have. One of my buddies saw your little meeting a few buildings off and called to warn me. Things got even better when I found out one of your brats was up there too. I'm going to give him a good Gotham Welcome! My lackeys left a great surprise for them in there!"

"Joker, wait!" Batman yelled, trying to reach him before he could set off whatever he had planned. It was far too late. The Joker pressed the switch on the detonator and the building Naruto and Selina had been waiting on was blown to kingdom come.

Batman looked at the ball of flame in fear, and then at the Joker in rage. The monster merely smiled back, "What? I was only trying to say hello!"


	7. Integration Pt 2

At last the conclusion to my rather cruel cliffhanger. I'm sure that you all were a little pissed at me for the way the last chapter ended, but I like to keep you guys on your toes. I'm structuring this fanfic much like they structed the series Young Justice. Each chapter will have different plotlines and villains, but it all focuses back on the mayoral campaign, just like how it all lead back to The Light in Young Justice. Hopefully that made sense. The focus will shift as the fanfic goes on, as you'll see eventually. This chapter will be a lot about setting up the climax to this first arc, and will also feature Naruto tapping into his soon to be taught detective skills. My rambling must be really pissing you off this time, huh? Alright, lets see what happened to our heroes!

Chapter Soundtrack-The Doors: When You're Strange

* * *

The Joker had made Batman angry before. Hell, at this point he basically considered it an art form . Between the murders he'd committed, the torture he'd put people though, and just the overall damage he'd done to the city, he'd raised the Dark Knight's blood pressure more than once. Still, with all that, he'd never seen the Batman with more rage in his heart than he had right now.

Batman grabbed the Joker by the neck and squeezed as tightly as he could. He began to squirm, but his dark smile never left the Joker's face, "What's wrong Batman? Did that building really mean that much to you?"

Batman just tightened his grip on the madman, "I swear to god, if there's so much as a scratch on either one of them, I will put you in a full body cast!"

"And if they're dead?" The Joker asked, the insane glint never leaving his eye.

Batman narrowed his eyes, "Then I'll put you in your grave!"

The Joker knew a bluff when he heard one, "Oh please, we both know you don't have the stomach for that!"

"For your sake, you'd better be right," Batman said, before giving a hard punch to the jaw. He got off from the Joker, glad to have blown off a little steam.

The Joker spit out one of his teeth onto the ground, "Oh, there goes another one! I think I might need to invest in metal teeth! Hahaha! Come on Batman, aren't we gonna finish what we started here?"

"I've got far more important things to deal than you!" Batman yelled, running as fast as he could to save his son and friend. The Joker could pay for what he did after he knew that they were safe.

* * *

Once Catwoman had heard the explosion go go off, she'd just assumed that they were as good as dead. The ground underneath her began to shake and her ears rang as she became worried for both herself and the boy beside her. She grabbed the Red Fox with her good arm and tried to protect him, as if it would do them any good, and prayed that he would live. Yet, she soon began to feel that something was covering her as well, a whole lot of somethings in fact.

In a flash, Red Fox had made 20 clones and surround he and Catwoman with them. They were trying to shield them from the force of the blast. The clones slowly dispersed from the damage they took as everyone tumbled to the ground with the rubble. It wasn't long before the clones were all gone, leaving Catwoman and The Red Fox on their own.

"This is gonna hurt," The Red Fox yelled, as they still had 20 feet left to fall. They hit the ground with a painful thud. Luckily the clones had taken all of the damage from the explosion, but they both still had some scrapes and bruises on them from the landing.

Catwoman peeled herself off from the pavement with a grunt, "Well that hurt like hell. As if my shoulder couldn't have gotten any worse. What about you kid? Are you alright?"

The Red Fox rubbed his sore head, "I guess I'm alright. The clones got all of the fire and stuff. Nothing's broken, so that's good. Everything else is fine, since I'm a fast healer."

"Thank god you're both alive," Batman said, showing a little of his vulnerable side. He ran over to them, "No serious injuries for either of you?"

Catwoman answer him, "Other than my shoulder, I'm peachy. The kid's a very fast thinker. If it hadn't been for those clones, I think we'd both be dead right now."

Batman wanted to grab his son and hug him right there, but knew they needed to get him home and checked out. He turned to Catwoman and asked, "Are you going to be alright? I can see about getting you a doctor if you'd like."

"I'll be fine," Catwoman said, looking at her wound, "I think it's just the flesh, no bone was damaged. I'll go and see Matthew Thorne, he'll patch me up and probably give me something that'll have me good in a week. Good luck with the kid though."

As Catwoman left to go and get her shoulder fix up, Batman turned to his son, "You're sure that you're alright? There's nothing that needs to be looked at or,"

"I'm fine Dad, I promise," The Red Fox interrupted, using the 'Dad' remark to really get his attention, "Let's just go home so that Ino and Inoichi don't get too worried."

Batman forced himself to get his bearings, "You're right. We can go home after I do one thing."

Red Fox was wondering what else had his father's attention, "Okay, what do you need to do?"

"Go and see if the Joker's still nearby," Batman said with a clenched fist, "And if he is, I'm gonna beat more of his teeth out of him."

The Red Fox only had one question, "Would it be bad if I made a necklace out of the teeth?"

* * *

"An explosion? You're telling me that Naruto got caught in an explosion?" Dick screamed, unable to believe what he'd missed this on his date. He was in a semi-nice shirt and pants, and standing next to him was Barbara in a simple blue dress.

Bruce glared at Dick for his volume, "Could you not alert the Yamanaka's to that little fact? In case you haven't noticed, we weren't planning on telling them about this."

Dick wanted to get Babs to defend him, but she was over making sure that Naruto was alright, "Oh, look at all these scratches and that bruise. You poor thing, it must have really hurt."

"Would you please stop it?" Naruto asked as he squirmed around, "I got enough of this from Dad earlier. I'm fast healer, I'll be just fine."

Bruce tired to put her mind at ease, "He's a tough kid Barbara. I'm kept trying to apologize and hug him when we got home. He just told me that it was fine, and I'm quoting on this next part, 'It's all just part of the job.'"

Dick scratched the back of his head nervously, "The kid's more badass than I am."

"I'd have to agree with you there," Bruce replied, "More importantly, how come you didn't tell me that your date tonight was with Barbara?"

The two teens mimicked a dog with it's tail in between it's legs, especially Barbara, "Because we knew that you wouldn't approve if you found out."

"I approve of it just fine," Bruce said unconvincingly, "I just hope that the two of you realize the risk that comes from dating someone else in our line of work."

Dick felt like that wasn't fair, "Oh come on Bruce, just because you and Talia didn't,"

Bruce slammed his hand on the table to silence him, "Don't you dare bring her into this! She has nothing to do with the conversion. This is about you and Barbara. I won't step in for now, but if you're dating starts to affect your performance in the field, we're going to have to talk this out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and show our guests to their rooms."

Bruce walked off and Barbara muttered to Dick, "Did you really think that bring up Taila was going to do you any good? You're smarter than that and you know it."

"You'd think, but sometimes I speak without thinking," Dick said with a little smile, "You'd better head home and tell your Dad your date went well. Be sure to tell him that I was a perfect gentleman."

Barbara giggled and kissed his cheek, "But of course Richard, aren't you always?"

Dick blushed a little as he watched her leave. Bruce might have been pissed at him, but at least he had her good and happy, "Woman, I don't know what I'm gonna do with you."

Naruto started to tug on his shirt a little to get his attention, "Hey Bro, who's Talia? Was she Dad's girlfriend or something?"

"Not exactly," Dick started, but then thought about it some more, "Well, I guess you could say she was...well see was sort of...It was kind of like...I don't actually know that the hell it was like. They loved each other and it didn't work out, that's all I know for sure. The rest he never really told anybody, except for Alfred. Lord knows he's not talking."

Naruto wanted to know more, but didn't want to pry too much into it. There were some things that people wanted to hide, and sometimes you had to respect that. If those memories were too painful for Bruce to bring up, who was he ask?

* * *

Oswald Cobblepot paced from wall to wall of his living room, waiting for his new contract to arrive. Hiring a shady group of assassins may not have been the smartest thing he's ever done, but he felt that he'd been backed into a corner. Crane was destroyed him in the polls, and even Quincy had him beat by 2 points. He needed to turn this around, desperately. So, when a mysterious woman who called herself Lady Shiva came to offer him help, he just took it without question. All he had to do was ask them for something and they did it without question. They're only request was a favor down the line. However, the more he thought about it, the more this favor began to worry him.

"I gave them a bloody blank check! For god's sake, why would I do that," Cobblepot mumbled over and over again, "What if they ask for something that I can't deliver? What in the hell am I supposed to do then?"

A female voice began to chuckle from the darkness, "Something that you can't deliver? Now Penguin, do you believe that we'd be stupid enough to put a man in power if we're not sure he can deliver what we need?"

Cobblepot jumped nearly jumped out of skin, "Gah! How the hell did you get in here? Look who I'm talking to, something tells me you had no issue with my security. Oh, and how many time do I have to ask you to call me by my name? You people expect me to become mayor and you're still calling me The Penguin!"

"Oh come now Penguin, it's just what everyone calls you. Do you really think you can shake it after all these years?" Lady Shiva ask, not attempting to hide how much she was enjoying teasing the little man.

Cobblepot just accepted it and sat down his chair, "Fine, call me whatever you want. Just tell me why you're here so that we can get on with it."

Lady Shiva began to survey the room to amuse herself, "Oh, I just came to inform you Catwoman is still alive. Nothing to worry about though. She was injured and is unlikely to cause you any trouble for at least a week."

"Good, very good. I suppose a week is better that nothing," The Penguin said, as that was at least one throne out of his side for now, "That should let me focus on the campaign for a bit. Thank you Lady Shiva. I wish you could tell me who you represent so that I could thank them as well."

Lady Shiva had no plans to divulge that information, "We agreed in the beginning of this that there was some information that you wouldn't get. My master's identity is one of them."

The Penguin didn't see what the big deal was, "Honestly, you might as well must tell me already. How many people have the power to lead a large group of assassins?"

Lady Shiva needed to get out of there before he realized how close he was, "Please, drop that matter already. I need to go now, but we'll talk again soon."

"Fine, but I am going to figure it out eventually," The Penguin said, grabbing a bottle from his mantel, "Before you go, would you care for something to drink? My parents always told me that it was rude to let woman come into your house without offering her some to drink."

Lady Shiva found hadn't ever thought about this little creature having parents, "Did they also tell you that you were a hideous little boy and horrible person?"

The Penguin poured his drink with a deep chuckle, "They didn't use those exact words, but I heard things like that from them. I don't give a damn though. Those rat bastards are dead now, so I can go and dance on their graves if I'd like."

"You don't look like much of a dancer," Lady Shiva said, having dealt with enough villains for one day, "Goodbye Penguin. Please be sure to enjoy your drink."

Penguin raised as glass as she made her way out his window, "I always do my dear, I always do."

* * *

Even having finished his various activities for the night, as well as having attended to his guest, Bruce still found himself unable to get a wink of sleep. He just layed there, tossing and turning, trying to force himself into a slumber. Sadly, this would do him no good. Sometime around four in the morning, he got out of his bed and walked over to Naruto's room. He didn't go in, just opened the door a bit so that he could see him

Naruto was sleeping peacefully, his chest going up and down as he snored. Bruce already cared so much for the boy, yet all he could feel right now was guilt. Guilt at having put his son in such a dangerous situation. A horrible thought had been running through his mind; what if Naruto had died up there? Could Bruce ever forgive himself if something like that happened.

These thoughts were fought off when Naruto began to stir in his bed. He sat up and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes, "Hey, is someone there?"

Bruce was surprised his Naruto had woken up, as he'd been careful not to make noise, but still went and sat on the boy's bed, "Yeah, it's just me. Sorry for waking you up, but I did try to be quite."

"I'm used to people coming into my room in the middle of the night. Back in the Leaf, they'd sneak in to my room to try and hurt me sometimes, so I learned to figure out when people were watching me," Naruto said as if it were nothing.

Bruce hated how much of a regular occurrence that must have been. No child should go though what this boy did, "You run no risk of that here, I promise. I just wanted to make sure you were still alright. You could of been really hurt today, and I still feel bad about that. Don't know what to tell you, it's just a dad thing."

Naruto crawled out from under his covers and sat next to his father," Dad, you shouldn't worry about me like this. I'm doing something really awesome here, I'm a hero! I had people hating me for years and years, and now they love me! There was a paper that had my picture on the front page!"

"Being a hero has it's perks," Bruce said, putting his arm around the boy, "I know how important is to you that you prove you can do something good for the world, so I won't take that from you. Just promise me that you'll be careful, okay?"

Naruto gave his dad a small hug, "I promise, as long as you promise to keep training me."

Bruce knew that was coming, "I'd never dream of stopping. I should probably let you go to bed now. You must be tired."

"Hold on Dad, there's one more thing," Naruto said, keeping his father on the bed, "I just wanna know what happened to you today with the Joker. I mean before we went home, you made this big talk like we were gonna go get him to beat him up, but you didn't even really look. How come?"

Bruce sighed as he tried to think of a way to make Naruto comprehend this, "Because I was too angry. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to control myself if I started really going into him. The Joker has the tendency to bring out the worst in me. If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up killing him one of these days, which is just what he wants."

Naruto found that kind of bizarre, "Wait, the Joker want's to die? Why would he want that?"

"He doesn't want to die, he wants me to kill him," Bruce replied, but stopped explaining it there, "It's very hard to explain, and I'm not going to do it tonight. Just go to bed Naruto, I'll see you in the morning."

Naruto let go a big yawn, "Good idea. I gotta be ready for school tomorrow. Hopefully I can make some new friends."

Bruce grateful to Inoichi the moment he heard that, "I'm sure that you will Naruto. Now hit the hay. You're going to all the rest you can get."

* * *

The next morning, Ino and Inoichi only got to spend about half an hour at the mansion before they had to head home. All of the ninjas who'd been coming in and out of the country had been taking off from a U.S. military base in the hidden Leaf and landing in another base near Gotham. While they were difficult to keep a secret, so far everything had gone smoothly with said locations.

Naruto knew that they wouldn't be able to stay long, which sucked, but at least Inoichi was going to tell the Leaf's council that Naruto was perfectly mentally stable. His research showed that Naruto was just as stable, if not more stable, than he was back at the village.

After he gave Ino a huge goodbye and let his dad talk with Inoichi a bit, Naruto went off to school. He needed to make a conscious effort to try and making some friends, but he still wasn't sure how that would go for him. There was this little part of Naruto that felt like these kids were just too different from him.

He arrived at Gotham Academy that day with a very unsure look on his face. Alfred had dropped him off out front and left shortly after, so Naruto was all on his own. It wasn't hard to see how nervous he was, as his teacher noticed it the moment he walked into the classroom.

She walked up to him as he was putting his bag away, "Hey Naruto, what's going on? You seem a little scared about something."

"Oh, hey Mrs. Kane," Naruto said, glancing at her than at his classmates, who were busy getting their morning snacks at their desks, "I'm not scared, just nervous. I need to try and make some new friends today, but...I don't know how to talk to these guys."

Mrs. Kane smiled gently at the boy, finding his little dilma very sweet, "All you have to is go to them and say hello sweetie. Just talk to them like you would your big brother that you talk so much about. I'm sure they'll love you."

Naruto gulped and nodded, then went over to his desk and got out his snack. The was a brown haired boy sitting next to him that he'd never said a word to. At first he just looked at the boy, unsure of what to say. After a few second, the boy noticed and decided to say hello, "Hey, you're the Japanese kid right?"

"Yeah, I'm Naruto," Naruto said, remembering that he'd been told to say Japan when people asked where he was from, "So um...what's your name."

The boy took a bite of the apple he'd been holding, "I'm Kyle. Those marks on your face are really cool. Are they like scars or something?"

Naruto instantly knew he meant the whisker marks, "No, I think that they're birthmarks. I've had them for forever. It's kinda the same for my hair, cause it's always been spikey."

"Wish my hair did that," Kyle replied, "My just sits on my head and doesn't do anything. My big brother likes to spike his hair though. Do you have any brothers or sister?"

Naruto was starting to feel a little more natural, "I've got my big brother Dick, but we're not blood brothers. My Dad adopted both of us."

Kyle seemed unphased by this, "My cousin's adopted too, but I was too young to remember it. Who's your dad."

"Bruce Wayne," Naruto said, not realizing what he'd just set off. He just there and started to peel his orange.

Kyle got wide eyed, "No way! Like, the famous guy?"

Naruto shrugged and ate some the orange, "I guess that he's famous. The only thing that I know is that I call him dad and we live in a big house. He owns this really big company think. What does your dad do?"

Kyle was surprised by the way he just switched topics. He didn't want to brag about who his dad was, "He's a guard at Arkham Asylum. I got to go there once, and it was so creepy! I only got the see the empty spots, but it was still totally scary!"

"That must be a really awesome job," Naruto said very genuinely, "You get to help protect people and see all those weird villains."

Kyle hadn't thought about it much, but it was a pretty interesting job, "Huh, I guess that you're right. You know, you seem pretty cool. I think you should meet my other friends. They'd really like you."

Naruto nearly jumped and shouted when her that, but controlled himself, "Okay, that sounds like fun. What do you guys like to do?"

The two kept talking as Mrs. Kane watched from a distance. She knew that Naruto could hit if off with them if he just tried. If her hunch was right, he'd have plenty of new friend's by the day's end.

* * *

Naruto's family was overjoyed to hear that he'd found some buddies at his school. He went on and on about them when he got home. His new friend Kyle liked to play football and his dad worked at the Asylum. Then there was Josh, who loved all kinds of video games and whose parents worked at the Gotham Hospital. Lastly, there was his new friend Jessica, who really seemed to enjoy movies and her mom worked as teacher at the school and her dad was a stockbroker. Needless to say, he was very fond of his new friends.

As happy as Bruce was for him, he had other things that Naruto needed to be focusing on as well. It was at last time to teach how to be a true detective. It would likely be one of the more mentally challenging parts of Naruto's training, but it was one that they couldn't put off any longer. He needed to be able process information and quickly know what it meant if he was going be part of the Bat Family.

They were down in the Batcave right now, everyone except for Barbara who was busy with her father. Bruce had set up everything that he knew Naruto would need to start his training on three tables in the center of the room. The boy merely looked at them in confusion, "Dad, I thought that we were going to teach me how do all that cool deduction stuff you do? I'll that's on these tables is a bunch of papers. Is this going to be like a test or something?"

"In a sense, yes," Bruce said, walking over to the table and picking up some of the papers, "These first set of documents are so that we can start teaching about handwriting analyzation."

Naruto had no clue what that was, "You're gonna tell me what that means, right?"

Bruce mulled over the simplest way he could put it, "It's more or less being able to look at something two people have written and being able to tell who wrote it. Actually, when you get far enough you can even tell when tell if someone was happy or distressed when they were writing."

"Hm, weird, but I guess it's a little cool," Naruto said, only about half interested in that, "What about the other ones?"

Bruce walked to the next table and picked up the next paper, "This is the ones that's sort of a test. It has questions based that you have to solve thinking logically."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, not sure how to feel about this one , "Like, with math and stuff?"

"There might be a little bit of math, but it's mostly just about how you work out problems," Bruce said as he walked to the final table, "And this last table is to see how well you read people's facial expressions. One of the best ways to tell if someone is lying or not is by looking out at the way their acting. Little twitches, tapping on a desk, a bead of sweat, all of those things can give away when someone's lying or holding back."

Now Bruce was starting to get to the good stuff, at least as far as Naruto was concerned, "Now you're talking! How long before I'm able to do that stuff?"

Bruce always had a hard time figuring that out, since Naruto trained with clones and was able to learn things at a rather bizarre rate, "Well, even with your clones it'll probably take a while. It's not an easy thing to learn. I think that if you work hard, you could be up to Dick's level in about a year."

"Well how far is Dick?" Naruto asked, not really getting enough information from that statement.

Bruce gave a conservative answer, "He can read emotions very well, sniff out lies some of the time, and controls his own facial expressions excellently. Does that sound good enough to you?"

Naruto thought it sounded more than good, "Well yeah, let's get started already! With this and my regular training, I'm gonna be like the most awesome ninja ever!"

* * *

For the next week, Naruto made great strides in his detective training, just as he'd done in the beginning of his physical training. Thanks to his clones, he managed to squeeze in a month's worth or training in that short amount of time. While many of the concepts Bruce was presenting were hard for a an eight year old to understand, Naruto worked his hardest to make sure he was learning everything that he could. Granted, all that training had only given him slightly heightened powers of observation in comparison to a regular eight year old, but that still a big advantage for Naruto.

He had to tend to his other training as well. He was working hard to improve his taijutsu skills, learn new jutsus, and of course there was his lessons from school. It was hard, but Naruto was trying to balance being a young superhuman and just trying to be a normal kid. It's what both he and his father wanted.

This would be come a little more complicated on the next Monday that Naruto had to attend school. The day began like any other: he had a snack with his friends, they started their lessons, and all of the other normal school related things. It only started to become odd when Naruto was approached by Mrs. Kane, "Hey Naruto, I hate to interrupt you during math, but it's been requested by our school psychologist that you come down to his office. It's nothing to worry about, he does this with all the new students. Do you mind?"

Naruto gathered up his things, "Sure, I'm usually done early anyways. So what's his name?"

The moment she said the name, Naruto knew this was going to be an odd encounter, "Dr. Hugo Strange, he's waiting for you in room 36."

* * *

Hugo Strange's office was a bizarre mixture of kid friendly and freaky looking art. A bunch of posters with cats hanging from trees and books with big puppies in them covered some parts of the room, and statues of monstrous creatures and paintings that were nothing more than blots of what looked like blood lined the rest. This was everything that Naruto had to take in as he sat alone waiting for Dr. Strange, so, he decided to make the most of it.

Naruto began to look at his surroundings and tried to learn a little about the guy. He couldn't do it as well as his dad did, but he might be able to get something, "He's has kids books and stuff, so he's trying to do good her, but there's the weird pictures and creepy things too, like he wants to show he's not supposed to be here. At least I think,"

"Not bad," Dr. Strange commented, as he appeared out of nowhere from behind Naruto, "You were close on the artwork. I still have meetings here, and I need to show that I'm a professional. There's many adults who never would've gotten that. Would you mind telling me how someone as young as yourself did that?"

Naruto kept a careful eye on the man. He was bald, wore round sunglasses, had a goette, and wore lab coat over a black shirt with matching pants. He certainly looked the part of the doctor, "My dad has me getting a lot of interesting hobbies. He also likes me to have an, 'Expansive Vocabulary.' I think that means I should use a lot of big words, but it's hard when I'm only okay with English."

Strange rubbed his chin in thought, "You seem to have a very good grasp on it. You're remarkably smart for a boy of just eight. Not genius level, but intelligent to be sure."

"Um, thanks," Naruto said, feeling both insulted and complimented, "So, what did you want to see me about?"

"Oh, I just have a few routine questions, that's all," Strange said, suddenly speaking near perfect Japanese, "Am I correct in assuming that you'd feel more comfortable if we spoke in your native language?"

Naruto was really thrown off by that little move, but still responded in Japanese, "Sure, we can speak like that if you want. I guess I speak a weird version of it, but I think we can do okay."

Strange took out a ring of keys and walked over to the filing cabinet, "Outstanding. Allow me to get a few more papers and then we may begin."

"If you say so," Naruto said, watching him get the papers. He used two of the keys to unlocked the cabinet drawers, and pulled a stack of papers out. Then he walked over to a box that was tucked in the corner of the room and pulled a key out of his pocket. Again, he unlocked the box and pulled out a couple more papers.

Strange tossed all of the papers on the desk, "I know this seems like a lot, but most of it's already filled out. It shouldn't take anymore than ten minutes. I'm world renowned psychiatrist."

"Then how come you work at an elementary school?" Naruto asked without thinking.

Strange nearly fell out of his chair at the question. It was embarrassing enough when adults asked him that, "I had to take a five year break of sorts. It set my career back more than a bit."

That left Naruto with another question, "Why did you need to take a five year break?"

"You know, I do I believe that I was the one who needed to interview you," Strange said, trying to shut down Naruto's line of questioning, "I forgot to do one thing. Would you please let me go and grab something for a moment?"

It didn't take a genius to see that Naruto had upset Strange a little. The man left the room just about as quickly as he could. Even so, that was almost exactly what Naruto had wanted him to do. The boy ran to the box in the corner of the room as quickly as he could. Something about it had been bothering him, "Why is the key for this one separate from all the others? He was really weird about his past stuff too. I think I need to see what's in here."

Naruto took two pins out from his pocket and quickly began to play with the lock, just as Dick had taught him to do. It wasn't a complicated one, so he was able to pick it in just a matter of seconds. It clicked open, allowing Naruto to see what secrets were held inside. They were just a bunch of papers, but something about them was off. These weren't official looking school type of documents. All of them had a students name at the top, and a bunch of notes scribbled under that.

"Seems to have a good home life. Lots of close family, seems to have faith in humanity. Not a good choice for the program. Let the school do as they wish with him," Naruto read, having a tough time sounding out the bigger words. He wasn't sure what this was supposed to mean, but he knew it probably wasn't something the school wanted him to do.

He heard the footsteps coming to the door, and so he quickly made his way back to his chair. There were no cameras in the room as far as Naruto could tell, and he'd closed the box, so hopefully Strange wouldn't notice.

The Doctor walked in and put a coke and some M&amp;M's in front of Naruto, "Here we are. A little something nice to keep you silent until I ask you a question. I do hope that didn't come off as rude."

Of course it came off as rude, but Naruto just focused on the sweets like any child would, trying to act normal, "Keep giving me the good stuff, and you can say anything you want. What did you want to know?"

"Oh, just a little bit about your relationship with your father and friends, that's all," Strange said, but seemed to be bothered by something, "You know, I didn't expect the junk food to work. You seemed a little too mature for that earlier."

Naruto could see he might have tried to act too natural, but he had to go all in if it was going to work now, "It's pop and candy, what kid doesn't love that?"

Strange watched Naruto open the pop and seemed to buy it, "I suppose that you're right. Now, let us begin."

* * *

What Strange claimed would only take 10 minutes, ended up taking over 20. Some of the questions were very simple. He asked what type of tv shows to Naruto enjoyed, did he read much, how often did he go out to dinner, things like that. Other questions seemed more telling, like what kind of dreams did he have, how often did he sleep, was he making many friends here. Once he was finished, Naruto went back to class and continued his day normally.

It wasn't until he got home that afternoon that he let everyone know what had happen. Needless to say, Bruce and Dick were unsettled by his tale, "I'm not sure if I approve of you breaking into his things without my permission, but what you found is unnerving. Based on the way everything was worded, he didn't intend to turn those papers into the school."

Naruto knew his father would get where he was going with this, "Yeah, and the whole thing with him disappearing for 5 years? What's that about?"

Dick had something to say about that, "I've heard about this guy before. He was all set to become the head of Arkham and was going to be a big shot around here, then out of nowhere he was just gone. Most people figured that he was dead or something."

"That was before I became the Batman, but I have heard some rumors about the guy from a couple of my sources," Bruce said, starting to wonder just how deep it went with this guy, "There's been some claims that Strange was actually using Arkham as a way to funnel criminals back to their mob bosses. They said that he just shuffled papers and then turned the crazies loose. In exchange, he'd get funding for his research. I always figured they were just rumors, but I suppose in this case they hold water."

Naruto wanted to know what they were going to do now, "Alright, so are we going to sneak into his office and get those papers?"

Bruce's plans were a touch different, "Nope, I'm going to sneak in there, while you and Dick stay here. This isn't going to be a complicated endeavor. I'm going to get in, get the papers, and get out. It's best just to keep this one simple."

"Oh come on, I haven't gotten to go on a mission in almost a week," Dick complained, "Can't I just tag along?"

Bruce was already grabbing his suit, "Nope, this ones on me. Don't worry Dick, with the election being less than a month away, things are only going to get more busy from here on out. If I were you, I'd be enjoying the quiet."

Bruce jumped in the Batmobile, leaving an upset Dick and Naruto behind, "Easy for you to say, when you're having all the fun. So bro, what are you gonna do?"

"Go and see if Barbara wants to hang out I guess," Dick said, with a little shrug, "What about you?"

Naruto couldn't think of much, "I might go and see if Alfred wants to watch a movie or something. Maybe I'll play a videogame, I don't freaking know. Let's hope that dad doesn't take long. I don't think a man in funny suit getting caught breaking into a school would end too well."

* * *

Having broken into the most secure facilities in the history of the world, Batman found getting the school to be a nice change pace. He literally got to the right room in less than five minutes. The box that Naruto had mentioned before turned out to be even easier to break into, as he practically just had to flick his wrist to do it. That was where the fun part of Batman's night ended.

After looking at just three documents, he knew exactly what was going with Hugo Strange, "These kids are being profiled for an experiment. He's trying to find ones that have poor home lives so that they'd be easy to manipulate. Hm, it doesn't say specifically what the experiment is though. Maybe if I look over a few more,"

"Oh, now I'm afraid there's just no way that I can let you do that," Hugo Strange said, once again appearing from thin air, "You know far too much as it is. I must say though, I'm so excited to have you here. Simply put, you're my absolute favorite obsession as of late. I find you simply fascinating."

Batman wasn't exactly flattered, "You could say that the feeling is mutual Dr. Strange. I'm very interested in finding out what this research is all about."

Strange pushed up his glasses, pondering what to say next, "I'm tempted to give it to you simply to see what you may do with it. However, I still have a commitment to my employer. I'll only ask you to leave once before I force you out of here."

"You do realize who you're talking to?" Batman half asked, half scoffed. He wasn't being cocky, as it was mostly an intimidation tactic.

Strange removed his lab coat, revealing pair of canon like arms, "I may not look it at first glance, but I've always done my best to keep myself at top physical condition. While I don't have your gadgets, I feel confident that I can give you quite the hand to hand fight."

Batman saw Strange's leg shoot up like a bullet, and if it had been almost anyone but him, the attack likely would've landed. The Dark Knight caught the leg and slammed his elbow down on it, causing Strange a great amount of pain. To the man's credit, he merely winced at the attack. He then tried to give Batman a quick jab to the throat, but once again Batman dodged and sent a solid headbutt at Strange.

The man fell to the ground at his opponent's feet, allowing Batman to put a boot on his chest, "As you were saying about your combat skills?"

"You are far more powerful than I imagined," Strange rasped out, "You just keep keep getting more and more fascinating."

Batman wanted this guy to shut up already. This man had a disturbing vibe to him, and Batman was scared to discover where it came from. Even so, there was something going on here, something that needed to be explained, "Save your talking for when we get to the police precinct. Once we get there, I'll listen to everything you've got to say. Weather you want to say it or not."


	8. Reasons Pt 1

Hey there everybody, the new chapter of The Red Fox is indeed here. This chapter won't require as much explanation, as you've all gotten pretty familiar with how I run it. All you really have to know is that this is going to be a bit of an emotional chapter for Bruce at certain points. As usual, you have to read to find out why. First things first though, let's see how Stange's 'Employer' is holding up. I will warn you right now, this one's a two parter. Thank you all for reading, and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Bob Seger: Fire Lake

* * *

"Captured? How exactly did Dr. Strange manage to get himself captured?" Crane asked his assistant, Garfield Lynns.

Lynns did his best to elaborate, "Apparently Batman discovered that he was profiling students for an experiment and put a stop to it. A little more digging, and the police were able to find a couple of crimes to charge him with. Stuff he'd done years ago, but were still able to prove."

Crane was not in the mood for another set back, "So, do you have any idea if the police know of his relationship to us? It's bad enough that we won't have him retriving students for us anymore, if things get any worse,"

"Oh no sir, there's no need to worry about that," Lynns assured, and retrieved a note from his pocket, "He actually sent this to me today. You aren't gonna believe this shit."

Crane took the note and began to read. Rather than frowning at it, he actually started to chuckle, "Oh Strange, you really will stop at nothing to complete this little mission of yours, won't you?"

Lynns didn't understand, "What the hell are you so happy about? The note says that he got capture on purpose! I mean sure, he promised not to tell anything about you, but why the heck would he purposely get himself captured?"

"Because, it gets him closer to the Batman," Crane said simply enough, "He thinks it's his destiny to discover the identity of the man."

Lynns loved the idea of find out who the Dark Knight is, "Is he close? I'd love to fry that son of a bitch for what he did to me."

He was referring to Batman stopping his arson spree in the slums of Gotham. Outside the Asylum, Lynns was known as the notorious pyromaniac Firefly. After getting a degree in pyrotechnic engineering, he'd created a fireproof suit with a specially designed high-intensity flamethrower he'd created himself and began to try and burn the city to the ground. Batman didn't let do this for long, throwing him in the Asylum shortly after he began. Thankfully, Crane had agreed to let him out if he agreed to do whatever Crane asked of him, not questions. It had been beneficial for the both of them, as Crance wanted someone who'd never disobey him, and Lynns needed to be able to see the world set ablaze.

"Well you may get to do just that, as he claims that the way in which he got himself caught proves who believes Batman is," Crane started, raising his assistants hope a bit, "We'll just have to wait and see."

Lynns was still worried about what might happen if Strange folded, "Are you sure he won't tell anyone about you? I mean, if he spilled his guts to the Batman,"

"He won't tell Batman a thing," Crane said confidently, "Strange one of the best psychiatrist I've ever seen, and has one of the few minds that I've never been able to get into. It's perfectly safe, which allows us to move on to our next order of business."

Lynns rarely had an interest in Crane's business, but didn't have much of an option, "Fine, what lame bullshit do you need me to do this time?

Crane found it humorous just how wrong he was, "Well I suppose I could hand this job off to someone else if you'd like. I've got plenty of people who can burn down,"

"Burn? As in the all consuming absolution that is fire?" Lynns screamed before Crane got halfway through his sentence.

Crane slid a file from his desk over to Lynn, "I had a feeling you'd be interested. The new DA Harvey Dent is putting a case together against Rupert Thorne. As a supporter in my campaign, I can't let him to come under scrutiny. I need you to set the DA's office on fire the day of the trail, which will force them to postpone. In the time it takes them to get the building hosed down, Thorne will 'Have a discussion' with the prosecution's key witness. Just like that, the whole thing falls apart."

Lynns didn't care why, he just wanted to set the building ablaze. He start thumbing through the file, "Sure, DA's office, I'll take it out. All I'm going to need is,"

"No need to tell me what you require, you'll find it all in your old apartment," Crane said, putting the cherry on top of his plan, "On the day of the trial, you'll escape the Asylum, do everything that I've just asked of you, likely get defeated by the Batman, and then return to the Asylum."

Lynns didn't like the assumption that he was going to lose, "What if I kill the Batman? Then what do we do?"

Crane stopped to think for a moment, then let a laugh trickle up from this throat, "Well, then I think criminals will be far too busy dancing in the streets to do much of anything. Now get back to your cell. You've got a show to put on tomorrow."

* * *

This was the first time that Hugo Strange had been the one being interviewed in an integration room, rather than being the one doing the integration. It's funny how the situation can flip like that. Even better, he was once again all alone with the only man in Gotham he honestly cared about, "You know, I've played this scenario in my head what seems like hundreds of different ways, and they all end the same way. Me, standing over in triumph, proving once and for all that I'm superior to the great Batman."

Batman simply glared at him from the other side of the table, "This coming from a man who just got beat more easily than a couple of eggs."

"That would be a fair point," Strange said, crossing his legs, "If it wasn't for the fact that I purposely had myself captured."

Batman didn't understand what he was referring to, "If you're saying you let me win that fight, I'd be happy to give you a rematch right here and now."

Strange could see he hadn't been clear enough, "I'm was actually talking the way you became aware of what I was doing. You see, I made absolutely certain that I tipped off your son back at the academy so that he'd run home and tell you all about my little activities."

"My son?" Batman parroted, starting to become a little nervous at where this was going, "If your refering to Robin and the Red Fox, they're not my sons, just my partners, and they tipped me off to nothing. I discovered your activities because of a call Commissioner Gordon received."

Strange snorted, clearly not buying it, "Oh please! You're lying through your teeth Dark Knight. I've been profiling you for over a year now, and I'm certain that I've discovered who you are underneath that mask. Of course, I needed a way to prove it to others. So, I set up a little test."

Batman could feel himself starting to sweat, so he started getting a plan ready in his head for how the next couple of minutes would go, "What test Strange? I'm growing very tired of these little games of your's."

"Fine, if that's what you wish, then I'll stop beating around the bush," Strange said, standing up in a dignified manner, "After creating a psychological profile for you, I was quickly able to deduce who you are. Even more compelling, I saw that you have children that you adopted. In order to prove you are indeed who I think you are, I created a test for the youngest of your sons."

Batman was shocked at just how close this guy was to the truth, "And how did this so called 'test,' prove anything?"

Strange wanted to scream the name of the man at the top of his lungs, but he held his composure. He needed this to be special, "Your son found something in my office that led to my current situation. Of course, he went running right to you and spilled the beans. Thanks to that little brat, I can now prove exactly who you are!"

Batman tensed every muscle in his body. Strange had to be referring to Naruto, who'd found out about the Doctor in the first place. It seemed like he could indeed prove that Bruce was Batman. There was only one way that all of this could be avoided, but Batman would have to pull off his next part perfectly to do it. If he was even a little off, Strange would know. It was all, or nothing.

"Hahaha," Batman suddenly broke out in laughter, shocking Dr. Strange, "Oh, it takes a lot to make me chuckle Doctor, but you seem to have done it. I mean, the fact that you thought I could be Bruce Wayne of all people. That's who think I am, correct? Bruce Wayne?"

If Strange had been shocked before, he didn't know what he was now, "But...wait...but...what?"

Batman had him right where he wanted him, "Clearly I'm right. I'm going to guess that you thought this because Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne was the one who noticed something was wrong, right?"

"No...this can't be happening...how are you doing this?" Strange kept babbling. The tables were being completely flipped on his once again.

Batman could see the light at the end of the tunnel, so he decided to end it, "Allow me to show you something Dr. Strange. Commissioner Gordon, bring in the records please!"

Gordon heard him and quickly made his way inside. He was holding a few papers in his hand, "Here you go. I'm assuming the call records were what you were talking about?"

"Right you are," Batman said, flipping through the papers, "And here, Dr. Strange, is where you theory falls apart. Look at this page right here."

Strange tentatively took that paper and began to read where Batman had told him to. The look on his face only got worse, "No, this can't be! It's a trick! You're tricking me Wayne, I know that it's you!"

What Strange had saw was the record of a call from Wayne Manor to the police station. What Batman had done was have Naruto call the precinct while his father was on his way to the school. He did something like this from time to time in order to avoid situations like this. By having the Waynes call in crimes, he threw people off, as no one would expect the Dark Night of all people to call someone else to solve a crime.

"No Strange, I'm not Bruce Wayne," Batman said, knowing that he'd won this round, "Honestly, it's sad just how much you're clinging to this. The fact that you think some billionaire playboy who's got a massive company to run has time to go out and play superhero at night might be even sader. You know what? I can't believe I even wasted my time on you."

Batman got up began to walk to the door along with Gordon. Strange's head was spinning, "No, don't you dare leave! This isn't happening! You are Bruce Wayne! Do you hear me? You are Bruce Wayne!"

His voice got quieter as they exited the room and left the madman to his ramblings. While he'd done a little damage, Batman knew that he could undo all of it. That was the closest anyone had come to figuring out who he was. Hopefully, no one would ever get closer.

* * *

After a long night of battling a crazed psychiatrist, all Bruce could think about doing was sleeping. Sadly, men like him didn't just get to sleep. Rather, his sleep was more like meditation. During his training around the world, he'd learned a technique that allowed him to get two hours of sleep and make it feel like he'd gotten four times that. It was an incredibly dangerous method that, more or less, forced a person to completely shut their mind off, more so than sleep ever could. However, if you didn't know how to wake yourself up, you could end up sleeping for days and starve to death. Bruce had mastered it, so for him there was no risk to this method. This was pretty much the only way he'd managed to keep himself from dying of sleep deprivation over the years.

The morning after his run in with Dr. Strange, he woke up and found himself absolutely starving. Hopefully Alfred had already finished making breakfast, because he felt like he needed to eat right away. As he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, he heard a voice that was new to him. This made Bruce a tad nervous, so he picked up the pace. The people seemed to be speaking Japanese, which made him both more and less nervous, as strange as that sounded.

"So you've been living here for a few months now, is there anything that you really miss about the hidden Leaf?" The voice asked him kindly.

Bruce entered the kitchen just as Naruto answered, "I miss the old man a lot, but I can call him at least. I really miss the ramen that they made at the Ichiraku stand. Alfred makes pretty good ramen too, but nothing competes with Ichiraku."

Alfred gave a short sort of bow, "Why thank you master Naruto. I simply do the best that I can."

"Well, your best is far better than most people's," Bruce compliment, starting to take in their new guest. It was a man with scar over his face, right across his nose. He had brown hair that was tied in a short ponytail. With average height and weight to boot, he didn't look like much. Still, Bruce knew better than to underestimate him.

Before Bruce had a chance to introduce himself to the man, Naruto started yelling in Japanese, "Dad, you're awake! Check it out, we've got a new guest from the hidden Leaf. His name's Iruka, and he's a teacher at the ninja academy. He's here to make sure that I'm learning all of my ninja stuff!"

Iruka chuckled at the boy and stuck out his hand for Bruce to shake, "Hello there Mr. Wayne. Everything that Naruto just said is very much true. It's the second part of his check up visit. We have to make sure that he's strong should the Leaf ever need him."

"That's right, I guess I'd forgotten about the next part," Bruce said, as he'd been so busy that he'd completely drawn a blank about it, "That would explain why Naruto's home on a Tuesday morning as well. It'll be nice to show off what he can do I suppose."

Iruka agreed, as he was very interested in how far Naruto had come. He was almost in Iruka's class before the whole thing with Gotham came about, "If what I've heard about him so far is true, I'm pretty excited to see it myself. I was getting on a plane as Inoichi was getting off, and he had nothing but good things to say about Naruto."

Bruce was glad to see he was right about Inoichi, "I'm not surprised in the least to hear that. Can we keep this thing quick though? We're supposed to go and a support a friend of mine in court today."

"In court?" Iruka asked in shock, "Do you have a friend on trial or something?"

Bruce quickly amended what he said, "No, not like that. My old friend Harvey Dent is the prosecutor. This is the biggest case of the year and I wanna make sure we're down there to show him support."

Naruto seemed very eager for it, "Dad talks about Harvey like all the time, so it's cool I finally get to meet him."

"Hm, well that's very good then," Iruka said, seeming to approve this version of things, "The test shouldn't take too long. I'm giving him a version of the genin test is all. It's unlikely that he'll pass it, but I just wanna see if he's up to par with the other genin I'm training right now. Sound good?"

Bruce was pretty sure they could handle that, "Well, after breakfast we'll all head over to gym in the manor to do all that. I'm going to need food before do anything else. Iruka, are you going to be okay if we leave you here while we go to the trail?"

Iruka had other ideas, "Actually, would you mind if I tagged along? I've never seen a trial here, so it'd be interesting to witness one."

"I don't see why not," Bruce said, as Alfred sat a large plate of bacon and eggs in front of him, "Let's eat so that we can get started. Get ready Naruto, because you need to show Iruka just how tough we've made you here."

Naruto went right to his foxy grin and scarfed down his breakfast. He was finally becoming a badass ninja, and now was the time to show it.

* * *

Once everyone was fed, they headed to the gym for Naruto's big test. He stood in the center of the room with Iruka standing in front him, ready to give him the exam. Bruce had woken up Dick, as he knew that he'd want to see his brother's test. After that, Barbara popped in early so that she go to the trial with them, and decided that she wanted to watch the test as well. All of them along with Alfred, that pretty much meant the whole family was watching. This was putting a lot of pressure on Naruto, and he didn't plan on letting them down.

"Okay Naruto, are you ready for the first part of this thing?" Iruka asked with his sheet out so that he could mark his findings.

Naruto got into a battle stance, "I was born ready! Believe it!"

"Great, then we'll start with taijutsu," Iruka said, putting the paper in his pocket. He got into a fighting stance of his own, "You've got to land three hits on me in two minutes. I won't be going all out, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't. I wanna see exactly what you can do!"

Naruto lunged at him with his fist clenched. He swung at Iruka's head, who arched his back to avoid it, and retaliated with a kick. It was a close call, but Naruto managed to sidestep the hit. The next thing Iruka knew, Naruto was trying to knee him in the leg.

Iruka took the attack right in the shin. Dick cheered for his brother from the side, "Nicely done Naruto, but you've still got two more to go!"

Naruto gave his brother a brief thumbs up just before Iruka went to hit him in the chest. He literally had less than a millisecond to spare before he smacked Iruka's hand away. After he was safe, Naruto tried to bury his fist in Iruka's gut. Iruka dodge it and decided to go for Naruto's shoulder. This time Naruto let the the blow land, but it was for strategic purposes. While Iruka was busy trying to hit him, Naruto clenched his fist as tight as he could and struck his instructor on the side.

"Yes, that's how you do it!" Barbara yelled and jumped in the air. Her Japanese was the worst out of everyone's, but her point still came acrossed, "Just one more to go Naruto, you've got this!"

Bruce and Alfred both smiled at each other as Dick started cheering louder than before, "That's good, but stay focused! Don't go getting too over confident now!"

Naruto could hardly even noticed the cheering, as he was too busy planning out his next move. He had his final move all figured out in his head, but he'd needed time to make sure that Iruka did everything just right to make it work. That was easier said than done. It was a good thing that Naruto had a plan to do just that.

He ran towards Iruka and swept for his legs. The man jumped over it like it was nothing, but saw something as he was coming down. Naruto had started an attack on Iruka's legs, which were pretty much defenseless at the moment. While it was a good move, Iruka couldn't let himself get caught that easily. A moment later, he did a backflip to avoid the hit.

"Not bad, but I'm not going to be tricked that easily," Iruka said, sliding backwards as he landed.

Naruto scowled, realizing that he only had thirty seconds left. It was now or never. Iruka saw his opponents eye's shift and knew things had gotten more intense. With a burst of speed, Naruto charged at Iruka and started swinging and kicking at him like a mad man. All of a sudden, blocking became much harder for the older man. Everyone one on the side watched intently as Iruka fended off the crazed Naruto. This kept going until there was only five seconds left in the test. That was when it finally happened.

Iruka took his step back just a little bit too far and Naruto was able to get a brief hit on his knee. It wasn't nearly long enough to actually hurt, but it still counted as one of the three hits. Naruto had passed this part of the test.

"Would you look at that? You actually did it," Iruka said, not at all having expected this at all, "There's some kids four years older than you who can't do that."

Naruto just smiled proudly and pointed at his dad, "When you've got a teacher like him, there's no way that you can fail!"

Bruce felt proud to hear his son say something like that about him. He walked over and put a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Well thank you Naruto, you did very well. I never doubted you for even a second."

"Excellent job Naruto, though I do have a few notes for later," Alfred said, a pleasant tone in his voice.

The others wanted to congratulate him as well, but there was no time for that, as Iruka quickly reminded them, "He gave an impressive performance, but there's still two more physical parts to the test, and then a written portion."

Naruto wanted to do them right away, "Well what are they? I bet you that I can do all of them right now!"

"I highly doubt that," Iruka commented, "But let's give it a shot anyways. The next part of the test is the accuracy test. I'll give you a set of ten kunai and ten shuriken, and you have to hit the target eight times with each set ."

Dick pointed to a bullseye on the wall, "Will that work, or do you need something bigger/smaller?"

Iruka looked over to where he was pointing, "That one looks pretty standard. It might be a little bigger than the one at home, but I can just call it good or not. Let me get the weapons out and we'll begin."

"Just hurry up, I've got this one in the bag," Naruto said confidently, "I never miss when it comes to stuff like this!"

Iruka handed Naruto a bundle with the kunai and shuriken, "No need to be fast Naruto. Take your time and,"

Naruto grabbed the bundle before he could finish and started throwing the projectiles. Everyone in the room watched as weapons flew from the young boy's hand and towards the target. Each and everyone of them hit the target. Though they weren't all bullseyes, they were more than good enough for Iruka.

"How in the hell are you teach him that?" Iruka muttered to Bruce, more shocked than he'd been in a long time.

Bruce gave a little smile and nodded at his son in approval, nothing more. They needed to move on to the next test, "So, what's the last part before the written section?"

Iruka was still stunned, but managed to answer, "Ninjutsu is next. Naruto has to make a clone, do a transformation, and use the replacement jutsu."

"Like that'll be a problem," Barbara said in a sarcastic tone, "Him and Dick have been using that transformation thing to prank people for the last week."

Dick grinned as his girlfriend, "What? A big brother's obligated to have a little fun with his bro, right?"

Barbara shook her head, but still gave him a little kiss on the cheek, "I'll just take your word for it."

As the last little bit had been mostly in English, Iruka just ignored it and turned to Naruto, "Well, can you do those three jutsus for me?"

Naruto didn't answer, choosing just to show him instead. He made a hand seal and two clones appeared next to him. The first one transformed into a what looked like a carbon copy of Iruka, and second one suddenly disappeared to be replaced with a weight on the other side of the room. Now, the Naruto clone stood where the weight had been and the Iruka clones waved.

This was when Naruto spoke, "So, how was that?"

Iruka blinked and scratched the back of his head, "That's...perfect. That's three sections of the test passed, all with a near perfect score. Unless you bomb the written portion, I'm not sure you can fail this."

"About that," Alfred started, having a very relevant question, "How is Naruto supposed to pass the written portion when he knows very little of Konoha's history? He wasn't present to learn any of it."

Iruka had already thought of that, "Some of it he likely picked up during the eight years that he lived in the Leaf, and the rest of it is math and common sense questions. If he's been keeping up with his schooling here, I think that he'll be able to do alright."

Naruto had already decided that he was going to pass this test one way or another, so he had no fears about the written portion, "I don't think I can do it, I know that I can do it! Give me that test Iruka-sensei!"

"Iruka-sensei?" Iruka repeated to himself, "Why are you calling me that all of sudden?"

The boy didn't see why he'd call him anything else, "Because that's what I'd call you back home I guess."

Iruka seemed fine with the answer, allowing them to move on to the next order of business, "I guess if it works for you, it works for me. Here's the test, you can take in here or anywhere else if you'd like. The only thing is I have to be watching you to make sure you aren't cheating."

"Cheating?" Naruto scoffed at the word, "I don't need to cheat for this. I can do it all on my own."

He grabbed the test and a pencil and ran to the other end of the room. Before long, he started to scribble on his paper, very focused. The others didn't really have anything to do, so they just began to talk to one another.

Iruka chatted in Japanese with Alfred about the older man's days in the military, particularly about a case he'd had about 20 years ago, "So you and your partner had to infiltrate this Red Claw woman's hideout all by yourselfs? You guys had no backup whatsoever?"

"Oh no, backup would have drawn far too much attention," Alfred explained, "We had to be very secretive. Once we got the information that we needed, we got out of there and never spoke of it again. This information only became declassified last year. Ah, memories. Back when these old knees could really move. God, there's a part of me that misses those days"

While the two of them reminisced, Bruce decided it was a good time to talk to Dick and Barbara about their relationship. He began in English, "Dick, Barb, I think there's a couple of things that I need to say about the two of dating. Something that I should've said that night I first found out."

Barbara had an awful feeling about this, "Bruce, before you say anything you need to know that we understand how risky this could be."

"Yeah, but we really like each other, and," Dick started, but Bruce raised his hand to stop him.

They clearly had the wrong idea about where this was going, "I'm not trying to scold you, I'm trying to apologize for how I acted. I was very hard on you two, and that wasn't right."

Dick couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Wait, are you saying that you were in the wrong this time?"

"In this instance, yes," Bruce said, but quickly added, "But just keep in mind how rare of an occurrence that is. With my age comes more experience, which I try to pass on to you. The flipside of that is, it also comes with more scars. I can't let the pain that I felt in the past affect you two. Just because things didn't work out with me and...her, doesn't mean they won't work out with you. Whatever you two wish to do, I support you."

Barbara and Dick were floored by this. Even so, they were far more grateful, "Thanks Bruce. You have no idea how much it means to Dick and me to hear you say that."

Bruce nodded at them, but he was still afraid of how it might end as well. He hoped for the best, but had no idea what to expect. There wasn't much time for him to think about before Naruto started yelling, back in Japanese, "I'm finished! I've got the whole thing done!"

"Already," Iruka asked, as it hadn't been that long, "But it's only been about 15 minutes since you started."

Naruto came over and gave him the paper, "Well there was some stuff that I just had no idea, so I skipped em'. I still passed though, I know it!"

"I'll be the judge of that," Iruka said, starting to check the boy's answers. He mumbled as he worked, "Let's see, that's good. Yup, that's right. Eh, I'll give you that one…"

He kept tallying everything up in his head as others just waited around. After what felt like an hour, he finally said, "It was close, but he did it. There's enough right here for a passing grade."

Naruto pumped his fist into the air in victory, "Oh yeah! What did I tell you guys? The best ninja ever, right here!"

"That's spectacular Naruto," Bruce said, but knew he needed to deflate his son's head a bit, "But it's just a start. You may have come far, but you've got a long way to go too."

Dick had different view on it, "He just passed a test most twelve year olds take at age eight! That's pretty awesome if you ask me!"

It wasn't something Iruka saw everyday, "It's been a long time since anyone's done it. The last time was actually during the previous Great Ninja War, and the standards are lowered then. I can already say that the council is going to be very pleased."

"Um, guys? I hate to kill the mood, but if don't leave right now, we're going to be late for the trail," Barbara pointed out.

Bruce quickly saw how right she was, "Dang it, we're gonna have to drive like madmen just to get decent seats. We'd better get going before Harvey kills me. It he's finally gonna put away Thorne, he needs all the support he can get."

* * *

Gotham was considered by many to be a place of second chances, where someone could overcome everything, and few people in Gotham had overcome more than Harvey Dent. His father was drunk who spent every dollar on booze, and when he ran out of booze, he beat Harvey within an inch of his life. As if things couldn't have gotten anything worse, Harvey's father even tortured psychologically. He'd use a coin flip to decided weather or not he'd beat the boy, just to give him some hope that he'd be lucky. The twisted part that Harvey would only find out later was that it was a double sided coin. No matter what side it landed on, Harvey would get the beating.

When he found the coin after his father died of liver failure, he nearly went mad. The only thing that had kept him sane was his best friend, Bruce Wayne. With the help of his friend, he decided that it was time to make his own luck. Harvey kept the coin and suppressed the feeling of anger that he had towards his father, refusing to let him ruin his life. He got through school, passed the bar in order to become a lawyer, and then worked his way to becoming the Gotham City District Attorney. The only problem was, he'd suppressed a lot of anger during the years it took to do all that, and all of that anger had to go somewhere. Where had all of it gone? Weather he not he liked it, Harvey was beginning to find out.

At the moment, that wasn't his main problem. He was only a few minutes from the trial of his life, and he needed someone to calm him down. His assistants had tried, but they just didn't know how to talk to Harvey. What he needed, as walked nervously around the hallway outside the courtroom, was a friend who could keep him sane. Harvey was far from that at the moment, "Six years, this is where I've been trying to get for six years, and it all comes down to this moment. So, you know, there's no pressure here at all."

"Well I'd say that there's a little pressure," Bruce said, and Harvey sighed in relief when he heard the voice, "But at least you've got a beautiful fiance to go home to if you lose."

Harvey turned to see Bruce and the rest of the gang, although he didn't know Naruto and Iruka yet, had arrived, "I'll admit, knowing that Grace is at home makes things a little easier. It's good to see you again Bruce. Is the is the blonde here the new son that you've been telling me so much about?"

Bruce introduced his son to his old friend, "Harvey, this is the latest member of my family, Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne. He's from Japan, but he's been learning to speak English. The man next to him is Iruka, a visitor from where Naruto used to live. Don't worry much about him, he doesn't speak English. Naruto, this is Harvey Dent, one of my best friends from back in my school days."

"It's nice to meet you Naruto, and it's good to see you three as well," Harvey said, the three being Alfred, Dick, and Barbara, "I'm glad to have so many people here today. I think it might help keep me calm today."

Naruto heard the name Grace and just ask, "Um, you said Grace is your fiance. What does that mean? Is she here?"

Harvey could see the kid was pretty smart, "Fiance means that I'm gonna marry her, and she was too nervous to come today. She decided to wait at the office and look anything I might end up needing while she's there. An amazing wife and a fantastic secretary, I don't know how she could get any better."

"I'm happy for ya Harv," Bruce said, "Hey you guys, go find us some seats. I need to ask Harvey some important stuff."

Alfred took that as his cue and lead the others inside. Harvey didn't need to ask what they were going to talk about. It was the same thing they'd been talking about for the past month, "I hate to say it, but my problems been getting worse. Last night, I nearly lost it with Grace. If I'm not careful I could ended up going nuts out there.

Bruce really felt for his friend, "I'm sorry to hear that. Is the psychiatrist sure about the test? I mean, how can some form a second personality like that?"

"The woman explained it to me," Harvey said, a stressed look on his face, "She said that all the anger I pushed down after my father died has started to bubble back up. I won't let it out, but according to her I need too. So, I eventually created another personality in my head. It's been coming out so much lately that it's starting to scare me. I can't remember what I did when it happens, but the way my psychiatrist described it...it sounds just like my father. I'm going to scare her Bruce, I know that I'm going to scare Grace. She can't ever fear me, not like I feared my father. That's why I loved her, because she just so brave. Even knowing how dangerous it'd be being the wife of a DA, she still said yes. Lord, she's so damn brave.."

Bruce knew how painful this must have been for him, "You're not your father Harvey, and you never will be. If you think that you're anything like him, you're insane. Don't let your past stop what's been your dream since the moment you became a lawyer. I know that you can end Thorne's choke hold on Gotham, if you just get it there."

Harvey knew that it was going to be a good thing that he had Bruce here, "You've got more faith in me than I have in myself, but maybe that's a good thing. Let's get in there so that you can get a front row seat of me kicking Thorne's ass."

"MR. DENT!" A voice suddenly yelled, shocking the two men as a police officer ran up to him panting, "MR. DENT! The DA's office is on fire! Some nut in a freaky suit lit it up!"

Harvey's eyes filled with horror, "But Grace is still in there! I need to get to her now! Everyone, get out of my way!"

Before Bruce could do a thing, Harvey began sprinting for the door. He knew the fact that this was all happening during Thorne's trail couldn't be a coincidence. It was time for the Bat family to go into action, "Thorne, you are going to pay for this! One way or another, you're ending up in a cell when this day is over."

* * *

The heat could be felt nearly a mile from the flames as the DA's office went up in smoke. Firefly held his flamethrower tightly as it spat fire from its nozzle. He laughed in peer joy while he worked, "Haha! Burn baby, burn! Oh, look at it go!"

A few minutes after he started running, Harvey was within in a block of the building and saw it burning. He sped up, determined to get to Grace before it was too late, "Please let her by okay, please let her be okay!"

It was clear the building was going to be ash when it was all over, but Harvey didn't care about the building. He just wanted to be sure that Grace was okay. He didn't know that behind him, the Bat family was jumping from building to building. Alfred had taken Iruka home so that the others could go and catch up with Harvey. They could see pretty clearly how bad the fire was getting.

"Man, I never seen one that big before," The Red Fox said, referring to the building on fire, "How long until it falls down?"

Batman couldn't' say for sure, but he could give it guess, "At most, fifteen minutes. You three go and try to get everyone out, your suits will protect you from the flames, but only stay in ten minutes at most. You know what? Make it eight."

Red Fox had a better idea, "Why don't I send in my clones? That way if does fall, no one gets hurt."

"Not a bad idea," Batman said, wondering why he hadn't thought of it, "I guess the fact that it's friend at risk is causing me to lose a little focus. Red Fox, you do that, the rest of us will handle Firefly. Move out!"

The Red Fox jumped towards the building as the others jumped towards Firefly. There was three floors total in the building, so Red Fox made four clones for each one. They jumped inside while the real one stayed outside to watch. He was sweating as the heat hit him, "Please tell me everyone's okay in there. I don't wanna see my first dead body today."

A few minutes later, one of the clones burst out the door with a person in it's arms. It was a young man, most likely a para-legal. The clone was shielding him from the flames, "There's only one more person. It was a blonde woman in a blue suit."

"Grace," Harvey yelled, knowing who it had to be, "Let me in there, I have to save her!"

The Red Fox did his best to stop him, "Sir, I can't let you do that! Just let my clones handle this one."

Harvey pushed him out of the way, "I'm not leaving this to some little kid! Dammit, I'm going to do this!"

He ran inside, completely disregarding his own safety. There was a small explosion and one of the clones inside yelled, "Hey, what are you?"

"Give her to me," Was the next thing they heard from inside. Harvey ran out holding one a blonde woman the Red Fox could only assume was Grace. The Red Fox also noticed one other thing...half his face had been all but destroyed.

He put Grace down on the ground, still holding her close to him. She was crying into his shoulder, "Harvey, I was so scared! I don't know what happened, everything was fine, then suddenly there was a flames everywhere! Oh Harvey, I kept screaming for you!"

Harvey pulled his head up, showing her his face. She saw it and gasped, letting Harvey know that something was wrong, "What? What is it? Why is my face in so much pain?"

"Mr. Dent, what happened in there?" The Red Fox asked, running right beside him.

Harvey started holding his face, the pain finally hitting him, "I don't know. When I ran it, something small blew up. It only got my left side I think. Oh god, it hurt so much!"

The Red Fox figured he must not have felt it at first with all the adrenaline running through him, "This looks really bad. We need to get you to hospital or something."

Harvey was more worried about his fiance, "No, Grace is the one who needs the hospital. We need to make sure she's alright."

Grace pulled away from him, "Harvey, I'm okay, let's just get you check out. Look at you. My god, it's scary."

"Scary?" Harvey repeated, letting the word linger on his tongue. He reached for her with a burnt hand, but she flinched, "You're afraid of me. You can't fear me!"

Before anything could be done, Harvey ran towards one of the cops. Grace called after him, "Harvey wait!"

While all that insanity continued, the others tried their best to put out Firefly's flames. Batman had his Batarang out and at the ready, "Stand down Firefly. We don't wanna hurt you, but we will if we have to."

"Back off assholes!" Firefly yelled, spraying flame towards them, forcing them to step back, "Unless you wanna see what you look like deep fried!"

The others all got ready to strike when one of the officers on the side yelled, "Hey, that's my gun!"

Robin was the first to look over and see a deranged and deformed Harvey coming at them with a gun he'd stolen from the cops. He was angry and screaming, but in tone that was totally different than his usual one, "You did this to me! Look at Grace, the fear she's feeling. Harvey was too weak, but I'm not. You're going to pay!"

Harvey started firing at Firefly without thinking. The cops hadn't been firing on him because he had a large cylinder of flammable gas on his back. If one of the bullets hit that cylinder, it was going to explode, damaging everything around it. Batman tried to stop his friend, "Harvey, don't! You're not thinking straight!"

The words fell on deaf ears. Harvey fired, realising every single bullet in the clip on him. Once the cylinder was hit, that was it. An explosion went off that sent everyone around Firefly, including Batgirl and Robin, flying.

Batman's ears were ringing as he took in the destruction around him. He looked at his childhood friend, terrified for him. Harvey kept repeating the same four words over and over again, "She's afraid of me…she's afraid of me...she's afraid of me."


	9. Reasons Pt 2

Welcome once again my friends, to the next chapter of The Red Fox. Two-face is a tough character to pull off for anyone, especially for someone like me who's not even a professional. Strange as it might sound, that actually makes more excited to write him. As someone who's trying to be a legitimate writer, I love a challenge that could help improve my work. You guys have been great about reviewing, and I thank you so much for that. Please, be sure to tell me if there's anything that you think I could be doing better. I write these to help improve me for when I write my books and screenplays. Sorry, I'm rambling...again. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Ennio Morricone: Rabbia E Tarantella

* * *

"_Bruce, over here," Harvey called to his friend, "On your left, we're at table six."_

_Glancing to his left, Bruce saw Harvey sitting at table with a beautiful young blonde woman. He walked over to the table and sat down, "Hey Harv, it's good to see you. So, this is the woman that you've fallen so hard to you. It's nice to meet you Miss, my names Bruce Wayne."_

_The woman shook his hand with a beautiful smile, "Well hello there Bruce, I'm Grace. It nice to meet you too. Hm, so you're Harvey rich friend huh? Mmh, money and cute to boot. I almost wish that I'd seen you first."_

"_Haha, what did I tell ya? This woman's really got some guts, eh?" Harvey said, pulling Grace closer to him. The man was clearly head over heals. _

_Bruce couldn't' have been happier for his friend. He called over to their server, "Waiter, bring us over your best bottle of wine. I've got a beautiful woman to get to know today."_

_The waiter he called for didn't look at him. He just kept wandering around the restaurant. Bruce tried again, "Excuse me, waiter?"_

"_Would you shut up?" The waiter snapped and whipped around. Bruce gasped when he saw that it wasn't a waiter at all, but Firefly with his flamethrower, "I'm trying to cook here!"_

_The pyromaniac began to spew more flame from his weapon. Everyone in the restaurant began to scream and run around insanely. The world around Bruce began to melt until the only thing standing in front of him was his friend Harvey. Bruce tried to reach for him, "Harvey, what's going on? Where did everyone go?"_

"_Why Bruce?" Harvey asked, as he turned slowly around, revealing his half mangled face, "Why didn't you save me? I thought that you were my friend!"_

_Guilt began to consume Bruce. He couldn't take seeing Harvey like this, so he began to run, just wanting to get away. Two figures appeared in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. It was his mother and father, covered in blood, "Bruce, you failed. You promised that no one else would get hurt. You failed Harvey and you failed us! You're not a hero...you're nothing!"_

_Bruce started hyperventilating and fell to his knees. He couldn't take it any more, "NO! Make it stop! Please make it stop!"_

* * *

"Dad, wake up," Naruto yelled, shaking his father in his chair. He'd begun to sweat and breath heavily, which frighten the boy.

Bruce awoke, startled and unsure of where he was, "Huh? What's going?"

Naruto pointed out their surroundings, which was the waiting room of a hospital, "We're waiting to see how bad Harvey's burns are. Oh, and you wanted to know if that Firefly guy is gonna live or not."

"Right, how could I forget?" Bruce asked, though he knew good and well why he'd forgotten, "Has there been any word on them?"

Naruto didn't have any new information, as much as he wanted to help his father, "No, none of the doctors have been here. Everybody fell asleep for a while, so I guess something might have changed."

Bruce looked around to see Alfred asleep next to him. A few feet away, Barbara had fallen passed out on Dick's shoulder, who was sleeping as well. Iruka was there as well, but he was awake and reading a magazine. For whatever reason, he was fascinated by it. It was clear to Bruce it'd gotten a little late, "You know you guys can go home if you'd like. I just wanna be here when they give us an idea of how Harvey's doing."

"No way," Naruto said stubbornly, "We're a family, and families help each other when one of them hurt or scared."

Bruce put an arm around his son, amazed at how wise he could be, "You know something bud? I think that you joining this family is one of the best things that ever happened to it."

Naruto flashed his foxy grin right as the a doctor finally walked out into the waiting room, "Hello Mr. Wayne. You're here to see Harvey Dent, right?"

"That's right," Bruce said, waking up Alfred so that Naruto could wake up Dick and Barbara. Iruka didn't understand what was going on, since it was all in English, so he just kept reading his magazine, "How bad was the damage?"

The doctor looked at his chart, letting a 'Tsk' out as he did, "Well, we got all of the burned skin off that we could manage, but there's still a lot of complications. It'll take a skin graft to repair the damage, but even then, there'll be scaring. However, that's not the part I'm worried about. The psychological effects is likely going to bigger issue."

"Psychological damage?" Barbara repeated, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "You mean the stress from being in the building?"

The doctor looked though the chart some more, "Not exactly, give me a moment. Ah, here it is. It appears that Mr. Dent suffers from multiple personality disorder. Something about getting burned like he did seems to have had a strange effect on his problem."

Just then, a wiry man in nice suit and round glasses entered the room. He was creepy by all means, but still had a respectable look to him. Bruce knew that it was Jonathan Crane, and he seemed to be very interested in what was happening to Harvey, "Ah, Mr. Wayne. You must be here for Harvey. What a good friend you are. I can't help but fear for the man myself. Burning his face like he did could only exacerbate his newly developing personality."

"Wait just a second, how did you know about that?" Bruce asked, already finding that his fears about the man were valid, "The only people that he told were his closest friends and his doctor."

Crane almost smiled at the question, but managed to keep himself professional looking, "His psychiatrist has handed the case over to me. With all of the, 'Unique' psyches that I see in Arkham Asylum, she felt I would be best suited for the task. I'm going to have a chat with him in just a moment, but I need to see another patient of mine first. Garfield Lynns is his true name, but you likely know him as Firefly. I'm curious as to whether he'll survive this or not."

Naruto tentatively asked the doctor, "Firefly's gonna live, right? I don't want Harvey to get in trouble for this."

"Oh, Mr. Dent shouldn't be in any trouble," Crane said, pushing his glasses back on his nose, "He was under extreme emotional distress when he fired the at Lynns. No jury would convict him. I may tell you more about it later when you're in the interview room with me."

Bruce was about ready to jump out of his skin when he heard that, "Wait, you want us in the room with you when you interview him?"

Crane acted as though it was a very obvious thing, "You're his friend Mr. Wayne, he'll be more comfortable with you in the room. He'll be more likely to trust me."

"I still don't know," Bruce said, as he didn't even trust the man. Did he really want his friend to?

Crane seemed bored of the conversation, "Bruce, you're going to be in there. My methods are unconventional, but they work much better than those other quacks who are so quick to judge me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see Lynns. Be ready once I return."

Bruce wanted to knock Crane's head off with the way he talking to him, but just sat back down instead. He grumbled to himself, "Want me to trust you with my best friend and then you treat me like that? Buddy, you are something else."

Naruto could see his dad was stressed and needed to be alone for a bit. He walked over to Iruka to fill him in on what was going on, "Hey, Iruka-sensei, you want me to tell you how everythings going?"

"Um, sure," Iruka said, putting down the magazine, "I guess I am kind of bored. The pictures in the magazine were interesting, but I couldn't read any of the articles."

Naruto sat down next to Iruka and told him the whole story about Harvey and Firefly, adding in the little bits about Crane as well. Iruka was shocked at just how much had happened in such a short period of time, "All Alfred did was drive me to mansion and then here, how did I miss that much?"

It was a little hard for Naruto to believe as well, "Things happen fast in Gotham, but you get used to it."

"Still, it must have been pretty dangerous being near that Firefly person," Iruka said, a little concerned for the boy, "You probably should've come with me back to the mansion."

If Iruka thought that Naruto was gonna stay at the mansion during all that, he was nuts, "Hey, I wasn't gonna leave my family behind. If you weren't here, I bet Alfred would've come with us."

It was very clear to Iruka that Naruto loved living here, which actually made him a little sad. He was completely loyal to the Leaf after all, "I'm glad you're happy here, but...do you ever think that you might wanna move back to the hidden Leaf? It is your home, right?"

"No, not really," Naruto said, which disheartened Iruka a bit, "But neither is Gotham. My home is wherever my family's at. They're the important part."

Iruka could hardly comprehend that an answer like that had come from a child, "That's a very mature answer Naruto. So, do you think that you'll at least want to visit the Leaf?"

Naruto had actually been thinking about that, "Of course I'm gonna visit the hidden Leaf! I lived there for eight whole years. Someday I wanna go and see the Old Man and the gang at Ichiraku Ramen. Plus, I've got some new friends in the hidden Sand, and I wanna see what it's like where they live. Dad said that we're going to visit there at least once a year, because it's important to remember where I came from. I know he's super busy, but we'll find a way."

"Good, I was worried you held some hard feeling towards your homeland," Iruka said, relaxing in his chair.

Naruto was about to reply, but suddenly stopped as if something popped into his head. He looked up at the man and asked, "You don't hate me, right? You're not just pretending to be my friend because the village said that you had to?"

Iruka was startled by the question. He certainly had feared meeting the boy, as he knew that he contain an incredibly demonic monster. That didn't mean that boy himself was the monster though, "I don't hate you. In fact, you seem like a very nice person."

"Then why does everyone in the hidden Leaf hate me?" Naruto asked, actually getting to his real question, "And please, don't tell me that you can't tell me! I hate that people keeping say that!"

Iruka had no idea what to say. He couldn't tell the boy the truth, as it was against the law, but Naruto seemed so desperate. What could the man say? "There's only one answer that I can honestly give you, and you won't like what it is."

Naruto wanted to hit something he was so angry, "Why won't someone tell me? I just wanna know what I did to them that makes them hate me!"

"You didn't do a damn thing to them Naruto," Iruka said, stressing how important that was, "And that is the truth. They've got no good reason to hate you."

Naruto sighed in defeat, "Yeah, but I still wanna know what that reason is. I think that Dad knows, but he won't tell me either. Why won't anyone just tell me?"

A firm hand came down on Naruto's shoulder, which he knew to be his father's. Bruce leaned down by the boy and said in Japanese, "I know that it's not fair of us to keep something like this from you, and believe me, I want to tell you the truth so desperately. You have to understand though, now isn't the right time. Once all of this craziness with Harvey is done, I plan on taking you to the hidden Leaf. When we're there, then I promise to tell everything that you want to know. Can you live with that?"

"For real? I finally get to know?" Naruto asked, almost thinking that his father was lying to him, "And I get to visit the Leaf too? That's what I'm talking about!"

Iruka questioned whether or not that was a good idea, "Mr. Wayne, not to be disrespectful, but are you sure that's a good idea? He's still so young."

Bruce had faith in his son, more than enough to tell him the truth anyways, "He's more mature than half of the adults I've met in my lifetime. Naruto is more than ready to know about the power he holds."

Naruto didn't catch that last part, but he was too excited to really care, "Man, I can't wait till we're done with this stuff so we can go. That reminds me, do we really have to sit in with that creepy doctor guy when talks to Harvey? I get a really bad feeling when I'm around him."

"A bad feeling?" Bruce asked, "What do you mean? Like you just don't like him?"

Naruto shook his head, figuring out how to describe his feelings, "I don't like him, but that's not it. Whenever I'm around him, I get this feeling in my body. It's like, something in me doesn't trust him. Even if I don't know them yet, I can get that feeling about people."

Iruka thought that he knew what was going on, so he whispered to Bruce, "It's gotta be the Kyuubi. That thing needs Naruto alive if he wants to live, so he must warn him when he's around dangerous people. A creature like the Nine Tails can sense when a person has bad intentions."

"Well that could come in handy," Bruce muttered to himself, then returned his attention to Naruto, "I'll explain what that is to you when we go to the Leaf. For now, just take a little nap before Crane comes back. We need to be on high alert when that nut is near Harvey. I don't trust him anymore than you do."

* * *

Garfield Lynns had burned over 90% of his body when the tank on his back exploded, and he blamed Harvey Dent for every last percent. Thanks to that crazed lawyer, he was in constant pain. His body stung worse than anything he'd ever felt in his entire life, including all the burns he'd gotten before this. The doctor thought that he was gonna live, so at least he'd be able to get his revenge once he was all healed.

He raised up his hand and looked at his scorched skin in anger, "I'm going to find you Dent, and then I'll barbeque the other half of your body. No one's gonna be able to recognize you."

"As your psychiatrist, I must say that you're anger is extremely unhealthy," Crane said, opening the door to see his patient, "However, I don't think that you'll be angry much longer."

Lynns painfully turned his head to greet the man, "Doc, it's good to see you. Did you hear what the other Doc's are saying? I've got a 5 in 6 chance of making it through this thing. That pretty good, huh? I'll be working for you in no time at all."

Crance sat down his briefcase and opened it up. He soon found what he was looking for, which was a syringe with a clear liquid inside, "Maybe, but you're not out of the woods just yet."

"I'm a fighter, I'll get through it," Lynns said, watching Crane flick the syringe like doctors do, "Whatcha a got there? Something to numb the pain?"

Crane walked over to him, syringe still in hand, "You could say that, yes. I promise that you feel no pain after this."

In an instant, Crane stuck the needle in in Lynns arm and injected him with whatever was inside, "Ow! Don't you think that you should ask me before you prick me like that."

"Oh, now I couldn't do something as silly as that," Crane said, and began to pack up his things, "I highly doubt that you'd let me inject you with something as deadly as what was in that syringe."

Lynns shot right up, not caring about the pain he was feeling, "Deadly? What in the hell have did you just put inside of me?"

Crane closed his briefcase, ready to make a quick exit, "Just a fast acting toxin that won't show up on an autopsy. It'll appear you died from your injuries. You know far too much about my operation, and the now the police will surely be questioning you, along with the Batman. I know that you'll spill your guts once he enters the room, and there's just no way I can let you tell him about my little escapades as the Scarecrow. So, there was only one logical conclusion I could come to."

"Logical? You think that killing me is logical?" Lynns did his best to scream, but the throat was still very burnt.

Crane forced his hand over Lynns mouth, making sure the man wouldn't be heard. Lynns was ready to try something, but then he looked into Crane's eyes. The man's glare had shifted to much darker tone. This was no longer Dr. Jonathan Crane he was speaking with, it was the Scarecrow, "You listen to me you worthless little lepton. I've worked long and hard to get Gotham into the perfect position for the final phase of my plan, and you won't ruin that. Once I become Mayor, I can get all the funding I need to perfect my fear toxin. Then, when it's ready, I'll use my connections as the Scarecrow to get it distributed. I'll use one of the most powerful cities in the world to show the entire planet how powerful fear really is!"

The toxin was setting into Lynns system, so he had very little energy to ask, "What the hell are you planning to do?"

"As the Scarecrow, I'm going to see to it that my toxin rains down on this city like a cloud of death," Scarecrow said, his voice becoming utterly terrifying, "And then, as this city's Mayor, I'm going to make sure the police can't do a damn thing as this city rips itself apart. Once the city has reached the brink of oblivion, then I'll announce they've found a way to cure everyone. They'll be just enough people left alive to rebuild this city back up. The world will see what fear was able to do and they will respect its power. All of the data that I'll get on how people react to fear is just a bonus."

Lynns could barely rasp out, "You're insane. Batman's gonna stop you."

The Scarecrow took his hand off the man, going back into his Crane persona, "No, he won't. I've abandoned all fear, making others powerless to stop me. Please Mr. Lynns, enjoy the afterlife. I'm sure there will be lots of fire to play with where you're going."

Crane walked out just as Lynns flatlined. He wore a bizarre kind of smile on his face, taking great joy in what he'd just done. This was turning into a good day for him.

* * *

After deciding to go on the big trip, Naruto, Bruce, Alfred, and Iruka had a lot of planning to do. They agreed that they might as well use the time they have at the hospital to get everything sorted out. Dick and Barbara sat near them, discussing something similar, "So, you and the family are going to Japan, huh? That's gonna be fun."

Dick could hear in Barbara's voice that she was happy, but also sensed a bit of disappointment, "Don't worry Barb, we won't be gone for long. A week at most. I'd love for you to come with us, but something tells me your father might have an issue with that."

"Yeah, like daddy would ever let me go anywhere with a boy if he's not around," Barbara said, rolling her eyes a little, "My dad is so overprotective of me sometimes. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself."

Most boyfriends would be annoyed by a father like that, but Dick had a good understanding of where he was coming from, "That's not entirely fair to him. He spends all day dealing with the worst people the world has to offer. Murders, rapists, and drug dealers are the norm for him. You gotta understand how he feels. You've dealt with a lot of those people too ya know."

Barbara knew that he was right, but wasn't in the mood to hear it, "Stop being rational and kiss me already."

Dick was happily about to lean in, when there was a commotion nearby. Bruce shot up when he figured out where it was coming from, "Wait a minute, is that Harvey's room?"

"I told you, we're not crazy," A voice yelled, clearly Harvey's. It sounded like the one he'd used at the DA's office.

Naruto knew that voice was bad, "Uh oh, that's not good. Why did he say we're? Is there more than one person back there."

"Let us go you bastards!" Harvey yelled, running out into the waiting room. He was still in his hospital gown and Grace was chasing after him.

She looked scared of him, "Harvey, please, get back in there! The doctors just wanna talk to you."

Harvey turned around and backhanded her, "Shut up! They don't wanna talk, they just throw us in the looney bin! We can't let that happen!"

At first Harvey looked angry, but then he got a closer look at what he'd done. Grace was on the ground crying, shocking Harvey into his normal voice, "We hit her? Oh god, we must have hurt her!"

"Oh suck it up!" Harvey screamed, back in his other voice, "Grace can't handle us now. She can't take what we've become. Harvey Dent was too weak, but his darkness was too stupid. Now we're something better. He's gone, and only Two-Face remains!"

Harvey kept thrashing, battling with himself. All of a sudden he stopped, pulling up his head. There was a look on his face, a clear look of acceptance, "There's no use fighting it. The more we fight, the worse it gets. It's time for us to be who we are, and do what we are destined to do."

Grace ran up to him, draping herself over his arm, "Stop talking like that! You're not Two-Face, you're my fiance and I need you!"

"We're sorry Grace," Two-Face said, running his hand across her cheek, "You've been good to us, but there's no part for you in what we're about to do next. Sleep well darling."

Without warning, he clenched his fist and smacked her hard. Grace went out like a light, shocking everyone in the room. Two-Face looked at all of them in anger, then turned to the nearest window. He sprinted for it and dove out before anyone could do anything about it.

Bruce couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed, "Harvey, what in god's name happened to you?"

"Fascinating," Crane said, causing everyone to notice that he'd been watching the whole time, "It seems that those burns altered his psyche. It's like they merged together. I've never seen anything quite like it. Amazing, truly amazing. Two-Face, however, is a very odd name to choose. I wonder where that could've come from."

Bruce was not in the mood for his observations, "It's something they started calling him back in law school as a joke. Alfred, would you mind keeping an eye on Grace for us? I need to try to track down Harvey."

Naruto knew that meant it was time to see who all was going to track him and who was staying with Alfred, "Are you gonna need help getting him? It'd be kind of bad to leave Iruka here alone with Alfred again."

"If we did leave somebody with him, it'd have to be someone who speaks Japanese so that they can talk to him," Barbara pointed out, making a very good observation, "Alfred can't tell him war stories all night."

Bruce didn't want to spare anyone for this, and luckily he wouldn't have to, "Naruto, make a clone and have it stay with Iruka and Alfred. I need to be certain Harvey won't do any more damage to himself or others. He was talking like he already had something in mind."

Naruto was glad he wasn't going to be stuck at home, "Sure, once we're somewhere that people can't see me, I do it."

"And I'll go and get the suits," Dick cut in, ready to get this moving, "How long before we can leave?"

Bruce was already in his Batman mindset, "The moment that we can. I've seen a lot of good people in this city lose themselves in the darkness, and I'm not going to let it happen to Harvey. Not if there's anything that I can do about it."

* * *

Rupert Thorne was feeling very good about himself right now. The court battle was all but over, and he'd emerged victorious. The prosecution's key witness had recanted his statement, meaning that the cops had nothing on him. He was as free as a bird for the time being, and he planned to stay that way.

He was currently using his freedom to visit Gotham National Bank in order to make a few transactions. It was harder to trace his money when he was constantly moving it around, so that's what he planned to do today.

"Now this section of my money needs to be moved to the account for my construction business, and this cash here, move it over to the waste management fund," Thorne said to the bank teller as he stood at the counter, his two guards behind him.

The teller was busily trying to write all of this down, but it was a lot of money to handle, "Yes sir, we can do that for you. Do you wish to pay for the fees out of your general fund as usual?"

Thorne was going to say yes, but a metallic sound hit his eardrum. The man behind him was flipping a coin in the air repeatedly, and it annoyed Thorne to no end. He looked at the man, who was wearing a trench coat, and told him, "Stop fiddling with that damn coin. I'm trying to focus here, and your noise is making that impossible."

"Really?" The man asked in a disgusted voice, "All the shit you've done in your lifetime, and you're going to snap at a man for flipping a coin? Now isn't that ironic?"

Thorne didn't like the tone the man spoke in, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? If you've got any sense at all, turn around and leave here right now, before my bodyguards make you."

The man in the trench coat held up the coin he'd been flipping, "Tell ya what, we'll flip this one more time. If it lands on this side, we'll leave you be. If it lands on the other side though," He flipped to the coin's other side, which was burnt, "Well, then you'll see."

"A coin toss?" Thorne scoffed, sure that this man was crazy, "That's fine by me. I've always been a lucky guy."

The man seemed pleased by the answer, flipping the coin the moment Thorne stopped speaking. It landed right in the man's hand. Only he could see what the results of it were, "Well, looks look like your guards don't share that trait with you."

He took out his gun and shot both guards directly in the forehead. Everyone in the bank screamed while Thorne simply tried to understand what was going on. The man drew his weapon faster than a gun slinger, "My men! Do you have anyone what you just started?"

"Actually, you were the one who started it," The man said, taking off his hat to relieve that it was none other than the newly dubbed Two-Face, "You burned half our body and half of our father's coin. This is all on you Mr. Thorne."

Thorne cringed at the man's appearance, "Oh shit, that Firefly guy did a number on you. Well, I guess that's what you get for playing the hero pretty boy."

Two-Face wanted to see this man afraid, but right now he seemed so calm, "You're awful brave for a man with a gun pointed at him. Do you think that we won't shoot?"

"I've been around the block a couple of times Harvey," Thorne said, still unphased, "If you were just here to shoot me, you would've done it already. You've got something bigger in mind. The question is, what could that be?"

Two-Face could see this was going to be easier than he'd thought, "Simple, we're going to finish your trial. You didn't think that our injury was going to stop that, now did you?"

That was exactly what Thorne had thought, "Well, looks like all the effort we put into stopping you was just wasted energy. Fine, how do you plan to have this little trial of yours?"

"Oh, you'll see," Two-Face said, his gun still raised, "Now let's take a little ride. Do what I say, and you just might live through today. It all depends on the toss of a coin."

* * *

Naruto, now in his Red Fox gear, was doing his best to stay calm in the back seat of the Batmobile, but he couldn't ignore just how distraught his father was. There was a look of determination on his face that the boy had only ever seen on himself. He wanted his dad to be happy, so he was just as driven to make sure that Harvey came out of this with his sanity intact. First though, they needed to track Harvey down, "So dad, where do you think he'd go? You said that he was going to do something, but we have no idea what that thing is."

Batman had actually just picked up something on the scanner that answered the question for him, "Harvey's planning on doing something with Thorne, I know that much. He just shot up and bank and kidnapped him. I've got a feeling I know exactly where he's taking him too."

"Really? Where?" The Red Fox asked. He was the only one talking to Batman right now, with Robin typing away on his Holo-computer and Batgirl checking out her gadgets.

It required Batman to think back quite a few years, but he remember enough that something big came through, "There's an old place that Harvey and me used to talk at. If I'm right, which I'm almost certain that I am, that's where he'd want to settle this all."

The Red Fox didn't wanna ask anymore than that. It sounded like a pretty personal, so pushing the matter couldn't be a good idea. Still, he had to wonder…

* * *

_Bruce and Harvey sat alone in an abandoned courthouse in the run down section of Gotham. It had been one of the first court houses in the city, being around for over a hundred years. Now it merely sat in disrepair, the wood barely holding the old building up. The two men sat alone, drinking a beer and talking about recent events. They liked to meet here, as no one bothered them about Bruce's celebrity or Harvey's legal career. This was a nice, quiet place to meet._

_Harvey sat behind on of the rotting desks and cracked open his drink, taking a large gulp before they began, "So, I heard that you just adopted a kid. That true?"_

"_It's true alright," Bruce replied, sipping a beer of his own, "His names Dick Grayson. Great kid, but he just lost his parents right in front of his eyes. Needless to say, we found something we had in common."_

_Harvey had never thought about it, but his old friend would actually make a very good father, "Well, I guess were kind of like a big brother to me sometimes, so it should all work out. Besides, Alfred raised you, he'll save your ass if need be. I do like that this'll give you reason to stick around Gotham and not vanish for almost 8 freaking years again."_

_Bruce knew he deserved that one, "I was 16 Harvey, and I needed some time. You were over your father's dead, but there was still a part of me that wasn't over what happened to my parents. In a way, I still didn't trust this city. Don't tell that you think I came back a worse person?"_

_There was no way that Harvey could say that, "No, it was good for you. I don't know where you went, but you came back with a whole new outlook on life. It was perfect timing too, because you came back right as I started my career as lawyer. Who knows where I'd be without you. Maybe this time in a couple of years, I'll be trying some big case as DA, huh?"_

"_I know that you'll get there someday soon," Bruce said, having total faith in Harvey, "You're gonna be Gotham's White Knight. Heck, I might even fix up this old courthouse just for you. Give you a special place to finally end all of the crime in Gotham."_

_The two buddies laugh at that, clinking their beers together. Bruce was indeed counting on Harvey to be the White Knight so that the Dark Knight could finally retire. Well, maybe someday..._

* * *

Thorne found himself with his hands behind tied his back and gag stuck in his mouth. He was shoved on his knees and Two-Face had a gun to the back of his head. This was probably the stickiest situation he'd ever found himself in. As much as he wanted to bitch about it, the gag in his mouth made that rather difficult.

He tried to grunt in annoyance, but Two-Face smacked him in the back of head with his gun, "Keep your damn mouth shut! We'll let you talk when it's time. We still need to get ourselves an audience for this trail."

"Mph, hm bugm!" Thorne grunted once again, making it impossible for Two-Face to tell what he was saying.

He could make a pretty good guess at what man was thinking though, "We need an audience to tell the world what occurred here. We don't want this city to ever forget it. We know that someone's going to show up soon enough, it's just a matter of time."

As if on cue, the front door of the courthouse was broken down. Batman was standing in the doorway, his whole team behind him. Two-Face seemed happy to see them, "Ah, the hero of Gotham city. We were expecting Bruce Wayne, but you'll work just as well."

"I followed Bruce here and told him to go home," Batman said, basically lying to him, "This is not something he's qualified to handle. You've got a lot of people who care about you Mr. Dent. Please, put down the gun."

Two-Face cocked his weapon, "Dent is gone. Our name is Two-Face, and we will shoot this man if you come so much as an inch closer to us."

All of them took a step back, "Take it easy, we're only here to keep you from doing something foolish."

"Foolish? Hmp" Two-Face spat in anger, "The only thing foolish about us is that we actually used to believe in the justice system. No, we know how exactly how justice actually works now. It's all about luck in this world. Why do children starve in Africa while politicians in America get fatter by the day? Why does the Joker manage to survive the impossible while police officers die from a single bullet? Why do people like this fat fucker Thorne go on while people like us get burned half to death like some overdone turkey? Luck! It's all luck! It's the only thing in this world that's truly fair!"

Batman couldn't believe this deranged man was the person he'd grown up with all those years, "Please Harvey, you know that's not true. The system works if we just let it."

Two-Face pulled up his burnt coin, "No, you know what works? This coin is what works. It's time to see if Thorne is as lucky as he claims to be."

"HHM! MPGH! HHM!" Thorn grunted once again, as loudly as he could. Anyone could tell that it was call for help.

Two-Face ignored his pleas, flipping his coin anyways. The coin landed in his hand, everyone holding his breath as it did. As the heroes couldn't be sure about what he would do based on which side the coin landed, the tension was high. Looking down at the coin, Two-Face scrunched up his face in dissatisfaction.

Taking the butt of this gun, the smacked Thorne in the head, knocking him unconscious, "Bastard really is lucky."

"Okay, this is good, you didn't have to do it," Batman said, relieved, "Now, put the gun down so that we can talk this out."

Two-Face pointed his gun at Batman, "What about you Dark Knight? How lucky is a person like you?"

Batman was about to say something, but the Red Fox suddenly exploded, "Would you shut up about luck already!"

Two-Face's head shot to him, "We're sorry shorty, what did you just say to us?"

"I said to shut up," The Red Fox snapped right back, "Oh poor you, you've had back luck in your life. Who cares? Everyone's had bad luck! Some people have it worse that others, yeah, but not everyone does bad stuff like you do! I've got horrible luck, but I'm doing something good! Why can't you."

Two-Face glared at the boy, disliking his words, "You've got bad luck brat? Well, why don't we just see about that?"

The coin flipped once again, everyone holding their breath as it did. Once the Two-Face saw the results, he raised up his gun, "Looks like the kid was right."

"Watch out," Robin screamed, ready to push his brother out of the way. Sadly, he wasn't fast enough, and the bullet hit the Red Fox in the gut.

The Red Fox fell to the ground just as his brother got there. Batgirl ran up as well, looking the boy over, "Oh thank god, the armor stopped the bullet. That's gotta hurt like hell though."

"Ya don't say!" The Red Fox yelled, clutching his gut in pain.

Batman stared in disbelief as Robin turned to the villain, "Are you proud of yourself? You just shot a child! What kind of person does that? What gives you the right to flip your coin and do that?"

Two-Face was taken aback just a bit. He'd hurt a child, just like his father, "What does give us the right to do that indeed? How can we use this coin if we won't turn it on ourselves? That's it...that's what we have to do."

"Harvey, don't," Bruce started, but it was too late. That coin was in the air and ready to decided Two-Face's fate.

He caught the coin, quickly glancing at where it had landed. It was the burnt side, "Well, there it is. I guess we shouldn't be surprised."

Two-Face put the gun to his throat and prepared to fire, but something flew through the air at him. A batarang hit his hand, sending the gun flying out of his hand. Batman was in front of Two-Face in mere a second, quickly smashing his knuckles into the man's face. There was no holding back with the hit either, because the man went down. He was only semi-conscious, but he could hear Batman saying something.

"Harvey...why'd it have to be you?" The Dark Knight asked, heartbroken.

Two-Face faded out, not sure if he'd even heard what he'd said right. Batman looked at the man for a second, then turned away. He just couldn't look at him anymore, "Batgirl, call Gordon so that he can come and pick him up. Oh, and Red Fox, are you sure that you're okay?"

The Red Fox walked over to him, still holding his side, "I think I'll have bruise, but it'll be okay. What about you Batman, are you alright?"

"It's nothing that I can't get through," Batman said in an unconvincing tone and looked down, "I just never thought I'd be doing this with him. If I can't even protect my best friend, then what can I do?"

There was no way that the Red Fox was going to let his father feel like this. He walked over and whispered to him, "Dad, this wasn't your fault, and Harvey's not gone. He's just lost. You can't be sad, because you're his best friend. You need to help him find his way."

Batman didn't even look up, he just pulled his son into a hug like he had at the hospital, whispering, "Don't ever change son. This world is needs people like you too damn much."

Gordon arrived 15 minutes later and carted Harvey off to Arkham. He was going to need a lot of treatment if he was ever going to get back to his old self, assuming that he ever could. No matter what though, Bruce would never stop trying. That would be letting his son down.

* * *

After putting Naruto to bed and sending Barbara home, Bruce decided to make one last scan for the night as Batman. Well, it wasn't so much of a scan as it was an excuse to get some fresh air and think. He was standing on top of building, just watching the city. Harvey crept into his mind more than once, but he wouldn't be in his mind much longer. Not when he saw who was standing behind him.

"Well hey there tall, dark, and handsome," Said a seductive voice, "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Batman knew that it could only be Catwoman, "I just needed to clear my head. You could say that I had a very rough day."

Catwoman had already heard about it, "You mean everything with the DA and Firefly? It's been the talk of the town all day."

"I'm not surprised," Batman responded, "It's one of the bigger blunders that I've had as of late."

Catwoman came up and snaked her arms around him, attempting to comfort the man, "Still blaming yourself for the world's problem big guy? You know that you can't do that to yourself."

Batman faced her, drawing slowly closer, "You know it's funny, Red Fox said something pretty similar to that today."

"He's a special kid," Catwoman said, thinking back to the boy, "I'd like to get to know him a little better."

Batman looked into her emerald eyes, nearly losing himself in them, "I don't know how you'd do that. I should be arresting you right now."

Catwoman licked her lips, bring them so close that Batman could feel her breath, "Are you say that you want me to stop?"

"Not a chance," Batman said, closing the gap between them. They moaned, deepening the kiss. After a few moments, they broke for air, panting heavily.

Catwoman knew what he needed, "If you're looking for some comfort tonight, I know right where you can find it."

Batman only had one rule, "So do I, but you know how this works. The masks stay on."

"Deal," Catwoman agreed. This wasn't the first time they'd done this, "Maybe I'll keep the whip this time too."

Batman fired right back with, "Then maybe I'll break out the cuffs."

Catwoman didn't respond, just pulled him back into the kiss. It would be quite the night for the two of them.


	10. Reasons Pt 3

Here we go my awesome readers, it's time for our next chapter of the Red Fox. This chapter is of course where Naruto will learn the truth about the Kyuubi. Naturally, it'll be a little more focused on Naruto, but there will be a little villain action on the side as well. I'm bringing a new classic Batman villain into the mix. This should be a fun one! I can't wait to see what you guys think of it. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Craig Morgan: This Ain't Nothin

* * *

After a long night of relieving his stress with his old friend, Bruce was feeling much better. He was more than able to focus on planning for their trip to the hidden Leaf now. They planned on taking the same flight as Iruka back to the village, and once they were there, they'd spend about 3 days completing their activities. That was the longest that they could have Batman be away from his city. A couple of those days would be spent visiting with Naruto's friends, such as Hiruzen, the gang at Ichiraku, Ino, and even the kids from the hidden Sand, who was coming in just to see him. The big thing was still giving Naruto his long awaited answers to his burning questions.

This was everything that Naruto and Bruce talked about while walked down the streets of Gotham, and the boy was very excited about it, "I can't believe that we leave tomorrow! It's feels like forever ago since I left the hidden Leaf."

"Close," Bruce said, playing along, "It's been about four or five months. To an eight year old, that's almost the same thing."

Naruto laughed at the joke, still psyched to even be going. There was something bothering him though, "You're sure that it's okay if we go? The Joker's still out there, I think you said the Penguin's still doing stuff, and we still didn't know who the Scarecrow is. Well…"

Bruce knew when his son was holding back, "You know something that I don't? If there is you can tell me, then just say it. We're going on our trip either way."

"It's another one of the things that's hard to explain," Naruto mumbled while scratching his head, "That night that you saw that guy in the alley and we came to get Dick, I smelled something."

Bruce remembered hearing something about this when he'd first adopted the boy, "I almost forgot, some of your senses are enhanced because of...because of thing we're going to tell you about in the hidden Leaf."

Naruto nodded and continued, "I could kinda smell the fear toxin on Dick, and I thought I smelled that stuff again when we were at the hospital. That Crane dude smelled just like it."

Bruce stopped in his tracks, something suddenly hitting him in, "If he smelled like it, he either had to be near it or was the one making it. Even worse Dr. Crane was Firefly's therapist, and the man died right after Crane left. We couldn't even figure out how Firefly had gotten loose in the first place because all of the tapes had been wiped clean that day. The only person who could do all of that would be the head of the Asylum."

"Wait, I thought that Thorne was the one who wanted to get out Firefly," Naruto commented, unsure of where his father was going with this.

Bruce finished his train of thought, "He was, but I recently found out that Throne is funding Crane's campaign. I'm starting to think that Crane and Scarecrow may be more closely related than we originally thought. Good job Naruto, you may have just cracked this case wide open."

"Haha, yeah, cause I'm a super smart ninja!" Naruto said, beaming at the praise.

Bruce certainly got a kick out of seeing his son so excited. They both noticed they'd reached the street where Alfred was supposed to pick them up, so they stopped and waited for him. Up until this point they'd been talking quietly so that passers by wouldn't hear them, but Bruce was able to pick up his voice for this next part, "So, when we get there, we'd to get you checked out health wise. They've got the woman who's supposed to be the best doctor in the world coming. Her name is Tsunade, and they've actually said that she's cured the impossible more than once. You won't need anything like that, but you still need to be check out by her to be safe. We'll get it done on the second day if we can."

Naruto was fine with that, "As long as I get to see my friends and find out why the villagers hate me, that sounds good. Hey look, Alfred's here."

Bruce saw that he was correct, so he stepped from the sidewalk and onto the street. Alfred pulled up, allowing them to go inside. They drove off with Bruce feeling that everything had gone swimmingly. What he didn't know was that someone had been listening in to the part about Tsunade. A man who seemed to drop the temperature of anywhere that he went. His skin was blue, and wore a suit that kept his body icy cold. He was hiding in a sewer grate that was right under where Wayne had been standing while he waited for his butler. Thanks to this, he'd heard every single word about the healer woman.

This man's name was Victor Freeze, and this news had interested him greatly. At one time Victor had been a brilliant medical researcher, particularly in the field of Cryogenics. He lived a happy life with his wife Nora, one that it seemed nothing could spoil. That was until Nora was diagnosed with a terminal illness that gave her less than a year to live. In an act of desperation, Freeze froze his wife into a cryogenic chamber in order to keep her alive. It gave him time to research his wife's disease, or at least he thought it would. When the lab he worked at found out what he was doing, they stormed in an ordered him to stop. In the processes, Freeze fell into a vat of the very substance that had been keeping his wife alive. Through his genius and pure willpower, he was able to keep himself alive, despite his body being all but frozen. However, it came at a cost.

Freeze had to keep his body as cold as possible, whenever possible. His frozen body could no longer handle normal temperatures, forcing him to find way to keep the temperature of wherever he was at low. Yet, none of that was important to him. What was important to him was keeping his wife alive. He'd used his knowledge in Cryogenics to create weapons and tools that allowed him to break into his old lab and steal his wife back. When he got her, he vowed never to let her go again. Now he used his technology to steal from high class Gotham. With the money he'd gotten, he began to try and find a cure for his wife. So far, he'd gotten no results, but this Tsunade person had cured the impossible before.

"Perhaps I've finally found someone that can save my sweet Nora," Freeze said from under the grate, in his usual robotic voice, "Time for me to call in a few favors."

* * *

A short day later, the Wayne's took off from the Gotham military base and flew towards the hidden Leaf. Dick had been a little bummed to leave his girlfriend back home, but Barbara understood it was something he had to do. Alfred had to stay home as well, just to make sure the mansion was safe, but he told the others to have plenty of fun without , they shoved off for the hidden Leaf, Naruto excited the entire time. It was all Bruce could do to keep the boy in his seat.

They landed early in the morning, just at the crack of dawn really. People had just begun to wake up, same as the people on the plane. That is expect for Naruto, who was still bouncing like a little madman. He was going nuts as walked the short path from the landing area to the village gate. His excitement actually kicked up some dust on the dirt path, "Yes! This gonna be so much fun! I can show everyone what a super awesome ninja I am now! Let anyone fight me, and I'll show em!"

"I'm sure that you would Naruto, but let's try not to draw too much attention to ourselves while we're here," Bruce said in Japanese. They were all practicing the language they were going to be speaking over the next few days.

Naruto wasn't too worried about it, "I'm not scared of the mean villages, I've got family here with me. As long as you're here nothing else matters. Plus, I get to find out why the hate me now, and that'll make everything easier."

Bruce hoped that his son was right, but still had no idea how that revelation would go. He decided to distract the boy, "Hey look, we're at the gate. Looks like there's some people waiting for us there."

"Really? Then what are we waiting for!" Naruto yelled, sprinting for the gate. Everyone behind him chuckled at his excitement.

Dick was glad that his brother could connect with his old friends, "I've never seen someone who care about people as much as he does. It's a good trait to have really."

Iruka couldn't help but agree, "It'll be very good motivation for training. Although, he already trains harder than anyone his age I've ever seen."

"I hardly even have to push him either," Bruce pointed out, "That's actually the only thing that worries me about him. Sometimes he doesn't know when to quit. He rushes in too quickly, and could end up getting him hurt one of these days because he did think it through."

Iruka knew more about that Bruce would've thought, "When you're giving young children these kind of skills, it makes them feel invincible. We have to work with them so that they don't go too crazy when they get in an actual combat situation. Does that make sense?"

Bruce had gone through the exact same thing with Dick, "Don't forget, I trained Dick in martial arts just like I did Naruto. Believe me, I know how it goes."

"Um, do you think that we should catch up with Naruto?" Dick asked, noticing how far off the boy had gotten, "I mean, just to make sure that he doesn't tackle anyone."

Bruce and Iruka both realized he was right, and they all began to run where Naruto was headed. When they reached him he'd already tackled Hiruzen to the ground, which Bruce actually expected, "Good thing he's a Hokage. I don't think a regular old man could take that."

Iruka tried his hardest not laugh at his boss, but he began to snicker. Standing around him, laughing as well, was Ino and the Sand Siblings. Naruto jumped up with his foxy grin on his face, "Hehe, sorry old man. It's just been a while."

"That's quite alright Naruto," Hiruzen said as he dusted himself off. He was far too happy about seeing his surrogate grandson to care, "I'm just glad you're here."

Once Naruto was up, Ino and Temari hugged him from both sides. The boy blushed a little bit, which Temari noticed, "See, I told that he missed me. Right Naruto?"

Naruto looked at the ground and slowly nodded. Ino wanted to get in on teasing him as well, "What about me? You missed me too, right Naruto?"

"Eh, stop it you guys," Naruto said, squirming out of their grasp and running over to Gaara and Kankuro, "Gaara, you're sister's weird."

Gaara wasn't going to debate that, "Yes, but she's my sister, so I'm not really supposed to point it out."

"I'm pretty sure that all girls are weird," Kankuro told them, then pointed to Ino, "Especially her. She's says that her dad can go into people's mind and mess with them."

Ino stuck her tongue out at him cutely, "Yeah, and I'll make mess with you if you're mean to me."

Hiruzen watched the children in amusement, remembering when his own children had been this young. He glanced at the other adults, "Nice to see that some things never change, eh fellas?"

"When it's things like this, I'd have to agree," Bruce said, watching the kids have their fun, "Hopefully the taste of the ramen around here hasn't changed either, because that kid's been dying for some Ichiraku."

Hiruzen hadn't forgotten about that, "That's right where I was going to suggest we head. In fact, the whole meal's on me."

Naruto heard that and started paying attention, "You must be going senile old man! I'm gonna eat so much that you go broke! Come on guys!"

"Hey, not so fast," Gaara yelled as his friend began running, "You need to wait for us!"

All of the kids started running after him, not the least bit worried about the adults. Dick felt there was no need for all of them to chase after the Naruto again, "Don't worry guys, I've got this one."

Dick shot off like a racehorse, letting the other relaxed for a second. Iruka couldn't believe how much energy they had, "Something tells me were gonna be chasing them a lot these next few days. I noticed that the Kazekage's kids are here, so Naruto was telling the truth about being friends with them. Part of me really thought that he was pulling my leg."

"Nope, those guys are inseparable when they're together," Bruce said, as they started to walk towards the ramen stand, "I think he's closest with Gaara. Speaking of, how's he been doing Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen felt kind of odd hearing his official title come from Bruce, "First, you're not one of my men, just call me Hiruzen. Second, I've been told Naruto's been very good for the boy. Between finally having a friend and Jiraiya fixing his seal, he's doing much better. Apparently he couldn't even sleep before because the demon would take him over if he did."

Iruka cringed at the thought of that, "No sleep, now that really is hell. Good thing that it all worked out. Naruto was pretty quick to blush when the girls hugged him. Does he have a crush on them or something?"

"I know for sure that he doesn't think of Ino that way," Bruce comment, having looked into this topic a bit himself, "They're just friends. Temari though, I think that could be something in a few years. We'll have to wait and see about it. Just like we'll have to wait and see if Naruto manages to eat Hiruzen completely out of house and home.

Hiruzen didn't find that joke quite as funny as the other two seemed to, "It's a good thing that I'm rich, or I'd be very pissed off at you two right now."

Bruce nudged the man a little with his elbow, "Well you are, so deal with it. We've got a whole lot to do this weekend, so there's no time for anybody to be angry. Things are about to get really interesting here."

* * *

It took just about every favor that he had, but Mr. Freeze found a way to this mysterious island. After making promises to the Penguin, Black Mask, and even the Riddler, he'd gotten his hands on a helicopter and someone who could fly him. They took off seconds after the military plane, and followed it all the way to the new island with his wife in the cargo hold. The pilot was shocked to find out there was a place on earth that no one had ever even heard of. It raised a lot of questions that he was never going to get the answer to."

The pilot landed on small strip of dirt a few miles from some large village. He couldn't shut up as the rotors stopped spinning, "Seriously, this place isn't on a single map that I've ever seen. How is that even possible? It's the 21st century for god's sake!"

Freeze reached in his pocket and pulled out a some kind of pistol with a blue cylinder connected to it. He pointed it at the pilot, "Geography is the least of my concerns at the moment sir. There's plenty of reasons that people might not know about this place, but none of them really matter. I can already see that you're going to be more trouble than you're worth. There's no time for me to be distracted by your couristies. I'll find a way home on my own, thank you very much for your services."

"Own way home? How in the hell do you plan to?" The pilot started to ask but was never given a chance to finish the question.

Freeze raised up his gun and fired, sending out some bizarre mix of a mist and ray that turned the man into an ice cube. The villain jumped out of the copter and retrieved the pod containing his wife. He was planning on a finding place to store his wife and then locating Tsunade as soon as possible. His wife didn't have time for him to take a single break, as pod could only keep her frozen for five days. There was no doubt in freeze's mind that he could save her, "Never fear my cold angle, you'll be ready soon. You're warm heart will finally be able to thaw my frozen soul. At long last, we'll be together. Nothing will stand in my way this time...at least not anything that plans on living."

* * *

"Thank god, he's finally back!" Teuchi yelled as he saw Naruto approaching with his friends, "Ayame, get some water boiling! We're gonna have a lot of ramen to make!"

Ayame walked out from behind the counter to see what his father was yelling about, "Dad, what are you going on about this time? If you're just trying to attract customers again, I swear I'll,"

She stopped when she saw Naruto coming towards them and waving, "Teuchi, Ayame, I'm here!"

"Naruto!" Ayame yelled and opened her arms up to the boy. Naruto jumped at the girl, who caught him and spun him around in a hug, "Oh, we missed you so much! It's not nearly as much fun around here when I don't get to see your smiling face at the counter every day."

Teuchi appeared next to them, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder once she put him down, "Not just that, our profits took a dip when you ran off. I think half of the money that we made was from the Hokage trying to feed you."

Naruto felt a little sheepish at that, "Yeah, but I really like my new home though. Do you wanna meet my family?"

"Of course," Ayame said, realizing that they'd unintentionally made him feel a little bad, "We'd love to meet them."

It was then that Naruto realized he hadn't introduced his friends yet, "Oh yeah, and these are my friends. The blond girl with green eyes is Temari, and the other blonde is Ino. The kid with red hair is Gaara and standing next to him is his brother Kankuro. Temari is their sister too."

They all said their hellos just as Dick caught up with them. He was lightly panting when he reached them, "How do get your little legs to run so fast? Seriously, I'm in good shape, but you guys are working me out."

"Wow, you really are in good shape," Ayame muttered to herself, looking the boy over, "Naruto, who is this?"

Naruto motioned to Dick, who turned red at the sight of the girl, "This is my big brother, Dick Grayson. He can do all kind of awesome circus flips and stuff!"

The girl brought her hand up and shook his hand, noting his strong grip, "It's very nice to meet you Dick. How kind of you to come here and support your brother."

"Um, yeah," Dick said, getting a grasp on himself. As cute as the brunette was, he had a girl back home, "My girlfriend Barbara wanted to come too, but she had too much stuff going on at home."

Ayame knew why he'd said that, and thought it was very sweet how he hard he was trying to faithful, "Well, she's a very lucky girl. How much longer till your guy's dad gets here?"

Speak of the devil, that's just when Bruce and the others arrived, "Well, looks like the gangs all here. You two must be Teuchi and Ayame. Great to finally see you both in person."

Just from looking at the suit, Teuchi could tell that the man was wealthy, which he was fine with. After the hell the village had put him through, Naruto deserved a little luxury, "It's good to finally meet you too. Naruto seems very happy, so you're already good in my book."

"It's been my pleasure," Bruce said, pausing to look at the boy, "And I'd be happy to tell you why once we get eating. Hiruzen seems pretty eager to pay for Naruto's ramen."

Teuchi gave a deadpan look at the older man, "Lord Hokage, do we need to be concerned that you're going insane? I think that's what it would take to agree to something like that."

Hiruzen was already tired of that joke, "Why don't we just go sit down, hm? If we really are going to empty my wallet, I'd prefer that we get over with."

"Understandable Lord Hokage," Iruka said, partially because he was hungry as well, "Let's do this."

They all turned to the stand, which already had two men sitting at it. One of the men caught a glimpse of Naruto and immediately his mood turned sour, "Hey, Jin, you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Well would you look at that," the man named Jin said, finding what his friend was referring to, "That little thing came back. It's gotta have some nerve…"

Teuchi wasn't about to let this go down, "Hey, don't you call him a thing! That boy is here with several paying customers. If you've got a problem with him, then feel free to take your business elsewhere."

That was exactly what the men planned to do, as the got off from their stools one of the men growled as he walked by Naruto, "I don't know where you came from, but you better go back there real soon."

"Agh," Naruto yelled, as the man spat on him. He tried his best to wipe it from his cheek, "Oh come on, that's just nasty!"

That was not something that Bruce was about to let go unpunished. As Ayame helped Naruto wipe the spit from his face, Bruce grabbed the man who'd committed the act and threw up against a wall, "If you don't want me to break every single last bone in your body, you're going to apologize to my son for what you just did!"

Jin tried to help his friend, but Bruce jabbed him in the throat before he could get within an inch of him. The man watched his friend go down and realized how deep he was in. You'd think that he'd be smart enough to apologize at that point, "That thing is your son?"

"My adopted son, yes," Bruce said, clenching his fist as tightly as he could, "And if you don't tell him you're sorry right now,"

The man didn't need to hear anything else, "Okay, I'm sorry! Please, just leave me alone!"

Bruce let him go, causing the man to fall to the ground, "A coward, just like I figured. Take your friend and go home."

The man grabbed Jin by the collar and dragged him off, terrified of Bruce and what he might do. Once they were gone, Bruce went back to his son, "Are you alright Naruto? That jerk didn't get to you, did he?"

"My skins to thick for him to do that," Naruto said once he was all cleaned off, "Hey, at least they didn't forget about me."

Gaara knew how his friend was feeling, "They're just mean Naruto, don't even think about them. Why do they do that to you?"

Naruto wished that he knew, "I don't have a clue. I'm supposed to find out today...right dad?"

"Oh course I will," Bruce could hardly say no after what he'd just seen, "Right after we're done eating, I'll tell you everything. I don't know if you want your friends to stay for it or not,"

Naruto wasn't sending them away, so he cut his Dad off, "No, I trust them. If they're my friends, then they can take it."

While they were having this conversation, Hiruzen was busy pondering a big decision of his own. One regarding the boy's heritage. He was going to need some time to think on this, "Oh, we've talked about this enough for the time being. Teuchi, get the ramen cooking! I don't know about the rest of them, but I'm damn hungry. Naruto, you better come before I eat it all."

"No way old man, I'll finish that ramen before you can even get to it," Naruto boasted, turning back to his more cheerful side. That was all that they needed to bring their focus back to the food. The group ate, laughed, and just caught up in general. This was exactly what the group had been hoping for.

As happy as they all where, there was a much less happy meeting going down on the other end of town. This was not a reunion in any sense of the word. No, this was something that would turn far more sinister by day's end. How it would end, no one was sure.

* * *

Tsunade had hoped that she'd never have to set foot in the hidden Leaf ever again, and yet, that's exactly where she was. She was inside of a bar, which made the situation a much more tolerable than usual, but there was still so many painful memories here.

"Well, if I'm gonna be stuck in this shithole, I might as well be drunk," Tsunade said, downing her fifth shot of sake, "Come on Shizune, aren't you gonna in join with me?"

Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, was smart enough to know that there needed to be one sober person here. If you drank with Tsunade, you were going to get drunk, no doubt about it, "No thank you Lady Tsunade, I think I'll just have a soda or something. Are you sure that you're okay coming here? You told me that you can handle it, but…"

Tsunade wasn't about to listen to this from her assistant, "Don't start pulling that shit on me girl. I can handle it like I said, I just need to be wasted to do it."

"Lady Tsunade, we didn't have to go. I know that being here must be hard on you with everything that happened to you," Shizune began, trying to think of how to best reason with her.

Tsunade simply cut her off once more, "Oh, you mean watching my baby brother die in front of me? Better yet, what about watching your Uncle, my lover, die right in front of me less than a year after that? Or wait, did you mean that it must have been even worse for me because I'm supposed to be the best medic in the world, and I couldn't save them? As if all that wasn't enough, the village then refused to listen to my pleas to get us more medical ninja! Is that the everything that you were referring to?"

Shizune didn't have much of a response for that, "I didn't mean to bring up your old feelings my lady. I guess that I'll just let you sit here and drink."

"Yes, why don't you do that? I'm not turning down the money the council offered me to do this, so I'm just gonna have to deal with the pain," Tsunade said, taking another shot of sake, "Eh, is it cold in here, or is it just me?"

It was then that she noticed the man standing next to her in a massive cloak that covered his entire body. This wasn't nearly as uncommon in the ninja world, but the cloak wasn't what was throwing her off. What was throwing her off was blue mist coming out from beneath his cloak, "Hey buddy, I don't know if you've got some kind of bloodline or what, but if you're the one making it cold, take that shit outside. Some of us are trying to use the booze to warm ourselves."

"My apologize Lady Tsunade," a strange male voice said. This didn't upset the woman, as she was recognized often with her Sannin status. What upset her was that it sounded like two people were talking. One was a man that she couldn't understand, and the other one was in her native tongue, but sounded robotic. As best she could tell, one voice was saying something in a weird language while the other translate.

The man continued speaking, "It's just that I was hoping to have a brief word with you about my wife."

Tsunade poured herself another drink, "Frankly, I don't give a shit about your wife right now. I'm kinda trying to get hammered here, so if you wanna talk to me, come back in the morning when I've gotten past the hangover."

Something like that would've required this to have been a patient man, "Please Lady Tsunade, I can't stay in this village long. What my wife has is supposed to be incurable, but I've heard tales that you've done the impossible before. I was thinking that you could do it again."

"Look here weirdo," Tsunade said, getting irritated, "I feel for you about your wife, I really do, but I've got my own demons to deal with right now. Is what your wife has going to kill her in the next 12 hours? No? Then I can take a look at her in the morning!"

The man was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but he'd planned for this exact situation. He removed his hood, revealing Mr. Freeze's frozen face. Tsunade had no idea who he was, but his skin was definitely interesting, as well as his suit, "Okay, icey skin and some kind of metal exoskeleton. Now this is a new one even for me. I've have to ask you your name now."

Freeze took out a small cylinder from his cloak and opened it. He tipped it upside down and poured out a dozen diamonds, each the size of a quarter, "My name is Victor Freeze. Is it safe to assume I know have your attention?"

"You bet your ass you do," Tsunade said, examining the diamonds, "These are all real. Damn, they must be worth a fortune."

Freeze began to speak again, gaining Shizune's attention as well, "You have no idea what I went through to get those and what I had to go through to get here. I had 14 originally, but I had to sell off to in order to upgrade my suit with a system that could identify and translate languages. Months upon of months of work, and this is all that I have left to show for it. If you go and see my wife right now, they're yours."

Tsunade licked her lips. Drinking was only half of the way she dealt with her pain, she used gambling to deal with the other half. However, the problem was, she was horrible at every casino game known to man. In fact, she lost so much money that she earned the nickname 'The Legendary Sucker.' These diamonds would go a long way for her.

"Hell ya, just lead the way," Tsunade said without hesitation, "If it's even the slightest bit possible to cure her, I'll do it!"

Tsunade got up from her cheer, making Freeze smile, "At last, you're on board. Follow me, I have my wife held up not far from here. I had a much easier time finding you than I'd originally thought, thankfully."

Shizune was more skeptical about this whole thing. She whispered, "Lady Tsunade, we don't know very much about his person. What if he's dangerous?"

"Dangerous enough to take me?" Tsunade scoffed, finding the very concept ridiculous, "Please, if he tries anything I'll shatter his bones like it's nothing. Besides, between those diamonds and what the Leaf's paying me, we'll be able to settle virtually all of my debts. I mean really, what's the worst that could happen?"

Shizune's head dropped as soon as she said those words, "Oh, you just had to go and say that, didn't you?"

* * *

After Naruto's group sat down, they proceeded to eat more ramen in one sitting than Teuchi usually sold in a month. The old man was ready to cry tears of joy when Hiruzen wrote him a check for the bill, with a nice a little bonus for defending Naruto before that. Once bowls had been licked clean and everyone was nice a full, it was finally time for Naruto to learn the truth about the power residing inside of him. Hiruzen had specifically wanted to do it atop the Hokage monument, their equivalent to Mount Rushmore, though he wouldn't say why. Bruce was sure the man had his reasons, so that's directly where they went.

Climbing up the Hokage monument was not something that everyone was particularly happy about. Ino was the most vocal about it by far, "Why couldn't we just do this back on low ground? My legs hurt from all this climbing."

Hiruzen needed to tell them about more than just the Kyuubi, and this was the best place to do it, "Sorry Ino, but this isn't negotiable. I promise you'll understand someday."

"Someday? I thought that you said we'd get to know everything that you told Naruto," Ino pointed out, remembering what he'd said before.

If only it was as simple as that for Hiruzen, "You get to find out some of it, but there's one piece of information I have to share today that I can't tell to anyone but Naruto's family. This info would be far too dangerous if it were to fall into the wrong hands."

Bruce had no idea what kind of information the older man would be referring to, "So you have more information to share with us? I don't recall that being part of the original plan."

"It wasn't," Hiruzen confirmed, "I only recently decided to give you this information. Seeing Naruto again has gotten me thinking about about certain things, mainly what all the boy deserves to know. You'll see what I mean in just a moment."

He said just a moment because that was right when they'd reached the top of the monument, right on top of where the Fourth's face was carved. Naruto wasted no time in getting down to business, "Okay, so now I'm here, in the village, on top of the monument! Now you have to tell me what I did to that made the villagers hate me!"

Iruka felt the need to remind him, "I told you Naruto, you didn't anything, not really. I'm sorry, I'll let your father tell you the rest. It'd be best if this came from him."

"Thank you Iruka," Bruce said, before turning to his son. This was not going to be an easy discussion to start, "Naruto, you know how your birthday is on October 10th, right?"

Naruto gave him an odd look, but nodded, "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

This strange question was actually the perfect place for Bruce begin, "Do you know what else is significant about that day?"

"That was the day of the Kyuubi attack," Naruto said in an instant, "He destroyed like half of the village and the only one that could stop him was the Fourth Hokage. The Fourth killed the Kyuubi, but he had to die to do it."

The boy was pretty close as far as Bruce was concerned, but he got one key detail wrong, "That's right...expect for the fact that Tailed Beasts can't be killed, right Hiruzen?"

Hiruzen knew Bruce had deferred to him because Naruto would be more likely to believe the Hokage about something related to chakra, "That's true, they're beings of pure chakra. Killing them is virtually impossible."

"I don't get it," Naruto said slowly, "If you can't kill a Tailed Beast, then how did the Fourth stop the Kyuubi."

It was clear to Bruce the boy was starting to understand what they were getting at, "He had to seal it inside of a newborn child. By sacrificing his life, he was able to save his village along with the people that he loved. If you've haven't already guessed it, that newborn child...was you."

Naruto took a step back, beginning to shake. He'd never imagined in a million years this would be the dark secret, "No...I can't be…I'm not a monster…"

"You're not a monster," Dick said, assuring his brother, "You just have something sealed inside of you. It's like one of those scrolls you've been learning about. No matter what you put in them, it's still just a scroll right?"

Naruto was having a hard time hearing that logic at the moment, "They all think that I'm the Kyuubi. No wonder they've always hated me, I make them think about the worst day ever everytime they see me!"

Gaara had been listening the entire time, and wasn't about to let his friend go through the same thing he had all alone. After all, he wasn't the only person with a Tailed Beast here, "Naruto, I know how you feel right now, but it's not your fault. You're like me; you didn't choose to have this happen to you. You made me see that I'm not the monster that's inside of me, so that means that I can't let you think you're a monster either."

"So none of you…" Naruto started to choke out, having trouble getting over his fear, "None of you hate me?"

Temari was the first to speak, "Of course we don't hate you! Why the heck would we?"

Kankuro could hardly believe he was asking that, "Dude, if we hated you, we'd have to hate our own brother. You're sounding kinda crazy man."

"Tell me about," Ino shot in, shaking her head at her friend, "I feel really bad for you. You got beat up and yelled at for something you didn't even do. That's harsh."

Naruto felt a wave of relief wash over him as he heard all this, "They don't hate me...they don't hate me!"

Dick put an arm around his brother, "Ya right, like anyone could ever hate you. It's like trying to hate a puppy: you can be mean to it all you want, but it be more fun if you just played with it."

"Haha, I guess," Naruto said, letting his foxy grin back on his face, "But wait, does that mean that all of the weird stuff I can do is because of the Kyuubi?"

Iruka was impressed by his observation. Most kids would've missed that, "That's exactly way. It enhances some of your senses, gives you more chakra, and let's you become something bordering on a sensory ninja. Almost makes it sound like a good thing."

That lead into Naruto's last question, "So, was it pure luck that I got chosen for this? It's because of the day that I was born?"

Now it was Hiruzen's time to speak, "That's part of it, but it's not the only reason. Bruce, Naruto, Dick, come over here for a moment."

All of them looked at one another and shrugged. They walked over to him, unsure of what to expect. Once they were a couple of feet from him, he made some quick hand seals and put his hands out, "Sound Barrier!"

"What the hell?" Bruce yelled, as a blue sphere surrounded them. It looked like a thin wall of light, and all of the sudden he could hear nothing from the outside world, "Oh, this is the part that didn't want to tell anybody else about."

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe before he said, "Precisely, this will keep the others from hearing us. Now, Naruto, you being born on the day of the Kyuubi attack is only part of the reason he was sealed inside of you. It was much more due to who your parents were."

"Parents?" Naruto mimicked, letting the word linger for a moment, "Do you know who they are?"

This part would take quite a bit of explanation on Hiruzen's part, "Yes, I do. You're mother was named Kushina Uzumaki, and she was a beautiful, passionate woman with long red hair. Just looking at her, you'd never guess that she was the holder of the Kyuubi."

Dick was already feeling lost, "His mom had the Kyuubi before he did? Seriously?"

"That she did," Hiruzen said, moving on with his tale, "She came here from the hidden Whirlpool, a village that guarded the Kyuubi's fierce power, until said village was destroyed that it is. Then, that responsibility came to us. For reasons unknown, on the day of Naruto's birth, Kushina's seal broke and the Kyuubi was set free. Realizing that his newborn son would be the ideal new host, as he had already been introduced to the Kyuubi's chakra in his mother's womb, Naruto's father decided to seal the Tailed Beast into the boy."

That last part confused everyone, especially Naruto, "Wait, my father sealed him into me? You said that the Fourth was the one who did that."

Hiruzen let himself smile for a second, "Both of those statements are true Naruto. Think about it for a moment."

"Both of them are true? But wouldn't that mean," Naruto started, before it hit him mid sentence, "Hold on! The Fourth was my dad?"

Now it all made sense to Bruce, "Why didn't I see it before? Who better to seal it inside than your own son, someone that you have complete faith in."

Hiruzen could see why he was considered the world's greatest detective, "Well said. Most people would assume that a father would feel he was putting a burden on his son by doing that, but Minato didn't think so. He didn't think that anyone but his son would be able to find a way to use this power for real good. Father's believe in their son's from the moment that they're born."

"Really? My dad believed in me that much?" Naruto said with stars in his eyes.

Hiruzen was glad the boy was taking this so well, "Both of your parents did, more than you could ever know. Kushina was glowing when she found out she was having you. She knew there was great things in your future."

Naruto pumbed his first into the air, "Then I'm not gonna let em' down! When I get home, I'm gonna learn how to control the Kyuubi's power so that I can be the most awesome ninja ever!"

"That's wonderful Naruto," Hiruzen said, but quickly changed his tone, "I'm glad that you're happy about all this, but you can't tell another soul who your parents are. The hidden Rock village is still very sore about the number of men they lost to Minato during our last war, and they'd love to kill you simply for payback. Do you understand?"

The boy got a more somber look on his face, "Yes, I understand. You can trust me."

"You can trust us too," Dick said, referring to himself and Bruce, "If there's one thing we're good at, it's keeping secrets."

Hiruzen felt safe at that point, so he raised up his hands and released the barrier. Everyone ran up to them, wanting to know what was going on, "What the heck man? What was so important that we couldn't hear it?"

Naruto had the perfect answer, "We were just talking about our plans for world domination. Don't worry, I'll fill you guys in later."

Everyone was silent for a second, then broke out in laughter. The little joke didn't go unappreciated. They only stopped laughing when Hiruzen got a worried look on his face and pulled something out of his pocket, "Oh dear, that's not good!"

"Is that a distress seal?" Iruka asked, seeing that it was a scroll with a glowing seal that his Hokage had pulled out.

Hiruzen quickly put it back in his pocket, "Yes, I gave to Tsunade in case of emergency. Come on, we've got to make sure that she's okay!"

It was likely that he was just referring to Iruka when he said that, but it didn't stop everyone else from following him as he ran down the mountain. Things were starting to get real interesting, and no one wanted to miss it. They'd sort out who should and shouldn't be going once they got there.

* * *

"I swear to god, if you don't let her go right now, I'll shatter your frozen scrotum!" Tsunade growled as she watched Freeze hold a gun up to Shizune's head. A few moments ago, Tsunade had given Freeze some rather bad news. Nora's disease had progressed too far, to the point where even the Legendary Sannin could do nothing about it. Frankly, she'd die in a matter of minutes if taken out of the cryogenic chamber.

This was not something that Freeze was going to stand for, which was he'd grabbed Shizune and put the gun up to her skull. She would've tried to fight it, but the man was covered from head to toe in that metal suit. There was nothing she could do about it, "Lady Tsunade, just take him out! Whatever happens, I'm sure I'll be fine."

Freeze pressed the barrel of the gun closer to her temple, "It's the last person in the world you truly care about, and I could freeze her head solid in an instant. Now, you took my diamonds, so heal my wife!"

"If I could, I would!" Tsunade yelled in frustration, "I told you, take your stinking diamonds back! Just let her go dammit!"

Freeze wasn't budging, "I don't want the diamonds, I want my wife. Do what you said you'd do, or take away the last thing in the world that matters to you!"

As this was going down, the ninja's burst in on the scene. The distress signal doubled as a homing beacon, making it incredibly easy from them to find the woman. Hiruzen was so concerned about Tsunade, he didn't even bother to protest when Bruce bursted in with him. It wouldn't be long before the Hokage was glad to have the younger man with him.

"Freeze? What in god's name are you doing here?" Bruce asked, flabbergasted that one of Gotham's villains had made it to the hidden Leaf.

Hiruzen didn't know what to make of any of this, "What in god's name is that thing he's wearing? How the hell do you know him?"

Dick, who was there along with the rest of them, explained, "It's Mr. Freeze. He's a supervillain from back home who wears a suit to keep his body frozen. How he managed to get here, I couldn't tell you."

"Ah, if it isn't the rich little Wayne family, how nice of you to join us," Freeze said, his hand inching closer to the trigger, "I really must thank you for leading me to this place. If it hadn't been for your plane, I never would've found Tsunade here. She's going to heal my wife, if she knows what's good for her."

Bruce wasn't going to let anything bad befall Shizune, "Victor, just calm down. I know what happened to Nora, everyone in Gotham does, and it's terrible, but that doesn't give you the right to do what you're doing."

Freeze chuckled at Bruce's words, "Please, I was given the right to do this when the twisted hand of fate warped my happy little life. Now, Tsunade, get to work on my wife. I must warn you, my trigger finger is getting itchy."

"You really think this is what she'd want?" A younger voice yelled, running into the room.

Bruce knew who's voice it was, "Naruto, what are you doing here? We told all of the kids to stay outside!"

His voice fell on deaf ears, as Naruto had other concerns, "How can you think this what your wife would want Freeze? You lost the only thing in the world that mattered to you, so how do you think she'd look at you if she knew you were about to make the same thing happen to someone else?"

Now someone was finally saying something that got to Freeze. Unable to control himself, he stole a glance over his wife, muttering, "Nora…"

"Go time," Tsunade said, seeing he was distracted. With speed to be expected from a ninja, she got behind Freeze and grabbed him, throwing him to the ground. She slammed his head onto the floor, cracking the glass in his suit and knocking him out.

Shizune backed away from him, stuttering, "The crazy bastard was gonna kill me."

Tsunade walked over and grabbed her assistant, pulling her into a hug. It was rare for the Sannin to show such emotion, "I'm so sorry I let this happen to you. I was so stupid to trust him. Kid, whoever you are, thank you. If you hadn't distracted him, who knows what could've happened."

"He was certainly helpful," Bruce agreed, looking at his son. Naruto started to smile, but that wouldn't last long, "However, I'm more than a little disturbed by the fact he deliberately disobeyed me to do it. This isn't the first time he's put himself in this situation like this either. We had one just like it less than a week ago."

Naruto was ready to defend himself, "But dad!"

"Not now Naruto," Bruce said sternly, "I'm not mad at you, just worried. We'll talk about it when we get back to Gotham."

After that, Naruto walked back outside like a scolded dog. Hiruzen was very glad to see Bruce was so concerned about the boy's safety, "Ah children, they always think they're invincible. Now, about Freeze and the woman in the tube thing, what are we do with them?"

Dick made a joke out of it, "If you could just erase Freeze's memory so he didn't know he came here, that'd be great. Then we can just take Nora and him home without them ever knowing they'd even been here."

"Alright, I'll see to it that it's done," Hiruzen said as if it was a regular thing for him.

He walked out of the room, along with Iruka who also seemed to think memory erasing was normal. Dick yelled as they walked away, "I was kidding! You can freaking do that?"

On that more comical note, the day ended. Had it been perfect? No, but, no one had gotten hurt and Naruto's friends still saw him as just a person. What more could you ask for?


	11. Fright Night Pt 1

Welcome once again everyone, to what I know will be an exciting chapter of The Red Fox. This is going to be a big one, in fact it'll have three parts. After briefly finishing things up in the Leaf, we're finally going to get to the day that Gotham elects its Mayor. With everything that Scarecrow's done to work his campaign, and mysterious group backing The Penguin, it's going to be an epic battle. There's players that haven't even entered the battle just yet. These next three chapters are going to be important, with the first used to set up an epic free for all battle in the next two. Please, sit back and enjoy. Thank you for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Metallica: Whiskey In the Jar

* * *

"Look Sensei, I'm not asking for your permission," Tsunade said as stared down Hiruzen, "I'm going to Gotham with Naruto and his family whether you want me to or not."

Hiruzen felt the killer intent coming off from his old student, but felt like backing down wasn't the best idea, "Tsunade, I'm fine with you wanting to go to Gotham, really, but you'll have to set up a time to do it like your teammate Jiraiya did."

Tsunade snorted at what she considered a pathetic response, "Oh hell no! I'm not setting up an appointment to get to know a boy I just found out is my freaking cousin!"

That had Hiruzen slumping in his chair just a bit. She was referring to the fact that Naruto was in fact her relative. Naruto's mother was the great niece of Mito Uzumaki, who was the wife of Hashirama Senju. The two of them were Tsunade's grandparents, so when she heard Naruto's last name was Uzumaki, she knew that something was up. Hiruzen didn't give her all the details, but he did confirm for her that Naruto was indeed her cousin.

"I'm sorry Tsunade, I was going to tell you about him," Hiruzen started, knowing that this day would come sooner or later, "There was just never a good time. You were never here and you avoided any messengers I sent after you like they were trying to kill you. It took a ridiculous amount of money just to get you here at all."

She opened her mouth to argue, but knew he had a point there, "Alright, I'll take part of the blame for that. Doesn't matter though, I'm going to Gotham with Shizune so I can spend some time with him. He's the last family I've got, and I'm not going to let myself lose him too."

Hiruzen had known Tsunade long enough to understand why she had to do this, "Fine, I won't fight you on this. I just have one condition, and that's that you bring one other ninja of my choice with you. Before I say anything, I know that you can handle yourself, I would just feel safer knowing there's somewhere there to keep an eye on you."

"Ugh, if it'll get you to let me go," Tsunade said, giving in, "It had better be somebody I like."

That wouldn't be a problem if Hiruzen's hunch was right, "Oh, you'll have no issues with my choice. You know of Kakashi Hatake, correct?"

Tsunade had heard the name more than once, "He was the son of Sakumo Hatake. Poor bastard killed himself after he decided to abandon his comrades in order to finish a mission. He felt too damn guilty. On the bright side, Kakashi's become a hell of ninja in his own right. Wasn't he a student of the Fourth?"

"Yes he was, in fact he's the only one that's still alive," Hiruzen said, his tone a little sad, "Anyways, he'll be accompanying you two. He can be a bit off putting at first, but you'll get used to him."

None of this really was something that Tsunade careered about, "As long as I get to see Naruto, that's all fine. Is there anything else, or can I go now?"

"No, you're free to go," Hiruzen said, but slid in a joke for good measure, "By the way, so nice to see you again as well."

Tsunade looked at him with a sad smile, "Sensei, did you want me to stay in here for a while so that we can catch up?"

Hiruzen could see is little hint worked, "Oh, well if you insist, I guess that I can spare a little time."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, but sat down nonetheless. She and Hiruzen caught up for what must have been hours. He missed his old student dearly, and she'd missed him as well. It really was the little things in life that people seemed to enjoy the most.

* * *

The three days they all spent in the hidden Leaf seemed to pass by like a pleasant dream. Naruto spent his days playing with his friends, eating all of the food he'd missed while he was gone, and pranking some of the adults who'd been cruel to him. Even Ino's dad had helped them with the pranks, pulling a few fun little mind tricks on some people.

Sadly, that pleasant little dream was over just as soon it had begun. As much fun as he'd had Naruto knew that it had to end. At the end of the final day, he and the rest of his family said goodbye to all of their friends and prepared to shove off for home. The kids were heartbroken to see Naruto go, and Ino promised that the next time he was in town she'd introduce him to some of her friends that he hadn't met yet. Naruto also promised to visit the hidden Sand some day so that he could finally know where his other friends were from. Last but not least, he promised all the adults that he'd work even harder to become the greatest ninja that he possibly could.

Finally, once the long goodbye's had concluded, they got on a plane and flew back to Gotham with Freeze and his wife in the cargo hold. However, there was a few extra people heading home with them. Tsunade had recently revealed the whole thing about Naruto being her cousin, and flat old told Bruce that she was going to come to Gotham with them. That hadn't really been necessary, as Naruto had been so excited about finding out he had a blood relative that Bruce would've invited her to come anyways. He was fine with Shizune coming along too. There was really only one person that he had an issue with bringing.

"Remind me again why we have to bring this Kakashi person with us," Bruce mumbled over to Tsunade, "I mean this guy's rude as all hell. He's hardly said a word since he got on the plane. All he's been doing is keeping his nose in that damn book."

Tsunade was sitting in between Bruce and Naruto on the plane, and Kakashi was just a few seats over. She was in a poor mood about having to take him as well, "He's a kind of a jerk, but he's had a rougher life than most. Let him keep reading his book and we'll hardly even notice that he's here."

Naruto didn't want to talk about him, "Forget the grumpy guy. Tsunade, I wanna know everything about you! How old are you? What kind of food do you like? Do you speak English?"

"Woah, give me a second," Tsunade said, trying to get started on the boy's questions, "Jiraiya taught me a little bit of English, but I don't actually know it very well, I eat pretty much whatever anyone puts in front of me, and as for my age, don't ask. In fact, you shouldn't ask any woman that, ever."

Naruto would have to remember that, "Okay, so how did you find out I was your cousin? Did the old man tell you, or what?"

Tsunade went into the explanation about how he was an Uzumaki, and how she was granddaughter of the First Hokage. It took a couple of minutes, but Naruto seemed to understand what was going on, "So, yeah, I heard your last name and figured all that out. You know, that actually means you're a descendant of the two of the past Hokages."

"That's so cool," Naruto said, not realizing it before, "Now I'm even more glad that I helped you guys with Freeze! Did you hear that dad?"

Bruce had heard it, and it reminded him of something, "Yes I did, and it's very cool. However, it brings back up the matter of you not listening to me back when were taking out Freeze."

Naruto cringed a little bit, hoping he'd forgot, "Hehe...would saying that I'm sorry help?"

"A little," Bruce replied, his eyes never leaving his son, "As I stated before, I'm not angry with you. You're young, you're going to make mistakes. So, what I'm going to do is make this very simple for you. If you deliberately disobey me again, I will take you out of the field until I feel you're mature enough to go back. Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto quickly agreed, not wanting to disappoint his father, "From now on, I'll do whatever you tell me to. I really am sorry, I only wanted to help."

Bruce figured he better explain why he was being so adamant about this, "You have to know Naruto, I'm only being hard on you because I care about you. It's like your trying to put yourself in the line of fire lately, and I wouldn't be able to deal with it if I lost you."

"You're telling me," Tsunade said, being able to relate to this conversation, "Listen to your dad kid. I know better than anyone what it's like trying to deal with loss. By the way, what do you mean in the field? What exactly do you have Naruto doing?"

Bruce planned on telling her that, but not just yet, "Wait until we get to Gotham so that I can explain it all there. Between you being Naruto's family and the fact that Jiraiya would likely tell you if you asked him, I planned on filling you in anyways."

Tsunade was getting tired of all the secrecy around here, "One of the worst things about being in my line of work is that people rarely give you a straight answer. I guess that I'll wait then. I'm beat, so I'm taking a nap until we get there. If I'm gonna catch up with you, I wanna actually be awake to do it."

With that, Tsunade laid her head back on her seat and closed her eyes. Naruto decided he wanted to go and talk to the new guy, "Hey dad, I'm gonna go try meet the Kakashi guy, okay?"

"Go ahead," Bruce said, seeing no harm in it, "He doesn't look like much of a talker though."

Naruto was never one to back down from challange. He jumped down from his seat and walked over to where the grey haired man was sitting. The guy looked like he was just over 20 years old. After a moment, Naruto sat down beside him, "Hi, I'm Naruto. What's your name?"

The man still didn't look up from the book, "Kakashi."

"That's a cool name," Naruto said, trying to keep the conversation going, "So what kind of book are you reading?"

Kakashi just kept looking at the pages with interest, "Icha Icha Paradise. It's not for kids."

Naruto pouted at his coldness, "Fine. How come you've only got one eye?"

"Look kid, not to be mean, but I'm not interested in having a conversation right now," Kakashi said, then finally looked up from the book. When he saw Naruto, his eye got wide. It was like he'd seen a ghost, "What the...what did you say your name was."

The boy was glad to finally have his attention, "It's Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne. Are you okay? You're looking at me funny."

It was clear the gray haired teen had seen something that threw him off, "Uzumaki you said? Hm...anyways, I'm sorry about being rude. If you'd like we can talk later. Please, go back and sit with your father."

"Sure, enjoy your book," Naruto said before going back to his dad. He'd gotten the man to open up a little bit, so overall it went well. Hopefully things would improve even more when they got home.

* * *

At last, after months of planning, Crane's big day was finally here. The citizens of Gotham would go out tonight and choose who was going to be the city's new mayor. He knew that he could win it too, because Cobblepot and Sharp were worthless compared to him. They understood nothing about fear or it's power.

He stood in his office, looking at himself in the mirror. For the occasion he wore a sharp suit, a fedora, and had even broken out his father's cufflinks. His assistant watched him adjust his tie from the corner of the room, "You look excellent sir. Very much like a mayor I'd say."

"Thank you Cillian, that's kind of you," Crane said, making a few more minor additions to his suit, "How am I doing in the latest polls?"

Cillian pulled out a paper he'd printed out before, "You've got a sizeable lead against everyone, Quincy Sharp is in second, and Cobblepot is a close third. Is that satisfactory?"

Crane couldn't find a whole lot wrong with it, "I'm pleased for the time being. It seems like I've got more than good shot of winning this thing."

"You have an excellent shot sir," Cillian agreed, "But there's still the issue of that detective, Ellen Yin. She's Bullock's partner and has been following up on the leads he had on you. His credibility may have taken a hit after that incident with Clayface, but her's hasn't. From what I've been able to gather, she may actually have something that could cause you some trouble. She found out about the incident with your grandmother, and intends to release this infor within the next few hours. If she did that today, it would easily end your campaign. None of the voters would trust you."

Crane sighed, brushing off his suit one last time, "Ah yes, Ms. Yang. We can't have her destroying everything that we've built, now can we? I suppose it's time to get to work then. Please, exit the room and send in the prisoner. We have much to discuss."

Cillian hastily nodded and left the room. As he was walking out, a different man was walking in. A man who seemed very full of himself, "Riddle me this: Why does a soon to be mayor call in a convicted super criminal to his office on the day he is to be elected? The answer is: Because he requires a favor that can't be asked of a normal person."

"Edward Nygma, better known as the Riddler," Crane identified easily, since he was the one who called him in the first place, "Please sir, take a seat. I'm about to make you an offer I'm sure you won't refuse."

The Riddler, a slim man with brown hair and average hight, sat down in front of Crane's desk, Crane soon joining him. The men did not trust one another, as they both knew the other one wanted something out of this, "So Dr. Crane, what does a simpleton like you require from someone such as myself."

That was more or less exactly what Crane had expect him to say, "A narcissist, just as I read about in your file. Mr. Nygma, as much as I'd love to get into a battle of wits with you right now, I've got far more important things to attend to. I have a speech to give today, and after that I have to go and get changed for...Well, that part doesn't concern you."

"I see," The Riddler said and crossed his arms, "Then what, in your feeble little mind, does concern me?"

Calling Crance feeble pissed him off even more than before, "Nygma, if you don't start showing me some respect, I will find someone else who wants this deal! I'm offering you a get out of jail free card as well as a favor from someone who's about to be a mayor. Are you telling me that you don't want that?"

That was at last able to get the Riddler to close his big fat mouth and listen, "A favor and ticket out of here? That would be nice, as I wouldn't have to use my latest escape plan just yet. I could save it for the next time. Please, do tell me what you require."

"You greatest goal in life is to prove yourself smarter than the Batman, is it not?" Crane asked, though he already what the Riddler was going to say.

The Riddler nearly jumped out of his seat, "Yes! I want to prove to that arrogant bastard that I have the superior mind! Why? Is that what you offering me?"

Crane had twisted what he'd meant just a bit to get the Riddler interested, "It's not what I'm offering, it's what I'm hoping you'll get. I want you to kidnap a detective and hold her hostage. Any way you'd like to do it is fine. Batman just needs to be kept busy tonight. Between you and what ever other villains attack tonight, he should be far too busy to give his full attention to the Scarecrow."

"Ah, so he does work for you," The Riddler comment, having heard about the new villain, "And he's set to make an appearance tonight. This is going to be fun."

Crane was having a lot of fun during his little escapades as the Scarecrow, and it was even more fun since no one knew who he was, "Yes, he'll be making an appearance just as the voters are off to the polls. Again this is none of your concern. You just be sure to kidnap Detective Ellen Yin. I'll provide you with anything that you need to accomplish this."

Once he heard that, the Riddler knew exactly what he was going to do, "Well in that case, it's not what I need, it's who I need…"

* * *

The second mayoral candidate, Oswald Cobblepot, was getting himself ready as well. He was dressed in his usual attire, sitting inside his living room, and sipping a glass of scotch. The mysterious Lady Shiva was supposed to have one last meeting with him today before the election in order to discuss a few things.

The Penguin was upset that he had to wait, as he was already in a foul mood, "Jackasses told me they'd be here right at ten o'clock this morning. What in the bloody hell is taken them so long?"

He was about to find out exactly what was taking them so long, and it wasn't going to pleasant, "My apologize Penguin, but there was someone who insisted on meeting you."

"Good lord," Penguin yelled, jumping out of his seat to discover Lady Shiva behind him, "Woman, if you don't stop sneaking up on me like that, I'm gonna have to kill ya!"

Lady Shiva did not fear the Penguin in the least, "Be silent little man. My master has given you the rare privilege of his company. You shall not disrespect him while he's here."

Her master? At last, Penguin could meet the man, "So he's finally decided to show me his face, eh? Well don't keep me in suspense now, bring him in here!"

"He already is," An elegant voice said, as a man entered the room. He had blackish gray hair, a goatee, and wore a jet black suit. Draped over his shoulders was a dark green cloak. It was no mystery who the man was, "Hello Cobblepot. It's been a very long time, hasn't it?"

As soon as he saw the man, the Penguin backed away, "You, you're supposed to be dead! Oh, what the hell am I saying, your fucking Ra's Al Ghul!"

Ra's Al Ghul was indeed the man's title, which translated to Head of the Demon in Arabic. He had been alive for hundreds of years because of ancient pool known as the Lazarus Pit, with could heal all wounds and give a man immortality. If someone was to die, a simple dip in the Lazarus pit was all it took to revive them. After living through several different civilizations and seeing many wars, he'd become an expert in both mental and physical warfare. On the other hand, living that long had made him bitter and hateful towards that world. Eventually, he decided that the world was too far gone and that it needed to be destroyed so that it could be rebuilt. In order to complete his goal, he'd created the League of Assassins, a group of the finest contract killers the world had ever seen. Gotham was high on Ra's list of places that needed to be destroyed, and he'd come close to doing it more than once. Batman always stopped him in the end, but much to the man's frustration. He'd stepped on a lot of toes during these attacks on Gotham, and some of them clearly belonged to the Penguin.

"It's clear that you have not forgotten me," Ra's said, walking closer to the short man, "I know that I've wronged you in the past, but I feel like everything that I've done for your campaign should make up for all of that."

That's when the Penguin started to connect the dots, "You're the leader of the group that's been funding me? I'll be damned, never would pegged you for this. Why in the hell are funding me of all people?"

Ra's saw it as a legitimate question, "I had a feeling that you could win, why else? Having Gotham's mayor as an ally is beyond useful for me. The league will have a constant foothold in this city that the Detective can take from us. You've done very well for yourself so far, and I'm hoping that you can finish this campaign just as strong as you started it."

"You do realize that I'm third in the polls right now, don't you?" Penguin asked, uncertain of whether or not he should have even said that.

It clearly wasn't bothering Ra's, "We know that your third, but it won't be an issue. You're opponent, Crane, is going to meet a very untimely fate. Once he's gone, I'm confident that a few a favors that I can call in will get you the remaining votes that you need to win. I hope that you're ready sir, because you're about to become the mayor of Gotham city."

The Penguin went from worried and pissed off to grinning ear to ear, "Ra's, my friend, all our past problems are just water under the bridge now! Whatever you need me to do, just ask!"

"We won't need anything from you for now. The important things that need to be done will be handle by my associates. Please, just stay here with Lady Shiva and do as she tells you. I've got to leave in order make sure that everything goes down smoothly, "Ra's said, before his tone turned to a more threatening one, "Be courteous to her now. I'd hate to have to kill you over something like rudeness."

Lady Shiva could see the color drain from the Penguins face as Ra's left to attend to his work, "Whatever you say sir. Lady Shiva, is there anything I can get you? A drink? Some food? Whatever the hell you want basically?"

Now this was a Penguin that Lady Shiva could get used to, "I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee...Mayor Cobblepot."

"One cup of coffee coming right up," The Penguin said, now a little more willing to get it for her, "You'll love that stuff I've got, because I only take the best."

Lady Shiva found that a little ironic. He gotten the best possible people backing him with League of Assassins. If anyone got in his way, they'd simply 'Remove' the problem. This man was going to be mayor if the league had anything to say about it, and Gotham was going to welcome him. The league would more than see to that.

* * *

After a long night in airplane, Naruto and the gang were practically kissing the ground when they landed. They got to the mansion half an hour after they landed and found Alfred waiting for them at the front door. He greeted them in Japanese, as Bruce had already warned him about Tsunade and the others coming, "Hello everyone, it's nice to have you all back in Gotham. I trust that you had a safe flight."

"Safe as it can be I guess," Bruce replied as he carried his luggage into the entryway, "Like I said before, we had more people than we originally planned on, but it worked out fine."

Alfred was about to say something else, but someone came up from behind and nearly tackled him in a hug first. It was of course the blonde missile known as Naruto, "Alfred, we totally missed in the Leaf! Did you still have fun without us?"

He chuckled and patted the boy on the head, "I just kept the house in order and caught up on some television master Naruto. That's more than pleasant enough for me."

"Same old Alfred, all work and no play," Dick joked, then said to visitors, "If you want I can lead you guys to some empty rooms we've got. Does that sound okay?"

Tsunade handed her bags over to Shizune, "You and Kakashi can go find your rooms if you want. Put my stuff near Shizune's room and I'll be fine. I've gotta have a word with Bruce."

Shizune and others just shrugged, ready to follow Dick to their destination. That was until someone stopped them, "What, you're not even gonna say hi to your girlfriend?"

"Barb," Dick said with a smiling, glancing over at his girlfriend, "I didn't even see you there. How are you doing?"

Barbara walked over and gave him a brief kiss, "A little better now that you're home. I wanna know everything that I missed with you guys in the Leaf. Come on, you can tell me while we we get everyone set up."

They continued on their way to there rooms, allowing Bruce to ask Tsunade, "So what did you want to talk about? The stuff with Naruto?"

"That's exactly what I wanna talk about," Tsunade said, wanting to know every last detail, "You said something about Naruto being in the field, but didn't give me an answer in the plane. I'll ask you again, what does that mean exactly?"

Bruce decided to take this conversation somewhere else, "Lets go into the kitchen and do this over some breakfast. I need to get some real food in me."

That didn't sound so bad, as Tsunade was hungry too, "Sure, let's see what you guys eat in the mornings over here. Will Naruto and the other guy be joining us?"

"My name is Alfred madam," The old butler said, surprised she hadn't picked up on it before, "And I think that I will join you. I'm quite certain that young master Naruto would like me to make him some waffles."

Naruto became filled with excitement, "How'd you know?"

It didn't take a genius to figure it out, "You haven't had my waffles in three days. With the way you eat them, I know that you must have missed them."

"Waffles?" Tsunade questioned, "What's a waffle?"

Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the kitchen before anyone could answer, "They're the best breakfast ever! Come on, I know you'll love them!"

* * *

While Alfred hastily whipped up some waffles, which Tsunade discovered were pastries that were like crunchy little cakes with indents in them for syrup, Bruce began to explain to her his actions as the Batman and Naruto's relation to it. The others had been short of shocked when he started to tell her, but he was quickly able to explain his reasoning for it. Needless to say, Tsunade had hard time buying all of this, "Are you actually trying to tell me that you dress up like a giant bat and run out fighting crime at night?"

Bruce took a bite of his waffle, not surprised by her confusion, "I don't dress up like a bat per say, more like the suit I wear is themed round bats. Strange as it may seem, it's worked very well here. People are starting to believe this city can be a good place again and the criminals are running scared. Most of them anyways."

"Whatever works for your city I guess," Tsunade said, trying the waffle for herself, "That's actually not bad. I'll have to eat these more often. Now, my next big question is, do you really think that Naruto is safe with you letting him do things like this?"

That was a question that Naruto was tired of people asking, so he decided to answer it, "If dad thought I was gonna get hurt, he wouldn't take me out there with him. He's been training me really hard, and I know that ninjas back home have gotten into wars when they were younger than me."

Tsunade could see the boy was passionate about this, "You really wanna be out there with your dad, don't you?"

"I don't just wanna be out there, I have to be out there," Naruto said, determination bright in his eyes, "Someday, I'm gonna be the most powerful ninja in the world! There won't be a villain in the universe that can stop me! I'll protect everyone that's important to me too!"

She couldn't decided if the boy was doing this out of stubbornness or out of bravery, but Tsunade didn't really care. Naruto seemed to be just like her brother Nawaki and her lover Dan. They cared about people just as much as this young one seemed to. There was only one way that she wanted Naruto to be different: she didn't want them to suffer the same fate they did, "I know that you mean every word of that, which is why I have to make sure you're safe."

Bruce was wondering how she planned to do that, "Of course I have to ask what you intend to do in regards to my son."

"It's simple really," Tsunade said, having a one step plan, "Me and Shizune move in here with you guys."

Bruce almost started choking on his waffles and Alfred nearly dropped his coffee cup, "You wanna move into my house? Just like that! Are you crazy woman?"

"Very much so," Tsunade responded, smirking a bit, "But this idea isn't why. In fact, it makes perfect sense when you think about it. Sooner or later, Naruto is bound to have chakra issues or have some kind illness from back home, and what are you gonna do then? Drag him all the way to the Leaf every time that happens?"

It wasn't something that Bruce had ever really thought about, "There's illness in the Leaf that they don't have here?"

Tsunade could tell he was starting to worry, "Plenty of them, and your docs here might not know how to treat it. Plus, I could help train the kid. I'm sure you're a good teacher, but I'm just better equipped to teach Naruto this stuff. Better yet, we could even have some of the younger ninjas visit here and spar with him so that he's better trained."

"Woah, slow the hell down," Bruce said, not sure where all of this had come from, "You sound like you wanna turn my house into a hotel or something."

That was a pretty accurate description of what Tsunade wanted to do, "Why not? You've got the room and Naruto needs to train with some actual ninjas, at least for his jutsus and things like that."

"Knowing more justus would be pretty cool," Naruto piped in with a mouth full of waffle, "But we don't have to do it if you don't want to do it dad."

Bruce really didn't like how close they were getting to this, "I don't know. Having that many people in my house could put my identity at risk. I trust Tsunade, but if some of these ninjas found out and word got back to Gotham about it…"

It was a fear that anyone in Bruce's situation would have, so Tsunade added in, "Don't worry, I'll keep that under wraps while anyone's here. Trust me Bruce, this will all work out fine."

"Wait a minute, I haven't said that we're doing this yet," Bruce said, getting a little upset, "We're still discussing whether or not it's a good idea. I'm going to need to consider the pros and cons of it."

Tsunade could understand that, "Take your time. I'm confident that you'll see it my way."

Bruce was about to make a comment on that when his communicator started going off like crazy. He yanked it out of his pocket and put it to his ear, beginning to listen. Everyone's eyes turned to him as the scowled became deeper and deeper on his face, "You have to gotta be kidding me…"

"What is it Master Bruce? Some nasty villain attacking the city again?" Alfred asked, feeling the tension in the air.

Bruce pushed his waffle aside, having lost his appetite, "It's election day for the mayor, so I should've figured things would be busy. The Riddler has kidnapped Ellen Yin and wants me to come find her, The Scarecrow has finally showed up again and appears to be trying to move a massive shipment of his Fear Toxin by the Gotham Docks, and last but not least, a strange group of criminals have managed to infiltrate Arkham Island. Based on what I heard, they were some sort of ninjas."

Naruto could see why his dad was so upset, "Three attacks at the same time, and one of them's got ninjas? I didn't even think that we had ninjas here."

"We don't," Bruce said, his gravely voice was deep with anger, "There's only one group of people who bring anything even resembling ninjas to Gotham, and that's the League of Assassins. They're easily one of the most dangerous groups that I have to face. They use specially trained martial artists and master infiltrators to obtain enough power to try and end the world. Between them, Scarecrow, who I know little about, and the Riddler, who I know will kill Yin without a second thought. How in the hell am I gonna manage this?"

Alfred had been thinking about that himself, "Well, perhaps if Tsunade and Kakashi were willing to help, you could simply divide and conquer."

Now that was idea that Bruce could consider, "Maybe, but we'd have to make sure Kakashi didn't find out my identity. Who would we send them after?"

"Send us after the freaking ninjas," Tsunade said, not sure why he even had to think about it, "I promise you there's no way they're better than me and Kakashi. We could also make sure to stay out of sight with them, since most ninja fighting is done on the shadows anyways. No one would question who we are or how we can fight like we do. As for how we explain it to Kakashi, just tell him the police couldn't handle it and you want him to help. He loves a good fight, so he won't question it."

That made more sense than Bruce thought it would, "Good point. Besides, you couldn't solve the Riddler's puzzles since you can't speak English, and I don't know how you'd do with the Scarecrow since I know so little about him."

Naruto was getting anxious, "Dad, stop thinking about it and let's go! We've got villains to beat."

"I know son," Bruce said, having made his decision, "Go get Dick and Barbara. We've got a long day ahead of us."

* * *

Arkham Island was home to the most notorious insane asylum in the entire world, which caused people to attempt to break out on a regular bases. It was something that the guards there had almost began to shrug off. People trying to break in on the other hand, was incredibly rare. This was why everyone had been so caught off guard when the, as the guards put it, 'Bizarre Ninja Bastards' showed up. For the first 45 minutes, no one even knew they were there. They were only noticed when one of the guards, Aaron Cash, walked in on one of them in the tearing through Crane's office looking for something.

Ten of the people who'd infiltrated the Asylum were now standing together in the building morgue, all of them in tight black clothing. They weren't particularly happy, "I don't understand, Crane was supposed to be here. We've searched this place top to bottom and have people watching all the exits. He hasn't left the building, so where is he?"

"It's not possible, he was here when we arrived," Another mentioned, having the same frustrations, "Based on the map the master gave us, he should've been in one of the rooms we've already searched. Has anyone at all left the building at all since we've been here?"

One of them shook their head, "There was a prisoner transport, but that's it. It was a scheduled transport, so I thought nothing of it. Ah, I'm such a fool! He must have used that to sneak out!"

The others soon comforted him, "Do not worry my brother. We simply have to kill him before the night is over. He will not be a hard man to track down."

As the sentence ended, two people descended from the morgue ceiling, landing on and knocking out two of the members of the League of Assassins. The remaining members jumped back in shock, trying to observe their new opponents. One was a woman based on her bust, and the other was a shorter thin man, both dressed in a sleek layer of grayish armor. They began to speak to each other in japanese, letting the assassins know that have a conversation with them wouldn't work.

It wasn't like they were really much for talking anyways, "Kill them! We have to get to Crane as quickly, so we don't have time to meddle with these fools!"

Tsunade, of course the woman, looked at Kakashi, the man, and both were clearly amused. They were going to have fun kicking the crap out of these punks. These poor ninjas had no idea what was coming for them.

* * *

Ellen Yin awoke inside of a dark sewer, the stench of the place assaulting her nostrils the moment she regained consciousness. She didn't wake up for her own free will, rather she woke up to someone shaking her and repeating, "Detective Yin...Detective Yin, wake up."

The young asian woman opened her eyes to find Robin and Batgirl standing in front of her, just waiting for her, "Ugh, I feel like I got hit in the head with a shovel. What are you two doing here? Scratch that, what are doing in a sewer?"

"You were kidnapped by the Riddler and thrown down here," Robin explained, helping the woman her up to her feet, "We came down here to get you, but the Riddler blew up the tunnel we came through."

Batgirl looked around, seeing the about 7 tunnels that lead out of here, "This place is like a giant maze too. I don't know how in the hell we're going to get out of here."

"Well you'd better figure it out quickly my little proteges of the Dark Knight," A said over Robin's communicator, "Because if you wait much longer, our friend Killer Croc will be having you for a midnight snack."

Robin knew it was Riddler, based on the way the man talked. He pressed on his communicator, "So, you hacked my com, huh? Real nice Nygma. Forcing us down here with Croc too, even better."

Batgirl heard about Croc and nearly lost it, "Wait, we're down here with that psycho reptile cannibal? I swear, when I get my hands on the Riddler!"

Robin was thinking the exact same thing "So Nygma, what incredibly complicated thing do we have to do to get out of here? Oh, and how long do we have before Killer Croc gets to our location?"

The Riddler was happy to elaborate, "Oh, it's easy. I'll give you a riddle to begin with, one which will lead to the tunnel you need to go down. From there, you will find a series of logical puzzles which will lead out of this sewer. Take too long, and Croc will hunt you down and likely feast on your bones. I don't know how long he'll be, but it usually doesn't take him long to find his prey. I'm going to enjoy watching your tiny brains fail to complete my challenge. Batman's about to see that there's nothing he could teach you that prepare you for me! So, are you ready for my first riddle?"

Robin looked at Batgirl and Yin, who were looking back at him desperately. A growl was heard in the distance, making them all flinch. They had no time to waste, "Considering none of us wanna be Croc food, we're ready. Time to see if you're anywhere near as smart as you think Nygma."

* * *

While the first two groups had already began their battles, Batman and Red Fox were still lying in wait for the Scarecrow to make his move. They stood atop a large shipping crate at the docks, watching as villain ordered around his men, telling them to move various boxes of chemicals. Just by watching them you could see how much the men feared the Scarecrow.

"How much that Fear Toxin is he moving?" The Red Fox asked, looking at the dozens of boxes.

Batman found it unnerving as well, "It looks like enough to use on half of Gotham. We have to keep those crates from falling into the wrong hands. Speaking of..."

A car slowly pulled up to to the Scarecrow and his men. The door opened and a large man walked out, a man that Batman knew to be Rupert Thorne. He seemed happy to see the Scarecrow, "Ah, there's my favorite costumed nut. You've got my Fear Toxin all ready to go too. How very thoughtful of you."

"Yes, well as long you see to it that all of the crime bosses and their men vote my way, you'll get even more soon enough," Scarecrow said, in the same terrifying rasping whisper he'd used back in the alley.

Thorne was ready to tell Scarecrow that it was already taken care of, when he heard a voice call, "Not if we have anything to say about it!"

The Red Fox and Batman jumped from their crate and over to where the men were discussing Gotham future. Scarecrow was not pleased to see them, "All of the crime in this city tonight, and I'm the one who ends up with the Batman. It really is a challenge to make this city understand fear when you're always poking your nosy little head around here."

"Well then maybe you should just give up Scarecrow," Batman said, ready to end this villain once and for all.

The Scarecrow wasn't about to come this far only to give up. He raised his hand into the air, showing a glove with four syringes on his fingers, each containing a yellow liquid. There were tubes on it which seemed to be connected to small tank on his arm, "No, that's alright. It gives me a chance to try out my new toy. Now Batman, we decide who the true master of fear is."

Batman cracked his knuckles, "I've was the master of fear long before you got here, and I'll be the master long after you're gone. You just don't know it...yet."


	12. Fright Night Pt 2

It's great to see that everyone's back for next chapter of The Red Fox. Now that we're right in the middle of the three part battle chapter, I feel that it's a good time to warn about something that's coming up. Once said battle is concluded, we'll be going into a time skip. We'll skip from Naruto at age eight all the way to him being at age twelve. There's going to be some changes that come with the timeskip, some of which you might be able to guess. Basically, now that Naruto's all settled in to Gotham and has started his training, I'm going to skip to the age where things start to get interesting. Well, you guys get the picture. If you have any questions about the timeskip, I'll be happy to answer. Keep an eye out for some foreshadowing for later on in the fanfic in this chapter as well. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Three Days Grace: Animal I Have Become

* * *

From all across the halls and cells in Arkham Asylum, people could hear a battle being fought. Skulls cracking against walls and bones breaking echoed through corridors to let them know what was going on. The morgue was indeed the grounds of a an impressive fight. What these people couldn't see, was that the League of Assassins looked like amateurs in comparison to their opponent.

Of the ten assassins that had entered the fight originally, only half of them remaind. It had only taken Kakashi and Tsunade ten minutes to do this, and they were greatly holding back. If Tsunade used her full strength, she'd kill these people with a little love tap, and if Kakashi broke out almost any of his jutsus, they wouldn't even have the time to ask what going on. Bruce had been very specific to Tsunade about not killing anyone, so she promised that she wouldn't . The same rule applied to Kakashi of course, so Tsunade made sure he wouldn't kill anyone either. Even with that rule, they were still beating the Assassins as if they were common criminals.

"Is there some kind of reason that we have to keep these guys alive?" Kakashi asked as he jumped backwards to avoid one of the remaining assassin's katana.

One of the assassins tried to sweep Tsunade's legs, but the older woman just flipped over his head and gave him a solid kick in the head, "Because we're not in our own territory. We can't just start killing people in a place that has a hero who's known for refusing to murder anyone!"

Some of the assassins were getting angry, as they could only figure out parts of what they were saying, "I don't understand it. All of us know Japanese, so why can we only figure out some of their words?"

"I don't really think that knowing their language would help us at this point," One of them said, taking out a few shuriken and throwing them at Kakashi.

The reason that they could not understand the ninjas was because they were speaking the ancient version of Japanese that Alfred had mentioned before, which was much more complex. Kakashi also wished he could know what his enemies were saying, but had to make due with what he had. He took out his kunai and knocked the shuriken away from him, "Are these guys it, or do you think there's more?"

Tsunade grabbed the head of the man she'd kicked and threw it on the ground just hard enough to knock him unconscious, bring the total down to four, "There's probably a couple more somewhere around here. If we can track them down, we'll finish them, but I think taking these guys out will scare them off. We're good either way."

Hearing the sound of another katana slicing through the air, Kakashi turned and deflected the blade with his kunai. Once the he was no longer in any danger, he took the assassin's head and slammed it into his knee, "Great, that's seven down, three to go. How do you wanna divide this up?"

"Way ahead of you Kakashi," Tsunade said, appearing behind two of the assassins that were still up and fighting. She grabbed their heads and slammed them together, making a loud thumping sound. They both fell to the ground, leaving their comrade all on his own in there.

The assassin could see he stood no chance, so he took out his katana and held it to his chest, "By the Head of the Demon, I shall say nothing to the likes of you!"

Kakashi could see he'd been trained to kill himself before he could be captured, which was a common practice in the Ninja Nations as well. He couldn't allow the man to do that, so Kakashi took out a kunai and threw it at his hand, knocking the blade from his grasp. The assassin went to reach for something else, but Kakashi ran to him and gave him a shot to the temple before he could. With that, all ten of the assassins in the morgue were done. However, that didn't mean that the ninjas had one that day just yet.

"Well, that's one room down," Tsunade said, admiring their work, "The question is, what do we do now?"

Suddenly an alarm went off in the prison, and a red light in the room began flashing. A man's voice came over the intercom, but they had no idea what it was saying, "You speak more English than me, any idea what those things are saying?"

Tsunade didn't know, but she could find out. Bruce had given her a translator before she'd left, but she hadn't needed it to now. She took it out and placed in her ear, then listened for a moment, "Sounds like the ninjas that are left are trying to bust out some of the prisoners. The guards don't stand a chance against them, so we need to get this place's holding cells fast."

"We passed those on the way in," Kakashi remembered, tracing it back in his mind, "It shouldn't be too hard to find it again."

Considering how dangerous these criminals likely were, getting their fast was priority, "Then let's go. I don't wanna know what these psychos could do if we left them out for too long."

Kakashi knew she was right, so he began to lead his way back to the cells which contained Arkham's most deadly inmates. As they ran through the halls, he asked the older woman, "Do you have any idea who exactly Naruto's parents are? I'm just curious, that's all."

"Believe me, I'd like to know that as badly as anyone," Tsunade grumpled in an irritated fashion, "I know he's got Uzumaki blood in him, but that's not exactly a ton to go off from. I'm hoping I'll be able to work it out of sensei one of these days."

There was one thing that Kakashi wasn't going to try to deny, and that was that Naruto reminded him very much of someone from his past, "I swear, that kid looks just like sensei used to. His blue eyes, his spiky hair, and that damn grin, it's all dead on. I'd heard that Minato and his wife had a son, but I was told that he died during the attack."

Tsunade thought back to the times when she'd met Minato back when he was still training with Jiraiya, "Damn, I guess that kid does look like the Fourth. There a chance they might've changed Naruto's last name to keep him safe from the hidden Rock. That doesn't explain how he'd have Uzumaki blood in him though."

"You do know that Minato's wife was Kushina Uzumaki, don't you," Kakashi asked, putting the final pieces of the puzzles together, "I would know, because I was her personal guard the entire time she was pregnant."

It took a lot of control for Tsunade not stop in her tracks so that she could figure this thing out, "That would explain it. If he was their child, it'd be much safer to hide who he was both because of the Kyuubi and the hidden Rock. The more I think about it, the more it seems like Naruto's their kid."

Something like that should've made Kakashi feel better, but it actually made him feel guilty. He heard about the beatings the boy had gotten over the years, "He was my sensei's pride and joy and I didn't even bother to stop him from getting beaten like some old rug. I really can't protect anyone that's important to me, can I?"

"Look who you're talking to Kakashi," Tsunade remarked, certain that the younger ninja would understand what he meant, "If anyone knows about loss, it's me. You've got to find something to drive yourself, something that you can focus on to keep yourself training. I've got Shizune, and now Naruto too. Find something like that for yourself Kakashi, and cling to it. That's the only advice I can give you."

Kakashi heard these words and took them to heart. Perhaps the lady was right. Maybe it was time for him to stop pushing everyone away and to find someone he could fight for. The question was, who could that be?

* * *

Deep beneath the sewers of Gotham, a more mental battle had begun to wage on. The Riddler was just about to give Robin his first question, one that was literally life or death. Robin listen closely to riddle as it was presented to him, "To find this first path, you're going to need something. The more of it that there is, the less that you can see. What do you need, bird boy?"

"The more there is of it, the less you can see," Robin repeated, so that Yin and Batgirl could hear, "What would we need that would stop us from seing?"

All of them began thinking, trying to solve the the puzzle. Batgirl suddenly yelled, "Darkness! The more darkness there is, the less that you can see!"

Robin looked up at the lights hanging from the top of the sewer and took out a few of his Wing-Dings, his version of a Batarang, and threw them at all of the lights, breaking them. Yin ducked to protect herself from the glass, "Robin, please warn me next time you're gonna do that. I get that the answer was darkness, but I don't know if that meant knocking out the lights was necessary."

"Oh really, then what do you call that," Robin said, pointing to the luminous paint that was leading them to the third tunnel down. She couldn't see him pointing, but she still got the idea.

The Riddler was surprised they solved his first riddle so fast, "You surpassed my meager expectations of you. I'm impressed, but only mildly. Things only get harder from here on out. Follow the paint, if you've got the guts little Robin."

With the the Riddler's message complete, they walked to the pipe with the luminous paint. They walked down it about 300 feet when something stopped them. It was a wall with luminous paint in the shape of a question mark. Robin started to take out his explosive gel, "Don't worry, this wall won't hold us back for long."

"Tsk, tsk," The Riddler said over his communicator, "I'm not about to make it that easy on you. That's indeed the way you need to go, but the wall you're about to knock down is the only thing stopping a cave in. Blow it up, and Croc will have to dig for his meal. Now, it is possible to get passed this wall without killing yourselves. Let's see if you can figure it out, shall we?"

Robin took his hand off his communicator and cursed. This was going to be a tough one, "The wall is holding back a cave in. We have to get through while finding some way to keep it up too. Any suggestions?"

"How bad of a cave in or we talking about?" Yin asked, trying to get a grasp of the situation.

Robin turned on his vizor and scanned the area. It didn't take long for him to get a structural analysis of the wall, "It's nothing that would take down the entire pipe, but if we were in the area of it, we'd almost certainly be crushed."

Batgirl couldn't help but wonder, "Is there any chance that we can bust through the wall fast enough so that we don't get buried alive?"

"Hm, let me do a couple of calculations," Robin said, pulling up his holo-computer and inputting some numbers. He seemed skeptical at the results, "It's possible, but I don't like the odds. If it was just one of us, it'd be no problem. However, we've got three people here, making things much more complicated. The timing would have to be nearly perfect for us to pull this off."

Just as he said this, a large roar come from the other end of the sewers. They could hear someone chanting, "Tick Tock, it's time to feed the Croc! Come on people, it's dinner time!"

Yin turned to the wall, "And if we wait any longer, we'll get eaten alive. I think I like our odds with the wall better."

"You know what? I think you've got a point," Robin said, getting the explosive gel out once more and spraying it on the wall, "Everyone back up as far as you can and get ready to run. I'm going to set off the gel just before we get there. If we're even a few seconds late...well, let's not think about that."

All of them stepped back, not liking the idea of being crushed by the bricks of Gotham's sewer system. Robin held tightly on to the detonator as he they got ready to start sprinting. Batgirl counted down for them, "In three...two...one...go!"

The three heroes began running for the wall at top speed. They had summed up all the strength that they had to do this, so it'd had better work. Once they just a foot from the wall, Robin blew it to pieces. Without the wall to hold it up, the corroded stone soon began to fall. When the three of them saw this, they dove to make sure they could make it under the descending stones. It was close, but they all made it through. Well, for the most part.

"Ahhhhh," Yin yelled in pain. One of the stones had caught her ankle, "Get this thing off me!"

Robin and Batgirl went over to Yin and freed her from the stone. They got her back up, but it was abundantly clear that she wasn't going to be able to stand on her own two feet, "Well, that's going to be an issue. Looks like either Robin or I is gonna have to help you walk from here on in."

"Just when I thought this day was as good as it could get," Yin said sarcastically, then looked at the pile of stones behind her, "At least that'll keep Croc from getting to us, right?"

If that had indeed been the truth, Robin would've been much happier, "It might slow him down, but I think he'll find a way to dig through it. Like I said, it's not that bad of a cave in."

That meant that it was time to get moving, and no one had to tell them that. Although the Riddler felt the need speak, as usual "Well, that was a crude way of getting passed my challenge, but also effective. Well, I won't' argue with results. Instead, I'll let you push forward and discover my next lovely puzzle!"

"It's like it never ends around here," Robin muttered, finding Nygma even more aggravating than usual, "On to the next section of this sewer. Who knows what else this prick has set up for us."

Batgirl noticed that the only tunnel they could go down next was one that veered off to the left. Once they reached the end of the tunnel and took the turn, they instantly saw what the problem was going to be, "It can't be simple, just one time? He can't just give us one easy puzzle."

What she Batgirl was referring to was the fact that the floor of this section of sewer was covered in metal plates, all of which had electricity flowing through them. One touched and they'd be shocked to death, and Robin knew it, "Electricity, the one thing this little mission of ours was missing. Alright Nygma, what do we need to do to get past this one?"

"Oh I'm so glad that you asked," The Riddler said, his voice full of glee, "On your left, you'll see a console that is able to turn off the electric panels. If you input the correct code, it will switch off."

That wouldn't be a problem for Robin. He looked over at the console, which had a green question mark painted next to it, because this was the Riddler after all, and smirked, "Ha, give me about five seconds and I'll have this thing hacked. I can't believe Riddler even tried this."

He activated his holo-computer and tried to gain access to the console. Much to Robin's shock, his screen began to fill with static and he couldn't get anything to work. The Riddler chuckled as his troubles, "My dear, foolish boy wonder, did you really think I was going to make it that easy on you? I've placed a sonic jammer in the wall down there with you which will prevent anyone from hacking into the console. Don't worry though, I'm going to give you the solution to your problem right now."

"Are you really going to give me the solution, or are just planning on giving me another riddle?" Robin asked, though it was painfully obvious what was about to happen.

The Riddler gave the boy his answer, "Let me put it to you this way: What has twelve letters, yet, can be spelled in only one?"

Robin repeated the question as it was relayed to him. Yin didn't even have to think about it, "I've heard this one before. The answer is a question mark. Type a question mark in on that console."

"I guess it wasn't as hard as we'd thought," Batgirl said, reaching for the console. Robin grabbed her hand before she could press the desired button, "Hey, what are you doing? Don't you wanna get out of here?"

The teen didn't answer. Instead, he raised up his hand and clenched his fist, slamming it into the question mark on the wall next to the console. It began to crack, causing the two women to look closer. Robin pulled his hand away and the question mark continued to crack, "Wait for it…"

A moment later, the stone the question mark had been painted on fell from the wall, revealing a small black box had been hidden behind it. Batgirl grabbed it and looked it over, quickly discovering it was the sonic jammer, "Well, that makes things a little easier on us. How'd you know?"

"I don't think I would have known if you weren't so damn smart," Robin said, making his girlfriend blush, "You said before that with Nygma it's never that easy, and you're right. Something tells me that putting in that question mark wouldn't have ended so well for us."

Yin felt like they'd done enough talking, "Not to be a downer, but we've still got Croc on our tail. You might wanna start hacking that console before he digs his way back to us."

Robin reactivated his holo-computer with a small nod. They'd only completed a few of the Riddler's challenges, so now was not the time to be cocky. Who knew how much they still had left to go.

* * *

With their hopes of killing Crane completely dashed, and ten of their men out cold, the League of Assassins decided it was time to make up for their losses. They might not be able to kill their target, but at least they could grab a few of the more valuable prisoners. In this case, valuable actually meant dangerous, as that was exactly what they needed. If they could snag a couple of dangerous men to bring back with them, and then train them to be used as weapons for the league, the day wouldn't be a total loss.

The five assassins that were left in the asylum were running past the cells, trying to decided which prisoner would be the most valuable to them. All of them had some value to the league, but only a select few would be worth the trouble of breaking out. Prisoners were yelling at them as they ran by, "Hey you ninja fuckers, can't you help a guy out? Come on, just bust the lock! This asylum makes people go crazy!"

So far, the assassins weren't impressed, "Perhaps we're not in the proper wing of the asylum for something like this. The criminals here don't seem to dangerous."

"Oh, they're plenty dangerous around here, more than you could ever imagine," A dark voice said from the back of the cell block , "If you don't believe me, just unlock my cell, and I'll be happy to show you."

All of them discovered the source of the speech was no other than the pale skinned, red lipped, green haired madman known as the Joker, "We're no where near mad enough to let you out of your cage, clown!"

The Joker acted as though he was hurt, "Oh dear, your words cut me so. Just when I thought that you and I could be friends."

"We need you about as a friend about as much as we need a brain aneurysm," One of the assassins muttered. Everyone knew how dangerous he was.

There wasn't a whole lot of room for the Joker to argue on this one, "That may be true, but can you at least do me a favor? Take care of that damn Dr. Strange a few cells down. He's been screaming about knowing who the Batman since he got here, and frankly, I don't care! He's trying to spoil the fun having a nemesis for me!"

A man who had been able to discover Batman's identity? Now that was worth looking into, "If he really is smart enough to figure that out, perhaps he could be of some use to us. Shall we go and find this Dr. Strange and see if he's right? After all, the master does know who lies beneath the mask."

"I'm afraid that we can't let you do that," Said a woman in Japanese. It was Tsunade, who'd snuck up behind the five assassins, along with her partner Kakashi, "It's too bad that you can't understand what I'm saying, because I'd love to talk shit about you amateurs right now."

The assassins had a look of fear on underneath their masks. Based on what they'd heard, these were the people who'd taken out their friends. If they'd beaten ten of their guys with such ease, five would be nothing to them. There was only one option that the assassin had left to use, "You four, go and retrieve Dr. Strange. I believe that I can hold these two off long enough for you to get him out of the building."

"One of you holding off the two of us," Tsunade said with some amusement, "After what we did to the others, how could they possibly think they could hold us off?"

Kakashi heard that and nearly laughed himself, "They better have one hell of a weapon that they haven't used yet if they think that they're going to match up with us."

As if he'd understood what Kakashi had said, the assassin took out a vial with an injector on the end and stuck it to his neck. There was a small click, as the man cringed, "I don't know if you can understand what I'm saying, but if you can, you need to run. I've injected myself with a substance known as Venom, a powerful drug that increases a person's physical strength astronomically. The only person ever to use it more than once and survive is Bane. It's a good thing I don't plan on getting out of this alive I suppose."

"Increased physical power?" Tsunade repeated as her earpiece translated, still not feeling threatened, "Clearly this guy has no idea who he's dealing with right now. Kakashi, just run ahead and handle his buddies. This one should be no problem for me."

Kakashi did just as she'd requested, calling as he ran past the first assassin, "As you wish lady Tsunade."

Just as he ran past, the assassin's body began to twitch and contort. His thin black clothing could be heard tearing as he grew about six inches in height and tripled his muscle mass in mere seconds. By the time he was done, his eyes had a strange green glow to them and he looked more toned than a bodybuilder, "Now, you bitch, you will see the true power of the League of Assassins!"

"I'm sorry, what the fuck did you just call me?" Tsunade growled as the monstrous man charged at her. He brought his fist above his head and swung hard at the woman, who simply raised her own hand up and caught the blow. Now she was quite possibly the strongest person in the world, at least in the physical sense thanks to her super strength technique, but this punch still had her skidding back on her feet a bit, "Damn, what was in that stuff you took? Doesn't matter I guess, now I don't have to hold back!"

Tsunade threw his fist to the side and kneed him so hard in the rips that it broke three of them. After he was sent reeling back, she went into berzerker mode. With her super charged attacks at the ready, Tsunade began to lay a barge of hits on the man that would've killed him if it hadn't been for the Venom in his system. All the man could do was grunt in pain as her quick strikes laid waste to his body, breaking dozens more of his bones.

After just thirty seconds of this, the assassin fell down on his knees. His whole body was shaking, and his mind had no idea what was going on. He rasped out, "How did you...do this?...You defeated... the Venom...as if it was...nothing…"

"Even if you could understand what I was saying, I wouldn't explain it to you," Tsunade muttered, before silencing him with one last smack to the head. Once she sure he was out, Tsunade leaned down next to his body and used a medical jutsu to get a better look at what the chemical had done to him, "That stuff gave him so much power, but it destroyed virtually every system in his body. I don't think he'll last a week like this. Hopefully they never come up with anything more powerful than that Venom chemical..."

She was still pondering the power of Venom as Kakashi ran back to her, "The good news is, I took down the four of other assassins right after they busted the lock on the Strange guy's cell. Unfortunately, Strange managed to get away in all the commotion. Sorry, I figured he's got no powers, so I don't need to pay much attention to him. Never thought in a million years he'd be able to sneak away like that.

The older woman could've cared less, "He won't get far before the guards get him I'm sure. Let's get out of here before more people show up and start wondering who we are."

"The less we're seen, the better," Kakashi said, remembering what they'd spoken about before, "We did pretty good here, not to brag or anything. I wonder if anyone else doing anything this crazy tonight?"

* * *

Back in the darkness of the Gotham sewer system, the heroes had managed to solve three more of the riddler's puzzles. With each one that they solved, the Riddler became more and more frustrated. He couldn't understand how they had gotten as far as they had, "You're cheating! I'm certain of it, you have to be cheating! There's no possible way that you could've solved my riddles that quickly!"

Yin could hear Riddler screaming on Robin's intercom, enjoying his anger very much, "He always has been a sore loser, hasn't he? Can't wait to see how he reacts once we actually manage to make it out of here."

"You fools laugh it up while you can," The Riddler said, confident they wouldn't be getting out alive, "Because you've still got one puzzle left, and Croc's starting to close in. You'll never get passed this one, and I'll be up here laughing as that freak rips you apart limb from limb!"

Robin knew the Riddler always saved the best for last, so he got himself ready for the worst, "This next puzzle is it guys. If we can get ourselves through it, we'll be home free."

"What about Croc?" Batgirl asked, curious about one thing in particular, "If we escape, that means he'll escape too. We can't just let him roam the streets of Gotham when he's all bloodthirsty."

Robin knew that was going to come up sooner or later, "We'll just have to set a trap for him before we leave. I don't know what the plan is yet, but we'll think of something. It's not like we haven't taken Croc down before. The only problem is, I don't wanna fight him when we're all closed in like this."

"I don't wanna fight him at all," Yin said, remembering the time Croc nearly bit her head clean off, "He's one of the most dangerous people in Gotham. How sick do you have to be to become to start eating people?"

That was something Batgirl hoped she never found out, "Well his life was pretty rough when he was younger. I guess with a dead mother and constant ridicule, he just kind of snapped."

It was a little freaky to hear someone defending Killer Croc of all people. Not as freaky as something else Robin was about to discover though, "Guys, look, I can see some light up ahead! We're so close that I can taste it!"

"Then help me hobble faster," Yin said as she started to hop a little on her good foot. The two heroes led her through the final few pipes before they got to what was supposed to be the end of the sewer. What they found when the reached it was maddening to no end.

Robin saw a set of iron bars blocking the exit to the sewers, with a strange electronic device on the wall beside it. This wasn't the first time he'd seen one of them either, "Detective Yin, that's one of the DNA scanners that you use back at GCPD, isn't it?"

After getting a better look at it, Yin agreed, "Yes, it is. How did the Riddler manage to get his hands on one of those?"

"It's Gotham, if someone wants to buy it, someone's gonna be selling it," Batgirl remarked, with a quote from her father.

The joke got a laugh from Yin, but Robin was preoccupied with scanning the device that was the source of their current issues, "It's definitely hooked up to the lock that's holding up those bars. Give me a second and I can tell you who's DNA we need to open it."

Yin was wondering how they'd get a hold of someone's DNA when they were down here, "Is Nygma just trying to give us an unsolvable puzzle or something? What can we really do when we're stuck in this sewer."

"That's not even a riddle, that's just cruel," Robin suddenly burst out in rage, "The only way we're getting through that gate is if we get DNA that matches that of Waylon Jones, AKA…"

Batgirl finished it for him, "Killer Croc. We're supposed to find a way to get some kind of DNA sample off from him? The guys skin is an inch thick and trying to knock out one of his teeth would put us dangerously close to his bone crushing jaw!"

Her frustrations were completely understandable to the other teen, "It's not gonna be easy, but we don't have much of a choice. The easiest DNA to get would be his saliva, but again, we'd have to be close to his mouth to get enough of it."

"Wait, are you actually going to do this?" Yin asked, not sure why they would willingly go up against these odds, "Did we not just talk about how difficult it would be to fight him in a place like this?"

There wasn't a whole lot else Robin could think of for them to do, "It's either that or we stay down here and try to find another way out. Croc's must be close by now, so we might as well just wait him out. All we have to do is get his DNA, we can manage that much."

Yin started to back herself into a corner, "I guess you're right. I'm gonna do my best to stay out of your way for this one, I'm already injured as it is."

"I can smell your fear little ones," The deep voice of Croc interrupted, getting closer and closer, "Did you really think those pathetic rocks were going to stop me?"

Getting his bo-staff out and at the ready, Robin decided not to be caught off guard. Batgirl was in battle stance of her own, "We've never done this without Batman before. Let's hope that doesn't end up getting us killed."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Croc turned around the corner with his teeth bared "Oh good, you're going to be put up a fight. I always did like to earn my food!"

"Batgirl, under and over, now!" Robin commanded, trying his best to seem as forceful as Batman would have. He ran at Killer Croc, who ran right back at him. Once they were close enough, Robin leaned back and skidded between the man's legs, trying to use his bo-staff to trip him as he did. It didn't quite trip Croc like Robin wanted to, but it did make throw him off his balance a little.

He yelped in pain a little, which meant it was Batgirl's time to act. She reached in her belt and grabbed her Batclaw, then jumped on his shoulders. Dangerous as it may have been, she aimed the Batclaw at his gaping maw. Batgirl fired it into Croc's mouth, forcing him to gag, "That's right, choke on it big boy!"

Robin smirked as he watched the girl retract the claw, which was now covered in Croc's silva, "Get over to the scanner, I'll hold him off until you're done!"

"What in the hell did that bitch just do to me?" Croc grunted, still trying to figure out what just happened.

Robin jumped up and got back in front of the villain. Now that they had his DNA and could escape, the rest would be a cakewalk, "What she just did is seal the deal for us. Sorry Croc, but your little adventure in the city is about to end!"

Over by the scanner, Batgirl was dripping all of Croc's spit into the scanner, "Oh, this so freaking gross! This better be worth it!

As soon as the spit hit the scanner, the iron bars clicked and shot open. Yin would've ran out right then if her legs would've let her, "Thank god, we can finally get out of here! I don't ever wanna see another sewer again."

"Doors are open Robin, let's get out of here," Batgirl yelled, running over to help Yin make her way to the exit.

Robin did as he was told, slowly backing his way out of the sewer. There was something discreetly hidden in his hand, "I'll give you one chance to go quietly Croc. If you decide to fight, I promise you, it aint' gonna last long."

Croc licked his sharp teeth, "And give up on an easy meal? Not a chance!"

"Suit yourself," Robin said, spraying something on the ground as Croc began to charge at him. The boy wonder turned and started to run before his opponent got to him, "This is gonna hurt!"

What Robin had sprayed on the ground was some of his explosive gel, and he'd sprayed right where the ground was the weakest. The moment Croc's feet hit the location of the gel, Robin detonated it. All the villain could do was let his feet fall out from underneath him as the stone surface was destroyed. He screamed as he fell from the top layer of the sewer to the many layers below, "Gaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

"And that, my friends, is how you take down a crocodile," Robin said, listening to Croc crash though one layer after another.

Needless to say, the Riddler was not happy about this, "NO! This can't be! That sewer was one of the greatest challenges I've ever created! I didn't even think Batman would be able to beat it! How did you do it?"

Robin could only think of one comeback that would perfectly irritate the Riddler, "You know what you are Nygma? I'll give you a hint. You can be cracked, you can be played, you can be told, you can be spoke. What are you?"

"...A joke," The Riddler spat out, "You're saying that I'm a joke. Say that all you want, but I will be back! You're going to regret every last insult that you threw, you little brat!"

The odds of Robin regretting any of his insult was very low, "Now that's not gonna happen. I'll see you soon Nygma. Once the night's over, we're gonna be tracking you down. Until then, have fun."

Batgirl loved the way her boyfriend was torturing the man, "I didn't hear all of that, but I heard enough to know you really stuck it to him. Nice job, but we'd better get Yin to the hospital. That ankle isn't gonna fix itself."

"Good point," Robin said, seeing that Yin hadn't gotten any better, "We'll get her fixed up and then see if Batman and the Red Fox need any help. Shouldn't take too long."

There was one thing that still bothered Batgirl about all this, "Why did Riddler throw Yin of all people down there? Was she just a random choice, or did he pick her specifically?"

Yin had a theory of her own about that, "I actually think that Jonathan Crane, that guy running for mayor, told him to do it. Turns out there was this incident when he was a kid that makes the idea of him being elected seem pretty unseletting."

"Really? What the heck did he do?" Robin asked, never seeing the answer coming.

* * *

"You killed your own grandmother?" Batman asked in utter disbelief. After he and Red Fox began to fight to Scarecrow, Throne's men cleared the way for them to duke it out on their own. The fight had barely began when Scarecrow began to use his fear tactics on his foe, and he started with a story from his childhood.

What was truly frightening was that the man wasn't lying, "You heard me correctly Dark Knight. I took the life of the very woman that raised me. If you had been where I stood, I doubt you would've acted any differently. Part of me thanks her for driving me to that point. The pain that she caused me is what transformed me into the master of fear that you see before you today."

These words were disturbing enough to get Batman to lunge for the man, intent on stopping his mad ramblings, "No pain on earth can justify what you've done! You're going to answer for your crimes."

"The only one who's going to answer to anything is you Batman. You're going to answer to fear," The Scarecrow hissed as he brought his syringe fingered glove down on Batman.

Grabbing his wrist, Batman stopped the glove just centimeters from his face. He looked at the twisted eyes that lied beneath the man's mask and knew who it was instantly, "So it really is you in there Crane. How could you do something so horrible to your own family? What has to break inside of you to think that's right?"

Scarecrow smiled as he sprayed a mist at the Batman from a hidden dispenser in the wrist of his glove. He told more of his tale as Batman let him go to wipe the toxin from his eyes, "Fear breaks inside of you! That woman would lock me in an abandoned church for hours upon hours of a day. Now I hold no quarrel with God, but I do hold a quarrel with the crows that dwelled inside that place. Crows can remember human faces Batman, and they remembered the fear on my face every time she locked me in there. They'd peck at me, and scratch at me! My fear caused them to attack me without mercy! Finally, after years of that damn woman locking me away, I decided to do something about it. When she came to retrieve me one night from the church, I was ready. With a rusty knife I'd found near the chapel, I painted that place with her blood! Do you know what happened? Those crows never bothered me again…"

Seeing what had happened to his father, the Red Fox knew he had to stop the villain, "Well good for the crows, but that don't mean anything to me! No one does that to him and gets away with it!"

"You just don't get it," Scarecrow said in irritation as the Red Fox prepared a flurry of kicks and punches for the man, "By killing her, I was liberated from fear. The world won't bother you if you don't have any fear. I'm going to show this world the power fear has over it, so that they can liberate themselves as well."

The Red Fox appeared in front of him, crashing his foot into Scarecrow's leg, then burying his fist into the villains rips, "Liberate this!"

These hits were far harder than any child his age should've been able to throw. The Scarecrow cringed in pain and slashed at the Red Fox with his glove, barely scratching the boy's face. Lucky for him, a scratch was all he need, "Ha, now you'll see boy! Now you'll feel the wrath of fear!"

"No," Batman yelled, trying to reach his son, but it was no use. A strange dark fog formed in front of him with dozens of eye staring at him from within it.

Suddenly, the fog began to spin around him, and all of the eyes turned into bats. As the vortex of bats closed in on him, he could heard the cackle of the man he feared the most in this world, "You see Batsy! There's nothing you can do to save him. That boy and all the others that you've trying to help, they're going to fall. They'll fall to this city, just like we all have! You're just as crazy as we are you fool! You might not wear the twisted grin or green hair like I do, but you just as crazy if you think that you can save any of them! Hahahahaha!"

The Scarecrow was overjoyed to see Batman in such a state of fear. He looked over at the Red Fox as well, who'd begun to have his own reaction. Yet, the boy's fear seemed very different. He'd begun to yell something in Japanese that Scarecrow couldn't understand.

The boy just kept screaming, "No, it wasn't me! I'm not the fox, none of it was me!"

A red cloud formed over the boy that the other in the area could clearly see. It gave off a dark aura that had everyone terrified. Even the Scarecrow was having trouble controlling it. The Red Fox had become the focus of attention for everyone, with no one being sure what to make of it. All they could do was watch in dread. What they were about to see, whether they understood it or not, was something incredible.


	13. Fright Night Pt 3

Here we are people, the last chapter of the fanfics first arc. It's been so much fun to write this arc largely because I got to make one of my favorite villains, the Scarecrow, the main antagonist. The next arc will feature Batman's nemesis the Joker as the main antagonists. I feel the Joker is one of the greatest villains in literature history, which is why I saved him for a little further down the line. You'll see soon enough. I'm also glad to say that I've finally settled for sure on the pairings for this story. Eh, I'll let that one be a surprise for you all. Also, a shout out to loyal reader Twisted Pixel for a little help he gave me with this chapter. Thank you so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Rick Ross: 100 Black Coffins

* * *

The Kyuubi was a creature that the people of the Ninja World had feared for centuries. It's power was unmatched, creating mountains with it's claws and valleys with a swing of one if it's nine tails. Wars had be fought in order to retrieve the beast so that its could be used for war. Yes, the people in the ninja world certainly knew how important it was to fear the great Kyuubi. Thanks to the Scarecrow's fear toxin, the criminals of Gotham city were about to see a small taste of just what this power could do.

"Woah, Scarecrow, what the hell did you do to that kid?" Thorne called, a safe distance away from the both of them.

That was a question to which Scarecrow had no answer, "It was nothing more than my typical fear toxin. The effect that it's having on the boy is confusing to me as well. I think it will be quite interesting to study however."

The Red Fox was still talking to himself in Japanese, praying for this stop, "No, I can't do this! I'm gonna lose it if this doesn't stop! All of you, just shut up!"

"My my, I really do have to get a closer look at this," The Scarecrow said, slowly approaching the boy. This, he would come to find out, was an ill advised plan of action.

Before he could get to close, the Red Fox started going crazy. He could still tell that the man was his enemy, "Stay away from me!"

The boy slashed his now extended nails at the Scarecrow, who'd begun to reach his gloved hand out at the boy. With his claws releasing demonic chakra, the results of this action weren't pleasant. Half of the villains hand was sliced open and began to burn from the chakra. It was pain unlike anything he'd ever felt, "Ahhhhh, my hand! What in the hell is this kid?"

"I'm from hell alright," The Red Fox said in English, his voice taking on a deep growl, "And if you don't back off, that's where you're going!"

Even through his fear filled state, Batman could hear what was going on. He had to go and help his son before something horrible happened. Summing up all of his strength, he fought through the crippling fear and reached for the injector on his belt. It was one of two doses of the fear toxin cure that he'd brought along with him. The voice were still tormenting him and trying to keep him frozen in fear, but it didn't work. Batman stuck in the injector in his leg and clicked it on, whispering to himself, "I'm not going to let fear consume me or my son!"

That little injection soon took hold in his body, cleansing it of the Scarecrow's toxins. At last, his legs would move so that he could run to his son. Batman already had the other sample of the cure securely in his hand, ready to inject it into his son. The Red Fox saw his father coming for him, but even that didn't calm him, "No, please don't hurt me. I swear that I'll be good!"

"I'm not going to hurt you," Batman said, as slowed down, edging more slowly towards the Red Fox, "All I want to do is give you a little shot that's going to help you."

The Scarecrow took a sickle from his coat with his good hand threw it at Batman's hand, "Don't you dare! Not after what he's done to my hand!"

Flying through the air, the sickle knocked the injector out of his the Dark Knight's hand. It hit the ground and broke upon impact. Batman turned to the Scarecrow and glared at him, "Do you have any idea what you've just done? While that toxin is running through him, he's beyond dangerous!"

"Well then you'd better hope that he can recompose himself," The Scarecrow said with venom in his voice, "Only he can save himself now. Do you think that your portage strong enough to do it, Batman?"

Batman looked at his son, who seemed to be desperately looking back at him. He knew what the boy needed to hear, "The Red Fox is the bravest person that I've ever met in my life. He'll beat your toxin and then he'll come here to help me kick your ass."

It was hard for him to make out what his father was saying, but The Red Fox knew that the man believe in him. That was comforting to him until the voices began to attack him once again. They kept whispering to him, "They hate you...everyone hates you…you're a monster, just like they said...you'll never be a great hero!"

"Get out of my head!" The Red Fox screamed at the top of his lungs, before everything faded to black. Everyone could see that his body had frozen in place and his eyes and gone to white. The battle would rage on inside the boys head, for none but him to see. It was fight that he vowed he would not lose…

* * *

Naruto's world had suddenly began to shifted around him. His Red Fox costume was gone, and he could see nothing but darkness for miles. Then buildings began to burst from dark like flashes of light. The flashes blinded Naruto at first, when he regained his sight what he saw astounded him.

He was standing in a city that looked like a bizarre combination of Gotham and the Hidden Leaf. Some of the buildings looked like they were from feudal Japan and others were the classic skyscrapers you'd see in Gotham city. To make things even more odd, everything was in complete disrepair, and it seemed as though this place was abandoned as well. The only thing that was walking around was a few small foxes, who seemed to ignore the boy. Naruto had no idea what to make of it, "Where am I? Is this like, inside of my head or something? It's pretty freaky if it is."

The boy started to walk around the place, simply surveying the area. He was trying to see if there was any semblance of life that he could try and talk to. Naruto must have looked down a dozen alleyways before he finally found someone. It was a boy his age, with hair just like his too. His face was turned away from Naruto, but that didn't stop the boy from trying to talk to him, "Hey, are you okay? Do you think that you can maybe tell me where we are exactly?"

"Get away from me...you make me sick," The other boy said in a low tone.

Naruto didn't understand what was happening, "I make you sick? But I've never even met you."

"You idiot! I am you!" The boy snarled and faced Naruto. His looks were identical to that of the boy, except he had bags under his eyes, he was a little more feral looking, and his eyes had turned from white to black with red pupils. A clear anger gleamed in the boy's eyes, "I'm who you really are. You're just a soft, whiney, pussy version of me. You work for that fool you call a father, the one who refuses to let you kill those who deserve it! Tch, I can't believe that you trust him!"

If this person, Naruto had decided to refer to him as Dark Naruto, thought that he was going to talk about Bruce like that and not pay for it, he was dead wrong, "You shut up about my dad! He's a hero! The only reason he doesn't kill people is because he knows that it'll ruin everything he's worked for!"

Dark Naruto had an easy counter for that one, "That may be true, but you still dream of becoming Hokage one day, don't you?"

"Well yeah, I'm gonna be the best hero ever here and in the ninja world," Naruto declared, his determination flaring.

Those words snapped the trap that Dark Naruto had set, "Yes, but as Hokage, you will have to kill someday, won't you? How do you think that your supposed father is going to feel about you taking the life of another person, hm?"

This was a thought that had never crossed Naruto's mind, "I...I didn't...he won't…"

"Good to see that you're starting the realize the truth about this family of yours," Dark Naruto said, enjoying the fact that he'd won this round, "They're coming, so it's time for me to leave. I'll be sure to say goodbye before you leave though...assuming that you ever do."

Dark Naruto vanished, leaving his calmer half to figure out what he'd said, "Wait, who's they? There's nobody here! Who's coming?"

They quickly discovered who was coming, as he heard something coming up on the road behind him. It was mob of people that materialized out of thin air. All of them were angry, crying out the phrases, 'Monster,' and 'Demon Boy.' Leading the pack was none other than Bruce and the rest of Naruto's family, "There he is! There's the monster that's tricked it's way into our lives! We have to kill him, now!"

"Dad," Naruto cried, shocked to hear the words that were coming out of his father's mouth, "It's me, your son! How can you say something like that?"

The man spat in Naruto's direction, "You're no son of mine! The only parents that you've ever had are the ones that you killed on the day that you were born!"

That hit Naruto hard. Tears began to form in his eyes, so he shut them tight, "No, you can't mean that! You're my family! I...I don't believe it! This isn't real! None of it is real!"

**_"Hahaha! Oh my boy, it's just as real as you want it to be,"_** Said a chuckling, booming voice, _**"You're in my world now, and in here I can use your greatest fears against you!"**_

Naruto's eyes shot back open to find that the mob was gone. What stood in front of him was the Scarecrow, but not in his typical state. No, in here he was a massive monster of a man, towering over the skyscrapers that he stood beside. It wasn't long before Naruto's instincts told him to start running. He dove back into the alleyway he'd been in before, trying to hide from this new foe, "If this is the inside of my head, I really need to get me some mental help!"

Another chuckle was heard from the Scarecrow, as his eyes become like spotlights, shining down in a yellow glow. When the light hit the foxes that had been wondering around, a decaying hand would rise from the ground and grab it by the tail, dragging the whimpering little foxes back into the ground. Seeing this, Naruto knew that he better not let it touch him. He was protected in the alley for now, but once Scarecrow started looking around more closely, he might be in some trouble. This was something that the villain knew as well, and he was not shy about saying it, **_"I'm going to find you boy, and when I do, the darkness will take you forever!"_**

"I need to think of something soon, or going to end up trapped in my own mind for the rest of my life," Naruto said to himself, beginning to wonder just what he'd gotten into this time.

* * *

Back in the real world, Batman had the Scarecrow by the throat and raised up in the air. The villain was starting to lose too much oxygen, making it harder for him to think, "Put me down dammit! I can't breath!"

Batman had an agenda that wouldn't let him do that, "Not until you give me something to help my partner! I don't buy that you've never made a cure, or at least something that can slow down the toxin! You destroyed my cure, so now I'm taking yours."

"There's really nothing that I can give you," The Scarecrow responded, tired of repeating himself. He called to Thorne's men, "All of you standing around there, shoot him dammit!"

Thorne's men had just been watching up to this point, but now they got their butts in gear and ran to go help the fear monger. Some of them had to cross Naruto's path in order to get to him, but they figured it would be no real issue. He was in a comatose state after all. At least, that was the plan anyways. Once they tried to get passed the boy, they realized that would was far from the truth.

One of them got within reach of Naruto, and he suddenly sprang into action. His body moved on it's own, his hand grabbing the criminals wrist. Without warning, he twisted the man's arm around and sickening snap was heard. Just as his arm broke, Naruto rasped out, "Stay away! All of you stay away!"

"Oh man, that was fucked up," One of the criminals said as all of them started to back away, "His eyes are all white too! What the hell's going on here?"

The Scarecrow watched the men cower in fear, "You idiots, get over here! I can't do this on my own."

After what they'd seen, the criminals weren't budging, "No way man! What if he comes after us too? You're doing this yourself!"

"Looks the Red Fox is still able to help me out even in this current state," Batman said, finally throwing the Scarecrow to the side, letting him breath again, "Let's change this up a bit. I know that he'll break out of the toxin's control eventually, I just don't want him to hurt any longer than he has to. So, I'm going to continue to beat you until he's free. Now, if you help me, that will go much faster. If you don't help me, then things won't be fun for you! Do you really wanna try and defend yourself with that useless, torn up hand?"

Scarecrow coughed as he finally took in some air, "Beat me all you want. You won't ever be able to stop the raw power of fear!"

"We'll just see about that," Batman said, prepared to get a little blood on his knuckles, "You're about to get more than just your hand ruined Crane!"

* * *

With his father out battling the real Scarecrow, Naruto was forced to fight the enormous nightmare version by himself. He was still hiding in the alleyway, trying to think of what to do, "How do I fight someone that I can't even let see me? Heck, how do I fight someone who's that big? I need dad here! Heck, I'd take pretty much anybody at this point!"

**"In that case, you little whelp, you'll have to settle for me,"** A grave voice said, startling the hell out of Naruto.

Naruto spun around to find two giant red eyes waiting for him at the end of the alleyway. He didn't know he missed them the first time he was here, "Who are you? Are you another part of the nightmare?"

There was a soft chuckle from unseen entity, **"No kit, I'm not part of this little delusion. Take a few steps closer to me. I want to get a better look at my container."**

"You're container?" Naruto repeated, making his way towards the eyes. He began to get a better view of who he was speaking to. First he noticed the bars that seemed to be holding back whoever the eyes belonged to. Then he noticed the size of the creature, which had reddish fur, who looked to be as big as the false Scarecrow. Once Naruto saw the sharp teeth and nine flowing tails of the creature, he became sure of who it was, "Wait a minute, you're the Kyuubi!"

The Kyuubi responded by flashing him a toothy grin, **"And you are Naruto Uzumaki, the child who's been carrying me around for 8 long years. I must say, I was very pleased that you named your persona after me. It's always nice to see that I still scare the piss out of people."**

This was not going to be some kind of happy meeting, not if Naruto had anything to say about it, "You stupid fox! You're the reason that my lifes been hell! The villagers used to beat me up because they thought that I was you!"

**"True, but you never would've met your new family if I hadn't been placed inside of you,"** The Kyuubi retaliated, wanting to stop this argument before it began, **"Besides, I never asked to be sealed away. We could go back and forth about who owes who in this situation for hours, but that's not what's important right now."**

There was still a lot more that Naruto wanted to say, but he decided that he'd save it for another time, "I guess we do need to figure out how to get out of here."

The Kyuubi nodded at him, **"Glad to see you can listen to reason. We will have discussion one day kit, you can count on that, but not tonight. If you end up trapped in darkness forever, so do I. I'm not about to let that happen, so I'm going to tell you exactly what you need to do to get out of this."**

"Fine, but I still hate you, you overgrown plushie," Naruto spat, knowing that he had no choice but to work with the Kyuubi.

The feeling was mutual,** "And I still hate you, you pathetic, sniveling little mortal. Now, when fighting darkness, there's only one weapon that will do you any good. That weapon would be the darkness's natural enemy, the light."**

Naruto had no idea where to go with that, "That means were doomed! Earth to Kyuubi, there's no way to get light in here."

This caused the Kyuubi to sneer, **"Foolish little brat, of course there is! Even within the darkest of minds, there's always a place to find some light. On the top of that building there, take a look."**

"You mean that one over there?" Naruto asked, looking at tower for Wayne Enterprises. He squinted to make out what was on top of it, "Wait, that's a spotlight, but it's pointing straight up. It's not hitting anything but the sky."

It was starting to become more apparent what the Kyuubi's plan was, **"Things work a very strange way in your mind Naruto. The only way to stop the Scarecrow's rampage is to shine that light directly on him. Then you can bust your way out of here. "**

That made a bizarre amount of sense to the boy, "Alright, but how am I supposed to do that without getting caught in that freaky stare thing he does?"

**"Simple, you use me to keep him busy,"** The Kyuubi said, aware of how Naruto was going to react to this.

He glared at the massive fox and said, "No way! I'm not letting you out of that seal so that you can go and escape to tear up half of Gotham."

The Kyuubi actually rolled his enormous eyes, **"If I got out of here myself, I'd wreck a hell of a lot more than just half of Gotham. It doesn't matter, you don't even need to take the seal off. Just place your damn hand on the seal and channel my chakra through it, picturing me in your head while you do it. It'll be like making a clone of me in your head. I handle the Scarecrow while you get to work on that spotlight. Do we have a deal kit?"**

Despite how much it sucked to be in this situation, Naruto quickly agreed, "Fine, we'll do what you want, but when we're done, I wanna talk all about us."

The fox had already made that decision, **"Like I said before kit, we will. Now, put your hand on the seal. We don't' have all day!"**

"Whatever you say furball," Naruto said, unable to resist getting in one last jab at the Kyuubi. He reached up and touched the seal, channeling the demon chakra like he'd been told. A reddish mist flowed through his body and out of the fingertips on his other hand.

This mist made a noise like a screeching demon, the took the shape of the Kyuubi. Facial features soon followed, and he seemed very pleased to be out and about in any state or form, **"Ah, you have no idea how good it feels to be out of the cursed cage. I realize that I'm only free of it in a sense, but that's more than enough for now. It's almost as nice as knowing that I'm going to rip apart the Scarecrow like a paper doll. Don't feel the need to go too quickly boy, I want to savor this."**

Naruto saw one flaw in this plan, "But what about when the Scarecrow's stare hits you? Won't it drag you down like it did the other little foxes?"

**"His gaze won't effect me like it does you kit, because I'm not nearly as afraid of him,"** The Kyuubi explained, starting to take giant steps towards his soon to be opponent.

That raised another question in the boy's mind, "Is there even anything that you are afraid of?"

**"No creature is truly born without fear , not unless it's a fool,"** The Kyuubi mused as he took a few more steps closer, **"I fear a red eye with hatred brimming inside of it, I fear that my brothers and sister will end up trapped forever as weapons for this world, and I fear what he who created me would think of the world he left behind. However, I'm not going to let that fear stop me. You'd best sack up and do the same."**

As hard as it was for Naruto to believe, the Kyuubi was right, "Okay, let's do this! It's time to get wild!"

The Kyuubi approved of the boy's enthusiasm, **"Not that's attitude my container needs to have! Come on kit, it's show time!"**

* * *

"What in the hell is going on with that brat of yours?" Scarecrow asked as he watched the chakra around Naruto's body go absolutely insane. The villain had managed to get out from under his foe and stand up, but that was they only positive thing he'd done in this fight. He was still getting his behind beat like there was no tomorrow.

Batman could see the boy's body was shaking hard, and he was starting to regain some of his movement, "He's winning Crane. What you're seeing is the Red Fox taking out your toxin with his nothing but his willpower. I bet that you didn't even know that was possible."

Someone beating his fear toxin without some kind of help was impossible in Scarecrow's mind, "You can believe that if you'd like Batman, but it won't do your friend any good. Those toxins will overtake his mind, no matter what kind of power flows through him."

"It's always seemed like more of a burden than a power to him," Batman corrected, sneakingly taking a little ball from his belt, "But he's found a way to make the best of it. He's just like me, taking his greatest hindrance and making it one of his greatest strengths."

The Scarecrow retrieved a gun from his coat. He found after getting beaten by the Dark Knight multiple times, he'd lost interest in him, "I no longer care about your strengths and weaknesses. Using a gun is something I don't typically do, as I feel it takes away some of the joy you get from terrifying your opponent. You've taken that joy from me, so now I will end you!"

A click could be heard, which clearly meant the gun had been cocked. Batman threw his smoke bomb on the ground before Crane could fire, "My greatest weakness has always been that I don't have any special powers. I'm nothing more than man in some suit. That's also what makes me exactly what this city needs."

"What are rambling on abo, gah!" The Scarecrow began before a strong punch landed on his face. Batman had appeared out of the smoke, attacking and taking the Scarecrow's gun away simultaneously.

The hero removed the clip from the weapon, tossing it off to the side. He then continued to explain himself, "The fact that I'm just regular man means that anyone could be the Batman. I've become more than just a hero to these people. I'm a symbol to them, a symbol that they can make a difference, no matter who they are. Watching one take down an entire organization is their proof that this city can be saved. While you've been feeding them fear, I've been feeding them hope."

Those words only served to make the Scarecrow more bitter, "I was supposed to be the one saving this city! I had everything perfectly planned out! Every last little detail was designed to assure that I would win! It took me so long to build this, so how can tear it down so quickly?"

"It's always been easier to destroy something than it is to create it," Batman said, grabbing Scarecrow's collar and slamming him into a nearby shipping crate, "Especially when what you built was horrible to begin with. Your entire plan was doomed from the moment you thought it up."

The Scarecrow's anger rose even higher at those words. He had to think of something to say back, "I really hope that your brat is having the worst nightmare imaginable! I hope that when he comes out of his current state, he's so twisted that he can never be repaired! Best of all, I hope that you blame yourself for putting him out in the field to begin with!"

"You know something Crane? It's very foolish to say something like that to a guy who's been beating you like a bass drum from the past half an hour," Batman said, before his fist connected with the villains face once again. Things were only going to get worse for the Scarecrow.

* * *

Returning once again to the nightmare world, a sinister sight began to unfold before Naruto's eyes. The Kyuubi and exited the alleyway and was now right in front of the Scarecrow, ready to duke it out with the foul facade,** "So this is the creature that's been causing my container such trouble. You've got the looked of a monster down, I'll give you that much, and your fear toxin is something to be avoided if your weak minded. However, you'll find that neither of those things have any effect on me!"**

It was a very bold claim that the Kyuubi needed to be able to back up, as the glowing yellow light from the Scarecrow's eyes had begun to focus on him, _**"Come now my fiendish little friend, no one can fight off the power of my toxin. Why don't you just give in like the rest of them?"**_

**"If I was anything like 'The rest of them,' I wouldn't have gotten past the first ten years of my existence,"** The Kyuubi sneer as the yellow light began to invade his mind. Someone with a trained eye might have been able to see the beast shudder for a second, but that's the most that they would've seen him do, **"Not bad, but not near enough to stop the likes of me. Let me show you what a real attack looks like!"**

The Kyuubi raised up it's head into the air and purple ball began to form in front of his mouth. In a very short amount of time, the ball reached about the size of one of buildings they been standing around. Launching it like some kind of bullet, the Kyuubi fired the ball right into the Scarecrow's stomach, **"Tailed Beast Bomb!"**

This send the villain thumbling upon impact before the ball exploded and sent him flying away like a piece of string, _**"GAHHHHHHH!"**_

"That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!" Naruto cheered, jumping in joy for the power he'd just witnessed, "That explosion was huge!"

Trying not to seem too full of himself, the Kyuubi responded, **"Yes, I certainly did a number on him. I'm going to go and make sure he doesn't came back here until you're ready. Once you've got that spotlight all set, yell for me and I'll lead him back here. Before you ask, yes I'll be able to hear you."**

Naruto soon remembered that this was all part of a plan and not just some random battle, "Don't you worry, I'll be up there before you know it. Um...I can use that chakra thing Jiraiya taught me where I stick to walls in here, right?"

**"...Yes, you can use that here,"** The Kyuubi deadpanned, **"It's your own freaking head after all."**

The boy scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, "Hehe, right, I knew that. I was just testing you."

It was all the Kyuubi could do to ignore the joke that was older than he was, **"Just get your ass up their dammit! Do that and leave the Scarecrow to me, and this'll all be finished in no time."**

"I'm on it," Naruto declared, sprinting right for Wayne Enterprises, "Don't let me down furball!"

The Kyuubi smacked his forehead, **"My container is an absolute moron. It's a good thing that I've got something to work out my frustrations on."**

As the Kyuubi headed off to make sure the Scarecrow was kept busy, Naruto hooked his feet the Wayne Enterprises building, starting to make his way up. The blonde kept repeating to himself on the way to the top, "Don't look down, don't look down. Whatever you do, don't look down."

It was good advice, as it took a little over a mile of running to reach the top of the tower and to get to the spotlight. There was certainly a temptation for Naruto to look back to see just how high he was, and it was one the boy found he couldn't fight. After getting around half way up, he looked and saw how far he was from the ground. That was very, very bad idea.

"Idiot! What'd you just say?" Naruto scolded himself, beginning to feel fear once more. It would be a very long drop if he was to fall right now, but he couldn't let that stop him, "I've gotta keep it together, I'm already half way up, so I just need to keep going."

Naruto started running up the building once more, desperate to get to the spotlight so that he could get out of here. A giant killer Scarecrow, a dark version of himself, and half destroyed city was not the boy's idea of a fun place. He stopped when he felt something go whizzing by his head and saw that a kunai had landed right in front of him. The one who'd thrown it was none other than Dark Naruto, who seemed determined to halt his counterpart's progress, "What do you think you're doing dumbass? I never said that you could leave!"

Despite not having known him for long, Naruto already despised the darker representation of his mind, "You are so not the boss of me you jerk! I'm taking out that giant psycho so that I can go home already!"

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that Mr. Goody-Goody," Dark Naruto said, spinning around a kunai on his finger, "I like our mind like this. Things are so much more fun this way. So if you try to change it, I'm taking you out!"

It was ridiculous to Naruto that he'd even say something like that, "Take me out? Feel free to try, but I'm getting to that light no matter what you do!"

Dark Naruto laughed evilly before he created over a hundred clones of himself, "You'll never make it with all of us chasing you. Come on, admit that it's over so that we can all be done with this!"

"It's not ever close to over," Naruto shot back, ready to match his foe and then some, "You forgot that I'm the one who's the boss of my own mind!"

Two hundred clones of the real Naruto popped up as he was yelling, all of them ready for a fight. Dark Naruto started to grind his teeth at their presence, "If that's the way that you wanna play it, then fine! All of you, charge!"

Naruto yelled to his clones in response, "Go and get um boys!"

The clones army's ran towards one another and merged in what was sure to be an intense battle. As he was by no means a fool, Dark Naruto knew that his clone army would lose due to seer numbers alone. That didn't really matter, as both versions of the boy knew that the only thing that was really important was whether or not the spotlight was put to use. That's would could end this nightmare.

"Well I'm not waiting around here. Time to head straight for the top," Naruto said as he began to make his way up the tower again.

The real, if you could call him that, Dark Naruto tried to jump over the crowd to stop him, but one of the clones grabbed his ankle and pulled him back down. Two more clones jumped on him, knocking him clean off the building. The dark boy could only scream as he fell, "This isn't over you pathetic weakling! I'm gonna be back, and someday I'll have control over our mind!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the them as they fell, "Yeah, sure you will! If you come at me again, it'll just kick your butt a second time! Hehe, that was kinda fun!"

The young hero quickly got his senses back and ran towards the spotlight once more, letting to the clones have their fun. He soon reached his target, though he had sore feet and was out of breath because of it. With what energy he had left, he signaled the Kyuubi, "Hey, fluffy! I'm all set on my end, we're just waiting on you!"

**"You are so lucky that I need you alive you brat,"** The Kyuubi called back before he took the Scarecrow's head into his jaw. He then proceeded to raise up his neck and tossed the Scarecrow over to Naruto's general area.

Even after everything he'd been through, villain wasn't ready to surrender, somehow feeling that he could still win this, _**"I doesn't matter how much you throw me, blow me up, or anything else. Fear is too powerful to be defeated!"**_

Once Naruto had him locked in his sights, he grabbed the bottom of the spotlight and flipped it up right towards the Scarecrow, "Let's see how powerful you are when I do something like this!"

_**"Wait, don't!"**_ The Scarecrow screamed, but it was too late. Light began to burn on his chest, forcing away the darkness he'd created,_** "NOOOOOOOOOO!"**_

His screams were overshadowed by the bright light that began to burst from his body. He exploded in a flash the caused everything around him to vanish without a trace. There was no question about it...Naruto had won!

* * *

An explosion of raw power was could be felt by every criminal that surrounded Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne as he broke free of the Scarecrow's influence. He'd forced the toxin out of his body and now he could do whatever he wanted. Since he had a touch of the Kyuubi's chakra still inside of him, what he wanted to do was a little disturbing.

Batman still had the Scarecrow by the neck, all but knocked out. Between one of their bosses being out of commission and the freaky power they'd just felt, all of the thugs decided to get the hell out of the area. They left right as Red Fox pushed his father off from the Scarecrow, "Red Fox, what do you think you're doing?"

"Relax Dad," the Red Fox said in a darker tone than usual, "I just want to make sure that he's not going to forget us."

With a hand that still had just a touch of claw left, the Red Fox slashed through the Scarecrow's mask and cut his face. Thanks to the residual chakra on his nails, the cut would make a scar that could never heal, "My face! Ah, you little bastard, first my hand and now my face! I'm going to make you pay for this!"

The Red Fox didn't want to listen to him, so he slammed the back of his head into the pavement, silencing the villain. His father watched all of this with a look of slight disapproval, "A little extreme, don't you think Red Fox?"

"Sorry, he just made me very angry with some of things he said...you know, in my head," Naruto said, looking at his fallen foe, "I promise I won't it again unless I have to. Huh, we finally beat him. The Scarecrow lost, and we were the ones who defeated him. It feels weird to think that this all over."

This was not a foreign concept to the Batman, "I know, but it's only for now. Another villain will rise from the woodworks soon enough. That's why I think I'm going to take Tsunade up on her offer. The way you used the fox's power was impressive, but you still don't have complete control over it. We need to have ninjas here to work with you so that you can get stronger and have more control over these abilities of yours."

The Red Fox always did like to train, "That's great….so, do we just go home now? Do we just leave it to the cops and then go and see who wins the mayor thing?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Batman said, looking around to see that his work was done, "Take a rest whenever you can, believe me. I'm sure Batgirl and Robin are feeling the same way. Hopefully we'll get a nice long break this time around."

The boy found a lot of comfort in those words. Even after a day like this, the family could still come home and enjoy the company of one another. It was those moments that made all of the pain and fear worth it.

As the two jumped back to the rooftops to make there way home, a shadowy figure watched them from a distance. They were blissfully unaware that they were being observed by the Head of the Demon and his trusted advisor, "That power that the boy was using was incredible. I've only ever seen it once or twice before this. The boy must be jinchuuriki. I thought that they only resided in the Great Ninja Nations, but it seems one has managed to find it's way here. This could prove to be very beneficial for us."

"A jinchuuriki? I'm sorry Master Ra's, but I've never heard that term before," Shiva told her master, noticing how excited the man seemed about this discovery.

Ra's al Ghul had no intention of explaining the entire concept of it to her in this alley, "Don't worry my dear, it's something that you'll come to learn about in time. We're likely going to lose the election, as I was too busy covering for our mishap at the asylum to get Penguin those last few votes, but the rest of tonight should make up for it. Between this Hugo Strange man approaching us and the jinchuuriki being here, I'll still count this venture as a success. Come Shiva, we have much work to do."

It was just as Batman had said. As soon as one threat leaves Gotham, another merely rises up to take its place...


	14. Changes

Welcome back my friend, to the next arc of the Red Fox. I'd like to call this arc 'True Faces' as it's a name that will fit in more ways than one. I don't want to spoil anything in this intro, but let's just say that things get dark from here on out. Things weren't exactly light hearted in the last few chapters, but I'm about to go even darker. I'll be adding in even more famous villains along with dabbling into some iconic comic book storylines as well. A lot going to be going on this chapter, so pay close attention. There's plenty to explain with the time skip, but don't worry, I'm trying hard to keep interesting. The one thing I will tell you here is that I'll be explaining the genin team's involvement in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Goodnight, Texas: The Railroad

* * *

The Magpie restaurant and winery was considered by many to be one of Gotham's best lesser known restaurants. All of the food tasted good, the wine was elegant, and the atmosphere of the place was enchanting. Usually it was a very pleasant place to be, but not on this particular night. Tonight, it was the meeting place of two of Gotham's most brilliantly deranged minds. One was the cities Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, and the other was a mysterious man whose face was covered entirely by bandages. They sat alone in the restaurant, one lone candle illuminating their table. Rather than go there during business hours and get caught, the two criminals had broken in and simply made themselves food with what they'd found in the kitchen.

Well, the bandaged man had cooked anyway, "So Joker, are you enjoying your meal? I've always prided myself on my cooking, among other things."

"This stake is fantastic," The Joker said, his mouth filled with food, "Nice and bloody, just like I like it! You chopped it off that slab of beef perfectly too! I didn't know there was anyone else in Gotham who loved to cut things up as much as me."

The bandaged man didn't react much to the compliment, "In my line of work, precision is key. One wrong cut, and you can end up ending a man's life. I was impressed by the way you broke in here so easily. That lock may as well have not even been there."

It was nothing special for the clown, "Please, I could've picked that while I choked out a man. In fact, I actually have a couple of time, haha! Now, what we're asking me about, bandaged head?"

"Please, call me Hush," The man corrected him, "And I was asking you if you were certain that you don't wish to know the Batman's identity? It just seems strange to me that you don't want to know, with all the effort you're putting into this plan of yours."

This was not up for debate where the Joker was concerned, "I can't know who he is! That would spoil the fun of it. Sheesh man, think it through. So, once the rest of my plan is finished, and everything has a nice little bow on it, you'll come in and finish it for me, right?"

Hush nodded, as he needed exactly what the Joker was going to give him, "Yes, and you'll hand over those two men I asked you for. Those two EXACT men, no one else!"

It irritated the Joker just how much he was trying to drive that point home, "I know, you said it about 50 times already. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. All of my men are equally worthless. What's so special about these guys?"

Hush didn't want to give that information out just yet, "Let's just say that their faces showed me that they had exactly what I was looking for. Now, I just have one final question before we shake hands on this deal."

"Don't be shy about it then," The Joker started, finally decided to taking a ship of his wine, "Huh, that's not bad. Not as good as the blood of my enemies, but not bad."

That joke actually got a laugh out of Hush, "Ah, there is so much truth to that. Now, as for my question, it revolves around what you intend to do with the Batman when this is all over. I realize your plan won't be complete for another two months, but you must have some kind of idea of what will become of him."

"Nope, no idea," replied the clown with ease, "I'm more of a play it by ear kinda guy. What I do hinges on what the bat does. We're just such good friends, I wouldn't want to make a major decision without seeing how he felt first."

Hush could've choked on the irony of what the man had just said, "People who are friends with him will find themselves woefully disappointed, I assure you. I won't go into detail, but I to have my reservations regarding the Batman. Much of my future is dependent on where falls when this the chips fall."

Pushing his plate away and finishing off his wine, the Joker stood up from the table, "Well then we're just two peas in a pod, aren't we? I don't give a damn what you do after this is all done, as long as you do what you do best when I ask you to. We'll figure out the rest later, capeesh?"

"I can abide by those terms," Hush said, getting up as well, "Have you men sent to me at my early convince. I'll need to begin work on them immediately."

The two of them were about to shake hands when the Joker pulled away, "Whoops, hold up a second," He took something off from his hand and then reached back for Hush's, "My joy buzzer was still on. I wouldn't want to fry those steady hands of yours, now would I, Mr. Identity Thief?"

Hush had almost forgotten the nickname the press had given him, "No, we wouldn't want to do something like that. I'm going to need those if we're to accomplish anything. Let's try to have some fun with this, shall we?"

"Was there ever any doubt? Hahahahahahaha!" The madman laughed, closing the deal on what was sure to be and very dangerous partnership.

* * *

"Come on Naruto, you're so close. Just hold it there a little bit longer," Jiraiya called as he watched the blue sphere spinning in the boy's hand. It was a sphere made up of pure chakra, designed to destroy everything that it came into contact with. The sphere was known as the Rasengan, and it was originally designed by the Fourth Hokage. It took years for the man to make it, but the results were well worth it. A well placed Rasengan on any part of an opponent's body made it very hard for them to get back up, if they could even move at all after the blow landed.

Naruto was very proud to finally be able to learn one of his father's signature moves, and he was very close to completing it too. He'd mastered the first two parts of the learning the move, beginning the Rasengan and putting enough power behind it, but the he was having trouble with the final part, which was controlling said power. This made things all the more frustrating when his current attempt dissipated in his hand once again, "Dang it! I was so close this time! Just a few more seconds and I would've had it!"

The boy really shouldn't have felt any shame, as he'd gotten this far in a mere week. It'd taken Jiraiya over a month to get to this point, "Don't worry kid, you're doing great. You're taking to the Rasengan like a fish to water. Tsunade only came to Gotham, what, four or five years ago? Look how far you've come since then."

"Yeah, I guess," Naruto grumpled, still not exactly happy with himself, "I was like eight when the whole Scarecrow thing blew over. I'm twelve now and feels like I've hardly gotten any stronger."

Jiraiya nearly fell on his face when he heard that, "Hardly even gotten any stronger? Are you kidding me? Tsunade brought Hayate in here, and he's taught you five different wind based jutsu. She brought in a couple other people after that to train with the chokuto of yours, and they made you one hell of a swordsmen. Then she brought me in, and taught you how to summon toads and get better control of that monster in your gut. To top it all off, she even showed you how to use the Kyuubi's chakra to heal your own wounds in a fight. Now, you've almost got the Rasengan finished too. Add on all of that to fancy gadgets your dad gave you and I think that you could easily take on some of the jonin we've got back at the Leaf. You're only 13 freaking years old kid, cut yourself some slack!"

After that little rant, Naruto had a hard time putting himself down. He wiped the sweat off from his brow, having been working damn hard in the training room for the past hour, "Maybe you're right. You wanna take a break then? I think I smell Alfred making some lunch if you're hungry."

"I guess that a little food wouldn't hurt," Jiraiya said, tossing the boy a towel so that he could get himself cleaned up, "You think that Tsunade will be there?"

Naruto shrugged, not really sure, "Probably. She doesn't usually miss a meal if Alfred's cooking it, but she might be busy. If you like her so much, why don't you just ask her out already?"

This showed how the naive the boy was to Jiraiya, "I love her kid, but I don't think she can ever get past her first lover Dan. I mean, I'd give anything if she did, but I just doubt it could happen. Besides, she could do better than this old pervert, especially when we live so far away from each other."

"I agree, but maybe she wants you," Naruto said, getting a glare for the older man as they walked to the kitchen, "It just seems stupid to me that you don't even try."

Jiraiya had no desire to continue this conversation, "It's something that you're too young to understand. Maybe when you get older I'll try to explain it to you, but for now, just leave it be, okay?"

If only that was something Naruto could actually do, "I make no promises. Now come on, I'm starving after all that work we just did."

The two of them walked the rest of the way to the kitchen in silence. Not an awkward silence, but rather the kind where the discussion had reached it's end. They entered the desired room to find Alfred stirring a pot of something on the stove. Tsunade, Bruce, and a boy about Naruto's age sat at the table waiting to be fed. Bruce seemed very pleased to see his son, "Naruto, you're finally done training. Good, you look like you could use a hot meal. How's it coming with the Rasengan?"

"I really don't wanna talk about it," Naruto grumpled pulling up a seat, "That stupid jutsu is driving me crazy. I've been working on it for ages, but it feels like I'm getting nowhere with it."

The boy who was about Naruto's age scoffed, "Well then maybe you should just give up on it. It's not like you aren't showing the rest of us up enough as it is."

Bruce shot a dark look at the boy, "Jason, will you stop being so snippy with your brother? You've been here for five months and you still won't treat him with any respect."

"I told you, he's not my brother," The boy, now know as Jason, fired back, "I barely even think of you as my dad. Don't force this shit on me, alright."

That got everyone in the room to frown at him. Jason was a boy just under that age of twelve who'd joined the Bat family not too long ago. Bruce had found him trying to steal the Batmobile during one of his late night patrols. Apparently his mother had been a drug addict who died of an overdose and his father had been under the employment of Two-Face before he suddenly went missing. He'd been on the street for about a year and had been forced to fend for himself the entire time. The whole reason he tried to steal the Batmobile was so that he could sell it to get some food. You'd think that Bruce would've been angry about this, but he was honestly impressed by how close the boy had come to succeeding. During the struggle to stop him, Jason had shown off some very impressive combat skills as well. He had potential, but if he didn't get some guidance he'd likely end up a foe of the Batman in just a few years. It was all off this that made Bruce decide to take him in and dub him the second Robin. However, Jason felt they had a different reason for taking them in.

"Don't look at me like that. Everyone here knows you only got me because the last Robin ran off to Jump City," Jason said, not dealing with any of this crap, "Naruto doesn't even like me, he just wants his real brother back."

Naruto had heard these words many times over the past few months, "Jason, I don't hate you. It sucks that Dick left half a year ago, yeah, but he was just doing what he needed to do. He wanted to go and make a life as his own hero. He's Knightwing now and he's the leader of the Teen Titans. If that's what makes him happy, I'm not gonna stop him."

Those words just gave Jason more ammunition, "Please, Dick left because him and Barbara broke up and we all know it."

"I don't think that you could call what we had break up," Barbara, the now 20 year old girl, said as she entered the room, "It was more like we both realized that we wanted different things in life. He was never gonna be the kind of guy who was gonna want to settle and stop the whole hero thing thing. Someday I wanna leave this all behind and live a quiet little life, so we decided that it would be best if both moved on. There were no hard feelings."

Tsunade had been learned to speak perfect English since she began to live in Gotham, so she could easily reply, "Believe me, I get it. You've got to be an adult sometimes, even if this little brat over there doesn't know it."

Jason was ready to get from the table, "Screw you guys. You wonder why I'm always pissed at you people."

"Oh come on Jason, stay where you're at. You know that you bring all of this on yourself," Shizune said, walking into the room and taking the last chair at the table, the one next to Jason. She spoke English as well as Tsunade did now, "Maybe if you were a little nicer to people, they wouldn't be so snippy to you."

The moment that Shizune walked in, Jason's demeanor changed. He went from bratty and short tempered to nervous and shy, "I'm sorry Shizune. They just push my buttons sometimes, ya know?"

Shizune understood that, but that didn't make it okay, "Then your buttons are far too easy to push. Don't worry, we'll talk about it later."

"Okay, if that's what you want," Jason said in a small voice. It wasn't a secret to anyone in Wayne Manor that the boy had developed some kind of connection with Shizune. No one was sure weather it was a crush or if he saw her as more of a big sister, but it didn't really matter. There was someone that the boy would listen to, and that was all they needed, "Me and you can hang a little bit after I'm done training with Bruce. I promise that I'll start to trying to be nicer."

She ruffled the boy's hair, satisfied with the boy, "There's the sweet guy I knew was in there. So Alfred, how much longer until lunch is ready?"

Alfred dipped a spoon into the pot and took a little taste, "Give me just a few more minutes and the food should be ready. Master Bruce, I think you might want to take a brief look at today's paper. The headline may interests you."

"Sure, if someone could just hand it to me," Bruce said, so Tsunade leaned over to the counter and grabbed it for him. Alfred wasn't wrong about the headline catching his attention, '"The Identity Thief Strikes Again!' How is that the press keeps finding out about this guy's victims before Gordon does?"

Jiraiya was the only one who didn't know what he talking about, "I've only been here for about a week, could some explain to me who the Identity Thief is?"

"He's a serial killer that's been murdering citizens in Gotham for two months now," Barbara elaborated, having heard all about this from her father, "He sedates a man and then proceeds to very carefully remove part of the victim's face, hence his name, and wraps their head in bandages before leaving them for dead. Each time he manages to get away without leaving behind even a shred of evidence. No one has a clue who he is, and the press always manages to find out about his victims before we or the police do. I swear, it's like the guy's taunting us or something."

The story almost made Naruto loss his appetite, "Just when you thought we didn't have enough crazy freaks in Gotham. That reminds me, has there been any word about the Joker since he broke out of Arkham last week?"

Bruce hadn't forgotten about the clown either, "No, he's been lying low lately, which probably isn't good. That means that he's planning something a little bit bigger this time, and I'm not looking forward to whatever it is."

"Well then you aren't going like this," Barbara said, pulling up her phone, "My dad just texted and told me to turn on the tv. The Joker sent in some kind of tape to a bunch of local news stations, and I guess it's bad. Looks lunch is gonna have to wait Alfred."

It wasn't the first time this had happened to man, "Fear not Master Barbara, we can eat when you return home. Let's get to the living room so that we can find out what that clown's done now."

Everyone got up from the table and ran to the living room in order to reach the large screen tv on the wall. Bruce turned it on and found the channel that was playing the Joker's video. There was a young news reporter on screen, informing everyone of what was going on, "Breaking news out of south Gotham today, as the Joker as finally acted a week after escaping Arkham Asylum. He's released a video of himself holding local researcher Kirk Langstrom hostage. We will be playing this video, but I must warn you, it might frighten younger viewers. This was sent into us less than than half an hour ago."

The screen cut to the Joker, who was standing in front of a camera with a man tied up behind him, struggling. His captor tapped on the lense of the camera, "Hello, is this thing on? Ah, there we go! Ahem! Hello Gotham, it's Joker here! I've got a little message for you and for my dear Dark Knight. You see, he's my bestest friend in the whole world! We do everything that we can together, from bank robberies to jail breaks! It's a wonderful relationship, really it is, but it seems like we've hardly been spending any time with each other lately. Now I know that it's not his fault, he's so busy training Foxy, the new Boy Blunder, and Bat Chicky, that he doesn't have time to see me every day. Of course I'm busy too, chaos never sleeps you know! So, because of all this, I've decided to find a new friend to spend time with while my bestie is busy! Ladies and gentlemen, meet Kirk Langstrom!"

"Mpgh," The man cried, trying to scream through the gag, "Hmph mpgh!"

The Joker gleemed at the man's reaction, "Doesn't he look excited about this! Now, I'm not trying to replace Batman. I would never do something so heartless! No, Kirky here is just gonna remind me of him every day. How you ask? Well with this of course!"

A syringe appeared on screen, the Joker holding it up like a shiny new toy, "Behold, Kirk's little gift to me! What I hold in my hand is a very special serum that he's been designing that's supposed to give people sonars like bats have! It hasn't been tested yet, but I'm sure this will work out just fine! Come Kirk! Let's make you more like a bat, just for me!"

Everyone who was watching the video cringed as the Joker shoved the needle into Kirk's neck. Soon he began to twitch as hair started to grow all over his body. The Joker was loving the sight, "You wanna know the funny part? He started this research in the hopes that he could use the results to help the blind! Haha, isn't that so sweet it makes you wanna throw up?"

"Damn, that poor guy," Tsunade said as the group watched the video, "He sure is growing a lot of hair. That's a little odd."

Bruce knew that this was just the start of the transformation, "Something tells me we haven't seen anything yet. Wait for it…"

"Gwaaar!" Kirk screeched as suddenly broke out of the ropes that had been holding him. His muscles had grown considerably and he'd grown three inches taller as if he'd had a small dose of Venom. In addition, his body had become entirely covered with fur like that of a bat. His nose and ears had begun to mimic a bat's as well, and wings soon began to grow out of his arms. With a set of fangs and claws on his hands to be the cherry on top, he looked completely like a human-bat hybrid.

That was exactly what the Joker had been hoping for, "Wowza! Would you look at that! He's more bat than man at this point! Batman might not be the right name for you...I know, Man-Bat! What do you think Kirk? Do you like that?"

Even if the Man-Bat could have spoken human words, he wouldn't have answered. His teeth were already sunk deep into the neck of one Joker's henchmen, not that the clown cared, "Haha, he loves it! There you go folks! My new buddy! We'll be seeing you real soon Gotham! Joker out!"

With that the taped stopped, leaving everyone in the living room in shock. Even Jason felt bad for the guy, "Just when I thought the Joker couldn't lose it anymore than he already had, he goes and does that. We're gonna have to go and try to rescue that guy, aren't we?"

"Heck yeah we're gonna rescue you him," Naruto cried in excitement, "The Joker made a big mistake, because I've been looking for some action like this! Let's go and kick us some clown butt!"

Bruce was thinking the same thing, although he said in a calmer way, "We have to take him down as quickly as we can for Langstrom's sake. The longer we wait, the more the transformation will take hold. We need to capture him so that we can find a way to change him back. Alfred, you stay here with Tsunade and Shizune and hold down the fort. Naruto, Barbara, and Jason, you're with me. Jiraiya, you should tail us and keep an eye on everything. Don't intervene unless you absolutely have to so that we don't have to try an explain to Gotham who you are. All of you be ready to go in just a couple of minutes. I've gotta grab something special before we go. Get moving people."

No one bothered to question anything that Bruce had said. Time was very much of the essence. Kirk's life and physical state was hanging in the balance, and something told them that Joker didn't really give a damn about what happened to the man.

* * *

The first thing that they had to do was figure out where Joker and Man-Bat were held up, and that turned out to be incredibly easy. Apparently he'd found his way to the skies of Gotham and there were soon sightings of him flooding in. Batman had decided that the Batwing would be best for this situation, as it was the fastest means of transportation they had. It was a little bit cramped with four people inside, but it's what needed to be done.

"Red Fox, fill me in on as much of Langstrom's research as you can. I wanna know exactly what we're dealing with here," Batman told him as he piloted the plane.

The Red Fox pulled up his holo-computer and started to use it just like his big brother had taught him. It was very impressive how far he'd come with technology since he'd left the hidden Leaf, "What the Joker said in the video is true, but it looks like he left a couple things out. The guy's been using vampire bats for his experiments, which is probably why he went all blood sucker on the Joker's thug. With how freaking big he is, Man-Bat's gonna need to feed pretty regularly just to stay alive."

This didn't bode well for the heroes, and Robin knew it, "It just had to be vampire bats, didn't it? Kirk could've used fruit bats, but no, this is what we get."

"Let's just try and minimize the number of lives lost," Batman said, as the citizens of Gotham were always his greatest concern, "Hold on, I think that I can see him up ahead."

Man-Bat was indeed just a few hundred feet in front of them in mid-air. His claws were gleaming and he was about to diving in on another unsuspecting victim on the ground. The Red Fox started to sweat, "Um, Batman, please tell me you've got something ready to go?"

The Dark Knight was already preparing to capture him, "Don't worry, I'm in target lock and ready to launch the electrified net. We might be out of here quicker than we'd thought."

"Tsk tsk Batman," The Joker said from a nearby building, "I can't let you spoil the joke just yet. Looks like papa's gonna have to ground you!"

Picking it up from the ground beside him, the Joker retrieved a sort of bazook that he'd painted purple with green stripes. Once he was good and ready, the clown let out a hearty laugh and fired at the Batwing. With the way they were focused on Man-Bat, the heroes didn't notice the explosive coming right for them. It his the wing of the plane and sent it crashing down.

"I swear to god, when we get out of this I'm kicking the Joker's ass," Batgirl cursed as she ejected herself from the plane with the others, landing on a nearby building.

Batman might have been even more upset than she was. He grumpled as soon as he saw the plane hit the ground, "At least it wasn't your plane. Do have any idea how much it's gonna cost me to fix whatever damage he just did to it?"

A deafening screech brought that discussion to a halt as the Man-Bat landed right behind them, clearly out for blood. The Red Fox quickly began to make his handsigns, "Don't worry guys, I can handle this. Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

With his hands to his mouth, the Red Fox released a massive gust of wind from his body, one that was so large it blew Man-Bat clear off from the building. Robin couldn't help but mutter, "Showoff…"

"You know, most people would just say thank you or nice job," The Red Fox replied in irritation.

Before the argument could continue, Man-Bat got back on his feet and once again made his way to the skies, seeing this pray as far too challenging to fight. Batman got out his batclaw, ready to pull down the flying beast, "Sorry Kirk, but I can't let you go just yet."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you," A devious voice said before a razor sharp playing came flying through the air to cut the Batclaw in half. The Joker was the who'd thrown it, to no one's surprise, and the look in his eyes seemed to show that he had more purpose than usual, "You leave Man-Bat for your kiddies Batman, we need to have a little talk."

The Joker making a request like that could only mean something nasty was afoot, and Batman needed to find out what it was. That meant there was only one option for the others, "You three go and try to capture Kirk. Joker and I have a little catching up to do."

The Red Fox took point, clearly seeing that his father had made up his mind, "You got it Batman, that thing won't know what hit it! Believe it!"

"Believe it, eh? Man, and people tell me that I have some lame lines. Batsy, you might wanna work on some better superhero banter for him," The Joker said, with the best come back that he could come up with.

There was far better line ready in Batman's mind, "Considering that he makes your men look like fools on a regular basis, I think that I can let that slide. Now, the rest of you get out of here, and good luck with Kirk. Something tells me you might need it."

* * *

Man-Bat's massive size, while helpful in some situations, proved to be hindrance when it came to the speed at which he flew. He only flew at a speed of 18 miles an hour, which made it very easy for the Red Fox and his friends to catch up. The skyline became their friend as they jumped from one rooftop to the next in order to follow him. They couldn't let him try and feed on anymore people than he already had.

"Anybody have any clue how to take this guy down without killing him?" The Red Fox asked, open to pretty much any suggestion.

He wasn't going to care for what Robin had to say, "Why don't just clip his wings? You've got those special Batarangs that'll just cut them right off, right?"

He was referring to the Red Fox's batarangs that had been created with chakra metal, which could be infused with his wind chakra. When the wind chakra was challenged through them, they could cut through just about anything, including Man-Bat's wings. However, the young man had no intention of using them for something like that, "Are you insane? We have no idea what that might do when try to change him back. Plus, it's just downright mean! No, we need to try and keep him in as much of his current state as we can. Batgirl, you got anything better?"

Batgirl thought for a second, then nodded, "Yeah, what if we tossed you on top of him and then have you use those electrified gloves to knock him out?"

"Now that's the kind of plan that I was looking for," The Red Fox said with a foxy grin. The gloves she'd mentioned were specially designed for him and were powered by his chakra. They not only gave his punches a nice little jolt when he activated them, but were also great for times like this, "If you guys can get me up there, I can get the bat down here!"

It was all Robin could do to keep a level head. He hated it when the Red Fox was right, especially since that meant he had to be wrong, "Fine, we'll do it your way. He's starting to look hungry again, so let's hurry. I don't wanna be his next meal."

They all got into formation, Robin on the left side of the Red Fox and Batgirl on the right side. Just as they reached the edge of nearest rooftop, the two of them grabbed the Red Fox by his feet and threw him up into the air. The Man-Bat sensed the boy coming and took a look back, swiping at him with his claw. It was easy enough for the Red Fox to dodge the attack, after which he latched onto the creature's back. Now came the easy part, "I hope this doesn't hurt you too bad Langstrom, but I'm not holding my breath. Here it goes!"

"Screeee!" Man-Bat screamed again, just before the Red Fox switched on his gloves and coursed electricity through his opponent's body. The villain quickly fell from the sky and onto the ground below, Batgirl and Robin following him as he did.

The Red Fox managed to maneuver the Man-Bat so that he landed right in the middle of the street. Everyone on the street ran away, not wanting to get caught in the middle of what they thought was bound to be quite the fight. Once they came to stop, the boy jumped off from his back, feeling confident that his foe was knocked out, "Huh, that wasn't so bad. I guess he wasn't as tough as he looked."

Robin and Batgirl quickly found him, surprised to see Man-Bat lying on the ground, "Oh good, he's down. I was not in the mood to fight this guy any more than I had to."

"I was kind of hoping he'd be a little tougher," Robin admitted, his ego a little bruised, "It's been awhile since I've really been able to get into a real fight."

Fighter's always wanted to win, but they wanted to feel like they earned it too. The Red Fox knew this feeling all too well, "Don't worry, you will. Now, I think dad had something special he wanted to use to hold this guy down, so we'd better go and see what it is."

That plan last for all of about five seconds, as Man-Bat quickly rose up from the ground. The Red Fox didn't even notice this, so he was a sitting duck for the villain. With one swing of his hairy arm, Man-Bat knocked the hero off to the side, leaving Batgirl and Robin to fend for themselves. With the boy frozen in fear, Batgirl knew that she had to act first, "Talk a big game but then get scared? Makes me think of my earlier days on the job. Don't sweat it, I've got this one."

Batgirl ran at her foe with the intention of making him pay for what he'd done to Red Fox. She slide under the Man-Bat's slashing wing and then gave him a hard kick to the face. Being the heavy hitter that she was, she was expecting that to do a good bit of damage. In reality, her opponent hardly even flinched, "Gwarrrr!"

"And I've all I've accomplished is making him angry," Batgirl said to herself, "Aren't I just a genius?"

The Man-Bat responded by grabbing her by her arms and spinning her around like a stuffed doll above his head. He let go and sent her flying in the opposite direction of the Red Fox. It was at this point that Robin started to get nervous, as Man-Bat had begun to look at him with hungry eyes, "Oh crap, this things gonna make me into bat food!"

Luckily, there was still one person who could save the boy. Jiraiya had been watching the entire fight from afar, ready to jump out and protect the younger heroes if need be. He slowly stepped out of the shadows, ready to do whatever was necessary to save Robin, "Take one step closer to him, I dare you. I'll show you just what it means to be one of the Legendary Sannin."

"Hey ugly," The Red Fox yelled, making Jiraiya stop himself mid-step. Man-Bat turned to look at him, "Get away from my brother!"

Jiraiya watched as a blue sphere appeared in the young hero's hand, "Kid, what in god's name are you trying to do here?"

His answer came in the form of the boy running for the humanoid bat. The Rasengan he'd made seemed to be holding up, but Jiraiya wasn't sure if it looked complete yet. Jumping into the air like he had before, the Red Fox kept funneling just enough chakra into his attack to keep it spinning. Man-Bat seemed utterly unimpressed with what was coming at him. He snarled at the hero as he came closer, unaware of the danger that he was actually in. As soon as he was within arm's length of the creature, the Red Fox shoved his Rasengan into Man-Bat's chest, "Now, leave my family alone!"

The Sannin held his breath as he waited to see how his student's Rasengan faired. In a burst of light, the sphere exploded and sent Man-Bat crashing right through a nearby wall. Jiraiya did his best to contain his excitement, "That boy actually did it! He learned the Rasengan in just a week. Minato, you have no idea how proud you'd be of your son right now...oh shit, the girl!"

"Holy crap, did you see that?" The Red Fox asked, amazed that he just knocked out a villain with one attack, "I'm not trying to brag, but just...wow. I didn't think that it was that powerful. Robin, Batgirl, you two alright?"

For once, Robin answered without any sarcasm, "I'm good, but don't worry about me. Just make sure Batgirl's still breathing."

The Red Fox nodded, running over to where she'd landed to try and find her. He discovered that Jiraiya was already looking her over, taking inventory of her injuries, "I'm not as good with this stuff as Tsunade is, but I'm pretty sure that she has a concussion and a couple of contusions. Nothing that can't be fixed up easily enough by our resident healer."

"Yeah, Tsunade's good alright," The Red Fox said, as he heard Robin walk over, "I still say that you should just ask her out. There's plenty of ways that you and her could make it work. Heck, Dad's been dating Mei Terumi for like a year now and they live hundreds of miles apart."

The older man clearly didn't get that last part right away, "I don't know, I just...Wait, he's been dating Mei for a year! As in the woman's who's about to help win a revolution in the hidden Mist village?"

"Oh yeah, big time," The Red Fox confirmed, "Those two are crazy about each other. They only get to see each other once every week or two, but hey, they make it work. I'm sure that you two could do that too."

Jiraiya mulled it over in his head, "Look, I'll think about it, and that's all I'm gonna say. Now, the Man-Bat's good and knocked out, so lets see what it is your dad wanted to use to hold him down. One of you should pick up the girl and the other one needs to help me carry the big bat lug without being seen."

Before they got started with that, Robin had one thing to say, "Hey Red Fox, I didn't need your help back there you know?"

"Really? Already," grunted the Red Fox, ready to go off on him, "You can't just give me this one thing?"

Robin quickly tried to defuse the situation, "You didn't let me finish! I didn't need your help, but...thank you."

Those were the last words the Red Fox expected to hear from him, "Um, no problem. I was happy to do it bro."

"You did good back there...brother," Robin said, not really used to doing something like this, "Maybe you and me could train together or something."

The Red Fox tried to put an arm around his brother just like Dick used to do with him, "I'd like that. Something tells me that you could be even more badass. Now, lets pick these guys up so we can get back to dad. We shouldn't leave him alone with the Joker for too long. Nothing good could come from that."

* * *

"Aw Bats, how long has it been since we've done this?" Joker asked as fidget with a switchblade in his hand, "I mean, it seems like it's been years since you and I have really danced the old tango. We still get in fights from time to time, but it's just not the same. My last big scheme was over eight months ago for pete's sake! Where'd the magic go bats?"

Batman carefully watched the psychopath. Something about him was very different today, and the Dark Knight could feel it in his bones, "Enough talk Joker, are you here to fight me or not? If all you're going to do is talk, then I might as well go and stop the Man-Bat."

The clown seemed very disappointed by the answer, "Oh Batman, won't you just listen to me? All I want to do, all I ever wanted to do, is make you see the world like I do: giggling and bloody, huddled up all alone in the corner."

"You're a sick man," Batman said, just as he'd said a hundred times before, "Why don't you just let someone help you? Things don't have to be this way Joker, we can show that the world isn't this cesspool that you make it out to be."

This just made the Joker sigh and slid his switchblade back in his coat, "Oh bats, I was so hoping that I might be able to talk some sense into you today. This was a test, and you bombed it faster than I bomb children's hospitals. I couldn't get you to say so much as one thing I was looking for. Oh well, I guess it's off to plan B. Just remember big guy, I was going to give you a chance before you went and pissed me off."

Batman wasn't ready to let him leave. Right as the Joker was about to turn to leave, his old nemesis grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him back around, "I'm not done with you! You don't ever give up this easily. What's this plan B of yours? There's no way that Langstrom was your whole plan, so talk!"

"Haha, oh, now you want me to talk," The Joker laughed before he slid his switchblade back into his hand. He sneakily jabbed it into the Batman's ribs, causing him to let the clown go, "Don't you worry bats, you'll see soon enough. Now, you run off and save Kirky, and be sure to tell him I said hello. I really did find him to be quite a fun friend. Don't worry though, my heart will always belong to you. Have fun bats, and I'll see you very, very soon!"

For a brief moment Batman thought about trying to stop him. The voice of his son's calling over to him put that to a stop, "Hey, Batman, look what we've got!"

Batman turned around to see Jiraiya and Robin carrying the Man-Bat over to him, while Naruto carried an unconscious Batgirl, "Looks like it went at least went somewhat well. Bring him over here and I'll put the cuffs on him."

"Cuffs? That's it?" The Red Fox asked, not sure what good that would be, "What's so special about a pair of handcuffs?"

Gotham's protector took out a pair handcuffs alright, but they looked very high-tech, "They're different from a normal set. These ones electrify anyone who tries to escape. I'm hoping to make them standard issue at Arkham sometime soon."

It was simple, but sounded pretty dang effective. The Red Fox liked it, "That's pretty cool. Oh hey, I finished the Rasengan! It's really strong too, and I can't wait to show it to you!"

"Yeah, that's great," Batman said, only half paying attention, "Let's get Kirk to Arkham so we can go home. The Joker said some things that don't sit right with me. Oh, and Tsunade wanted to talk to you. Something about bringing in kids your age now. I think she called them genin."

This was a term the Red Fox had heard plenty of times, "Oh yeah, I'm at the genin age now. The teams can actually come here now that they're old enough. That should be fun. Jiraiya, you're gonna talk to Tsunade too, right?"

Jiraiya glared at him again while he held on to the Man-Bat. The Red Fox just smiled at him in a smartass way. There were more talks like this as they dropped off the new villain and got Batgirl nice and checked out. It was clear that none of them knew just what today had set in motion, and they wouldn't find out for some time. Everyone's true faces would be shown by the end of it, in the most twisted senses imaginable, and Gotham would never be the same.


	15. Twisted Truths

Hello my awesome readers, and welcome to what is bound to be an interesting chapter of the Red Fox. This chapter will feature them finalizing how the genin teams will come over, which will start in the next chapter, and will have the heroes following up on a possible lead as to who the Identity Thief is. All of this with just a dash of pairings thrown in there as well. Now, this next part is **IMPORTANT**, so listen up. I will not be able to post next week, as my family will be on vacation for the fourth of July. I'm very sorry about this, but considering that today's my birthday, please don't be too mad at me. Now, let's get to it. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-The Handsome Family: Far From Any Road

* * *

Kirk Langstrom was a very lucky man, even if it may not have seemed like it. It turned out that the heroes had gotten him to Arkham right before his transformation became permanent. The researchers were able to use Langstrom's notes along with a touch of his blood to synthesize a serum that could change him back. It was a good thing for the Bat family, as that meant they didn't have another new villain roaming the streets of Gotham. Once Kirk was safely resting in a hospital bed, everyone went home and got changed back into their normal clothing for well deserved day of relaxation.

Bruce walked into the living room and sank into his couch, ready to do nothing for the rest of the day. He lifted up his shirt and took a look at where the Joker had stabbed him before. Thanks to Tsunade, it looked as though nothing had even happened, "That woman is a real miracle worker. Who knows how many scars I'd have right now if it wasn't for her."

"Aw, but I always thought scars were kind of sexy," A woman's voice said as she sat abruptly sat down next to Bruce, "I think that my boyfriend could use a couple more of them."

The red haired beauty who'd sat down was Mei, and she brought a large grin right to Bruce's face, "After some of the nights we've had in the bedroom, I probably should have more scars. Hey babe, I didn't know that you were coming over today."

Mei gave Bruce a sweet little kiss on the lips, her way of saying hello, "I wasn't supposed to actually. Alfred was quite surprised when he opened the door, but he was happy to see me as always. The reason I came here is because I got some pretty big news that kind of involves the both of us."

"Oh god, are you pregnant?" Bruce asked, jumping right to the idea of having a baby in the house, "I could've swore we used protection last time."

That got a giggle out of Mei, "No, I'm not pregnant. It's actually about the revolt in the Mist. The money you've given us has been a big help, and we've started to win the war faster than we ever thought possible. Yagura's vanished from the hidden Mist, and we think that it's because he knows that he's going to lose. This whole thing will finally be over in a week. Bruce, we've won the war!"

Bruce enveloped her in a hug, "Mei, that's wonderful! Does this mean that the whole 'Bloodline Purge' is done for good?"

"Well, based on who they want to be the new Mizukage when this is all over, it seems pretty likely," Mei said, with a sly look on her face.

That of course lead to an important question, "Who are they thinking for the new Mizukage?"

Mei couldn't hold it in anymore, "It's me! All of the leaders of the revolution got together and almost everyone agreed that I was the best choice for Mizukage!"

"Congratulations! Mei, this is fantastic! You've got to take the job if they offer it to you," Bruce told her, incredibly happy for his girlfriend.

That, however, brought Mei to the problem she'd come here about, "Well of course I'll take it, there's no way I could turn that kind of honor down. You do know what that we mean for us though, don't you Bruce? If I became the Mizukage, I don't know when we'd ever see each other. I'd only be able to leave the village once a month if I was lucky."

Bruce hadn't even thought about that, "Oh man, you're right. There'd be almost no time for us to have a date or anything. What are we gonna do?"

"I really don't know," Mei told him, having thought about this her entire way here, "You know that I love you, I'm pretty certain that you love me."

The man didn't even hesitate, "Of course I love you, more than you could imagine. I guess that leaves us in a pretty tough spot, doesn't it?"

There was only one solution that Mei could think of, "I know that I can't move from the hidden Mist, but do you think there's any chance you can move from Gotham to the Great Ninja Nations? There's your business to consider, I know, but it seems like it'd be easy enough to run that from a phone or something."

"It's not that simple," Bruce started, not sure how to make her understand. She still knew nothing about him being the Batman, "There's more than just my company keeping me here, a lot more in fact. Hell, there's things I don't even know how to explain to you."

Mei knew that he wasn't lying, but she also knew he was holding back, "You at least have to help me understand. I'm willing to fight for us, but I need to know everything there is to know."

As awkward as it was, Alfred needed to poke his head in and interrupt, "Master Bruce, something urgent has come to my attention. Would you step out so that I may have a word?"

"Is this something relating to the other kind of work we do?" Bruce questioned as he started to make an important decision in his head.

Alfred looked a little startled, and Mei noticed that. He quickly returned to his normal state however, "Well yes sir, that's exactly what it's about."

"Then she can stay," Bruce said, knowing that he could trust her, "This woman's going to be in my life for a long time, and she's been here for quite some time as it is. I think she's earned the right to know."

That was all it took to get Mei's attention, "Are you about to take me down to some kind of dungeon and show me a bunch of dead bodies or something?"

Bruce chuckled at the joke, "Don't worry, I don't have a dungeon. I do, however, have something else that I want to show you. Come with me. Alfred, you can fill us in on the way."

"Alright, but if I see a whips or chains I'm gonna melt your ass," Mei joked before taking Bruce's hand and letting him lead the way.

The faithful butler of the house mused to himself, "He's never done this with any woman, ever. There really is something special about this one."

* * *

While this all too memorable conversation took place, Naruto was happily eating ramen in the kitchen and listening to Tsunade telling him all about the whole genin team thing. It wasn't very complicated, but she still had to do it on the Hokage's orders, "Now, there should be a new genin team coming in every week or so to train with you. You'll work with them on whatever specific abilities they're best suited to train you in. Follow me so far?"

"It's not like this stuff is complicated," Naruto said, slurping up another noodle, "Man, this stuff is almost just as good cold. Alfred's an awesome cook!"

Tsunade wasn't really hungry, so she pushed the bowl she'd gotten herself over to him, "I know, but I've got other concerns. Now, there's a couple of rules that you need to follow. It's just two, so it shouldn't be hard to remember. One, you are not to try and persuade any of them to come and live in Gotham. It's a stupid rule, since I know you'd never do it, but get I still gotta say it. Two, don't kill anyone from the Leaf. Think you can do that?"

That last bit almost made him choke on his ramen, more out frustration than anything, "Really? The council just needed to say that I shouldn't kill anyone? God, those guys are never going to trust me, are they?"

"Just keep working on them, sooner or later they'll realize you're doing a lot more good than harm," Tsunade assured him, then kept clarifying, "Also, about that first rule, there's a little something I need add. This rule means that you actually have to have it approved if you ever want to date someone from the village, just to make sure that it won't cause problems later on. Think you can do that?"

Naruto knew that wouldn't be a problem either, "Don't worry. I won't have any new crushes for a long awhile now."

Being as smart as she was, Tsunade easily noticed the wording of his sentence, "New crushes? Do you have an old crush you're still working on?"

"Hey, what made you think that?" Asked Naruto, quickly trying to go back on what he'd said.

That answer was all Tsunade needed, "Answering a question with another question. Oh, you so have something you're trying to hide! Spill it buddy!"

"Well...it's not a crush exactly," Naruto started, poking at his food, "It's more like I kinda got a girlfriend. Like, a month ago actually."

Tsunade nearly fell out of her chair, "A month? How did you hide this for a whole month? Why didn't tell anyone?"

These questions were more than Naruto cared to answer, but for Tsunade he'd do it, "I didn't hide it, I just didn't tell anyone about it. No one asked, so I never said only reason I didn't tell you is because didn't know how you'd all react."

"We'd all be happy for you of course," Tsunade replied with a bit of grin, "Now tell me about her. How'd you two meet?"

Naruto could see that he was going to have tell her one way or another, so he may as well do it now, "Well, I met here at school about a month ago like I said…"

_Flashback_

_As he ran through the halls of his middle school, Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne found himself very late. He could've sworn that he'd grabbed his history book out of his locker, but it was nowhere to be seen when he walked into class. If he didn't move as quickly as he could, he was going to end up getting a detention. His dad would make him run a ridiculous amount of laps around the cave if he let that happen, and he was not in the mood for a hard workout today._

_Naruto rounded the corner in an all out sprint, just a few feet from his locker, only to find himself running right into another person. He landed right on his behind, a little irritated, "Ow! Oh man, I really don't have time for this right now. Eh, it's my own fault. I wasn't really looking where I was going."_

"_Oh no, it's at least a little bit on me," A feminine voice said, "I was off in my own little world. Am I holding you up for something?"_

_The boy finally looked at who was speaking to him and found that it was a beautiful young girl. She had dark black hair, onyx eyes, and tanish looking skin. With an athletic figure, full pink lips, and a bust that a teenage boy couldn't help but notice, she was quite the sight. Naruto figured he should apologize to her, "Yeah, but it's okay. Sorry about running into you. My names Naruto, how about you?"_

_Looking the boy over from top to bottom, the girl replied, "My names Cheshire, it's nice to meet you Naruto. I just moved to Gotham a few months ago. It's a little stressful for a girl's who just 14, but I've been working on it."_

"_Well, if you need anyone to show you around, I'd be happy to help," Naruto said, starting to feel bad for running into her, "It's scary at first, I know, but the people here really nice."_

_Cheshire seemed appreciative of his offer, "Thanks, I'll remember that. Wow, look at those whiskers. Not to sound creepy, but can I touch them?"_

_At this point, Naruto had gotten used to girls asking him that, "Sure, but not for too long. It really tickles."_

"_I promise, it'll just be a second," She replied, before brushing her nails along boys face gently. He couldn't stop himself from laughing, causing Cheshire to laugh as well, "My, they really are sensitive. It's very cute."_

_That's when Naruto notice that the girl was blushing heavily. Was she interested in him? He had to admit, she was very beautiful. A touch older than him, but that also meant she was more 'developed' than some of the girls his age. The next thing he knew, he was blushing too, "Hehe, thanks. So I'm probably gonna be late to history class now…"_

_Cheshire heard that and immediately pulled something out of her pocket, "Here, I used this pass earlier today when I got lost on my way to history. The teacher won't know the difference. This way, you won't be late."_

"_Wow, thanks," Naruto said, grateful to get such luck, "I totally owe you one for this. Huh? There's two pieces of paper here."_

_The girl gave him a mischievous look, "I know. The other one's my phone number. Since I don't know many people in Gotham, I figured you could show me around one day. Does that sound okay?"_

_Naruto nodded quickly, "Sure, whenever you want me to."_

"_It's a date," Cheshire said, surprising the boy once again, "I've gotta head to class, but it was really nice to meet you Naruto."_

_She walked away with the Naruto unable to take his eyes off from her, "I should forget my history book more often."_

_Flashback End_

Tsunade listened to every last word of the story with glee, "Naruto, who knew you were such a ladies man! So, how'd the whole date thing go?"

"Must have been good, because she's been my girlfriend ever since then," Naruto said, not sure how the whole thing had happened, "Cheshire's really nice, but I wanted to be sure I actually liked her before I introduced her to you guys."

Now that was some surprisingly good reasoning, "Fair enough, and I'm happy for you. Just don't turn into a pervert like Jiraiya."

Naruto had a joke here that he couldn't pass up, "You mean the pervert that's about to be your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend, I just agreed to go on one date with him," Tsunade grumpled, still not sure if she should've said yes to Jiraiya, "If it goes well, maybe it'll turn into something."

The talk was put on pause when Bruce entered the room with Mei and Alfred behind him, "Naruto, go and get your brother. Alfred just told me we've finally got a lead on the Identity Thief and we need to move."

That was fine by Naruto, expect for one little thing, "Um, Dad, are you sure we should be talking about this stuff in front of Mei? She doesn't actually know about,"

"Well she's about to know," Bruce said, cutting Naruto off, "I know that I can trust her with our identity, because she cares about us too much to hurt us."

Naruto gave Mei a foxy grin, "Alright Mei, if dad says you're ready, then you're ready! I'll go find Jason so that we can get moving."

He tried to run past the woman before she grabbed his arm, "Wait just a second Naruto. I still haven't gotten my hug from you. You weren't gonna try and skip, it now were you?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Naruto replied before wrapping his arms around the woman. Since she was around so much, her and the boy had grown very close, "There you go. I'll be right back, and then we're gonna show you something awesome!"

Naruto turned and ran to the hallway to get to Jason's room. The soon to be Mizukage had no idea what she'd be shown when they got back, but she felt certain that Bruce wasn't doing anything sinister. Rather, she was about to see what kind of a hero her boyfriend really was.

* * *

Beneath Wayne Manor, inside the dark, bat infested caves of Gotham, Mei Terumi found herself in a world that was totally foreign to her. Much like when Naruto had first seen the place, Mei was in awe of all computers and technology that encircled her. She had no idea what to think of these wonders, "Bruce, where are we? What is all of this stuff?"

"Take a look around sweetie," Bruce said, motioning mainly to the suits in the glass cases and the gadgets on the pedestals, "I think that you can figure it out on your own."

Mei looked around and found the suits. With the pointy ears and dark cowl, she knew instantly what they were, "Those are Batman's suits, and those are the gadgets I've seen him use on the news. Is this place what I think it is?"

With a voice full of pride, Bruce told her, "It's the Batcave, the base of all my work here in Gotham. I hope by now you've figured out who I really am."

"You're the Batman," Mei said, putting the pieces together, "Which means that Naruto must be the Red Fox, Jason is Robin, and I'm guessing that Barbara is Batgirl."

Naruto was glad she hadn't had to think too hard on it, "Haha, I knew that she'd get it. Yup, we're the heroes of Gotham city, their first line of defense. If any villains want to get their hands on this city, they're gonna have to go through us to do it!"

Jason seemed very upset about them telling Mei all this, "Wait a minute, are we just gonna brush past dad giving out our identity? Why didn't we get a say in this? Barbara's not even here, how would she feel about it?"

"The moment I told her who I was, she was going to figure out who the rest of you were," Bruce said, defending himself, "Besides, there's no way Mei would ever sell us out. She needs to know why it is that I can't leave Gotham."

This news did indeed show Mei why it was so key for Bruce to remain in his city, "All of this is so incredible. The Batman is like a beacon for this city that it's people could believe in, and the whole time it's been my own boyfriend. How did I not figure this out before?"

Bruce didn't blame her, as he'd been hiding this for years, "It's my ultimate secret, I've gone to great lengths to keep others from finding it out. It'd put those I care about most in far too much danger if my enemies were to find out who I am behind the mask."

"Which is why you totally blew our cover to the latest girl you've been sleeping with," Jason growled, still not approving of the decision, "I mean, maybe if you were getting married or something, but,"

This was another time that Bruce just had to cut him off, "Jason, we'll discuss this later. Right now I want Alfred to fill us in on the lead he's got the Identity Thief. Mei, you should also watch us work so that you have a better understanding of what it is we do."

That got the red head's attention in a hurry, "Getting to see my boyfriend in action. How could I possibly pass that up? Heck, maybe I could join you one of these days."

"Aw, how awesome would that be?" Naruto asked, thinking about villains getting sprayed with jets of red hot lava thanks to Mei's lava release.

It wasn't out of the question, but there was no way Bruce could do that tonight, "Perhaps another time Naruto. Right now I just want Mei to watch us so that she can see how important what I do really is. Alfred, please go ahead."

Alfred was already at the Batcomputer, pulling up what he'd found, "I decided to look into the crimes with similar MO's that have happened in Gotham's past. Now I know that we did this before, but this time I didn't exclude the cases that we'd already solved. I thought that maybe some cases from the past could lead us to something, and I was right. Do you remember a man by the name of Barton Mathis?"

"Yes, a serial killer calling himself The Dollmaker," Bruce recollect, having fought him about a year and a half ago, "He made some grotesque additions to his 'family's' bodies, making them into weaponized freaks. Most of his time was spent killing people in Gotham and turning them into horrifying human dolls. If I remember right, he wore a mask made of his father's skin. Ah, I see where you're going with this."

Jason could see where it was going too, and really wanted to impress everyone, "You think that he's cutting off people's face's for those freaky thing he likes to make?"

The butler would've used a more sophisticated word than 'Things,' but that was the general idea, "You've got it Master Jason, that's precisely what I've been thinking. I know that he doesn't completely fit the bill for the Identity Thief, but it seems that Dollmaker is the closest thing we've found thus far."

None of them could disagree, so Bruce got down to business, "Well then, what's the last know location of the Dollmaker? We'll track him down and see if he can tell us anything. Alfred, keep our video vizor on so that Mei can watch everything we do."

"Master Bruce, I always turn your video vizor on so that I can make sure you're safe," Alfred told him before tracking down the Dollmaker with the Batcomputer, "Here we are sir, it appears that he escaped Arkham about three months ago. He was last sighted on Amusement Mile, the south end of it to be precise. That's all I've got for you I'm afraid. I hope that it's helpful."

That info was all that Bruce needed to figure it out, but he wanted to see if Naruto could manage this one on his own, "Son, what do you think? Is there any way to close in on them more?"

Naruto went right to the process he'd been learning from his, "Based on what you told us about him, he'd need a place with a lot of privacy. It'd have to be large too, big enough for his whole family. Then of course there's the medical supplies that he'd need to do all those creepy things of his. Does that narrow it down at all?"

"Something tells me that you've figured out exactly where we need to go," Bruce said,very proud of his son, "Excellent job Naruto."

It was hard for Jason to hide his jealousy, "Jeez, when am I gonna learn how to do stuff like that?"

Bruce gave the boy a little confidence booster, "Don't worry, he's been doing this for over 4 years now. I'm sure that you'll pick it up just as fast as he did. Now, suit up. I don't remember the Dollmaker being too tough, but we should still be on our guard. Alfred, I'm sure that I can trust you to keep an eye on Mei, correct?"

"Oh, me and old Alfie will be fine," Mei said, walking over and sitting in his lap, "Right Alfie?"

The older man played right along, "Of course Ms. Terumi, just try not to give a stroke. Master Bruce still needs me here after all."

* * *

Thanks to the keen observations his son had made, Batman easily discovered where the Dollmaker was likely to be held up. It was an abandoned pet hospital just big enough to fit Barton's family and it had all of the medical supplies that he'd need for his work. In reality, the people that the Dollmaker called his family were nothing more than individuals who had no place to go that had let the madman perform insane operations on them. While this was a sick relationship, most of the people involved we're just happy to have a place to belong. The Dollmaker gave them a purpose, a group to fight for. That was the only thing the people of this world truly wanted.

From a corridors of this house of horrors, a song could be a heard. A melody that the Dollmaker sang to himself as he worked. It calmed his nerves as he cut flesh from bone and sowed his ghastly creations back together. His voice rang throughout the halls, "_She twines her spines up slowly...towards the boiling sun...and when I touched her skin...my fingers ran with blood…"_

"Man, that is one messed up song," Robin muttered as he and his family made their way quietly through the revolting place, "Or maybe it's just the guy singing it, who knows?"

The Bat family had snuck in just ten minutes ago, and promptly found that the place was set up like some kind of maze. There was no indication of where the Dollmaker might have been hiding. It was only when he began to sing that they got any semblance of where to go. Each room they passed had some kind of mangled human corpse inside of it. This entire setting was one of the most twisted things the Red Fox had seen since coming to Gotham, "Dang, where'd this guy even learn how to do all of this stuff? You said his dad was a taxidermist, but this isn't exactly collecting animal pelts."

Batman had almost forgotten just how warped Barton had become, "The taxidermy was a launchpad to what he's doing now. It gave him the tools to learn how to do all of this. Only problem is, the Dollmaker's always had more sloppy, jagged handiwork. That's the opposite of the calm, clean cuts the Identity Thief's been making."

"_When the last light warms the rock…and the rattlesnakes unfold….mountain cats will come...to drag away your bones," _The Dollmaker continued to sing, making things all the more unsettling.

The man was clearly out of his mind, which made him harder to predict. Dollmaker was in the room just ahead, so Batman was going to need an edge here, "Red Fox, use your sensory technique. I want to know exactly what we're going to be up against."

The Red Fox nodded and put his hands together, sending out a wave of chakra from his body to sense what all life forms resided the building. It was technique that Iruka had taught him when he'd come back to Gotham last year. When the wave of chakra got back to the youth, he actually regretted sending it out, "Holy shit…"

"Bruce, what's wrong with Naruto? He looks distressed," Mei told him from the Batcave, concerned over the reaction she just saw.

It wouldn't be necessary for Batman to ask the boy Mei's question, as he began to say to himself, "Dead bodies everywhere. Oh god, so many people killed. Dad, we need to make this guy pay!"

That made the Dark Knight even more afraid of what he was going to find in here, "Don't worry, we will. Now, tell me what we need to be ready for when we go in there."

"There's six people in there other than the crazy guy," Red Fox replied, then started to list them off, "Three of them are men, one who's way bigger than the others, and three are women. All of their body parts seemed to be way out of whack. I can't tell exactly what they can do, so I guess that we need to be ready for almost anything. We need to get in there now Dad, he's got someone on his table!"

Batman hated walking into something like this blind, but he couldn't let someone die while he tried to figure it out, "Leave the big one to me and try to hang back until we know what these people can do. We'll take them down as quickly as we can and then see how the person on the table is doing. Try to keep from knocking out the Dollmaker. I still want to interrogate him when we're finished."

A scream came from the other room, forcing Batman to just assume the others understood what he wanted. They rushed inside the Dollmaker's lair to find him slicing open a woman's cheek with a scalpel. He turned around to show that he was dressed in a white lab coat, green rubber gloves, and had his father's face sowed over his own, "Oh, hello Batman. My apologies about the mess, I had no idea I'd be having company today. I do hope that the noise I've been making in here didn't disturb you too much."

"You monster," The Red Fox shouted accusingly, "That's human being you've got strapped to that table! Doesn't that make you feel anything?"

The Dollmaker merely shrugged and set down his tools, "She told me that she always wanted to beautiful. I'm going to make her a work of art and preserve her forever. What could possibly be more beautiful than that?"

They were all sick and tired of this guy's voice, "Let her go Barton, or we're going to make this painful for you!"

"I'm sure that you would Batman," Dollmaker replied and snapped his fingers, "But you'll have to get through my family first!"

Five people jumped from the ceiling and down onto the floor. One was a hulk of man whose skin looked half torn off and his lips were missing as well, showing off his large teeth. Speaking of teeth, another member of the family appeared to be a teenage girl with oversized, sharpened teeth that didn't fit her body at all. Beside her was man who appeared to be normal at first glance, but a closer look revealed that he had stitches all over his body, all of which seemed to contain something. Next was a man whose legs had been turned into strange, spring like contraptions that we're able to send him flying across the room. Last but not least was a woman who's joints had been all but removed, making her as flexible as a ragdoll. In place of her hands, she had to large hunting knives. Their little 'Family' was a dangerous one indeed, "Go on my family, end them once and for all! Leave their bodies in one piece if you can. I've got so many ideas of what to make them into!"

The first to strike was the one with spring legs, shooting himself right at Robin. Rather than just stand there, the boy jumped off to the side and brought his leg up into the air. Once the man was right in front of him, Robin brought his leg down and slammed him onto the tile floor below, "Don't even try that crap on me!"

"Nice shot Robin," The Red Fox said, then noticed the girl with the dagger like teeth coming right for him, ready to take a nice chunk out of his arm. He already had a plan for this one, "Let's see if you liked to eat this!"

He took out a small pellet that was a basically a smaller version of their glue grenade. It released a substance that was similar to what the glue grenades released before, but this new version was stronger and dissolved on it's own in a couple of hours. The Red Fox threw the pellet into the girls mouth, which made it break upon contact. Her teeth quickly became useless as they were glued together, forcing her to breath out of hernose. This got the big man quite angry, "No one hurts little sister! Arrrggghhh!"

Batman saw that the was going for the Red Fox and decided to take action. He grabbed high tension wire from his belt and jumped on the man's back before he could reach the hero. With a line of the wire in his hand, Batman strung it around the man's neck and pulled back. There was no need to worry about killing him, as he was too big for something like this to do anything but distract him. During all this, Batman noticed one of his sons was in trouble, "Robin, behind you!"

"What? Oh shit!" Robin said as one of the rag doll woman's blade hands came down on him, "Thanks for the heads up!"

Ducking under the blow with his impressive flexibility, Robin reached out and tried to grabbed the woman's arm. However, before he could, the woman's arm twisted back in a way that shouldn't have been humanly possible. She took her other arm and tried to stab Robin in the stomach. While the blade did graze him ever so slightly, the young hero was able to get out of the way and jump back from his enemy. It was clear typical methods weren't going to be able to win this for him, "Okay, how do I beat her if I can't even hit her?"

His brother tried to think of anything that might help him, but he came up with nothing. The only thing he could think to do was show that he had faith in him, "Don't worry Robin, you've got her. I know that you'll figure out something. My turn, there's still one guy left!"

"Yes, and it's time that you see that I'm one of the most powerful ones," The man with all the stitches said before he reached into the patch on his own side. From within the flesh of his body, the man pulled out a small explosive.

The Red Fox was ready to puke after seeing that, "Okay, that is just wrong! How do you walk around with all of that stuff inside of you like that? Eh, I don't even wanna know what else you've got stashed in there!"

Not wanting to to listen to this kid sit there and tell him how disgusting he was, the stitched man threw the explosive right for him. The Red Fox carefully flipped backwards to avoid whatever was about to come, "People, we've got an explosive in the area! What are gonna do?"

"Don't worry, I've got this," Batman said before he yanked hard on the wire around the big one's neck. He did it just hard enough to force the huge man to trip, falling right on top of the explosive. With how big and muscular the man was, the explosive wouldn't kill him. Batman scanned his body before the fight began, a habit he'd developed a long time ago. The explosive went off, taking out the large man with it, "He'll need some medical attention later, but he'll be fine for now. Robin, how's your coming along?"

At the moment, the boy was busy strategizing how to take out the woman he was up against. She was taking swipe after swipe at him, doing her best to kill the boy. With all her might, she took one last stab at him, "Could be going better, but I think that I'll have her beat right about...now!"

Robin dodged the attack, letting the her blade hand hit a fuse box that was behind him. Electricity shot through her body, but Robin kicked her off from the box before it could kill her. Instead, it knocked her out cold. That meant that only the Red Fox's opponent was left, "That means the last one goes to me! Don't worry guys, this won't be long!"

"This won't be long?" Repeated the stitched man, upset by how he overlooked him, "Boy, I've got enough weapons in my body to supply an entire army! I'm could blow up this entire building with a sneeze! Do you have any idea who you're, tach!"

He grunted, stopping abruptly, then suddenly threw his own head into the back of the wall. The man fell to the ground, revealing that there was a rather large toad on the wall behind him with it's mouth open. It's tongue had latched onto the man's head, then put him right to sleep. Red Fox gave the toad a thumbs up and threw him a piece of candy, "Nice work Gamakichi, thanks for waiting on the roof until I needed ya."

Gamakichi was Naruto's personal summoning toad he got when he signed their contract. He also used him when he was the Red Fox for various little jobs. Tonight he'd summoned Gamakichi before hand because he thought the toad might be useful, which it turned out he was, "No problem buddy, as long as you keep feeding me candy, I'll be happy to help. Bye."

Since every word the Red Fox and Gamakichi had just said was in Japanese, the Dollmaker had no idea what they just saying, "I don't suppose that you'll take the time to explain to me what just happened."

"They only one who's going to be explaining anything is you," Batman said, walking over to the villain and pushing him against the wall, "Now tell me everything that you know about the Identity Thief!"

The Dollmaker gave him a confused look, "You mean that serial killer? What makes you think that I know anything about him?"

It was likely true that Barton didn't know much about this, but it was even more likely that he at least knew something small they could go off from, and Batman was about to explain why, "You said in your interview at Arkham that you studied the notes of the best surgeons in the world. There's no way that you can tell me you have no interest in this case. If anybody can tell me what surgeon is capable of this, it's you. Now talk!"

"You don't understand, I can't tell you who he is," The Dollmaker said in an slightly frightened voice, no longer denying it, "He'll kill me in ways you can't even imagine if I talk!"

Batman smashed his fist into the wall right beside Barton's face, "And I'll make you hurt more than you ever have if you don't! Now come on!"

The man wasn't budging, there was too much fear in his eyes, "There's nothing that you can do to me that would make me sell him out. Besides, I never saw his face. It was always covered in bandages. He just sells me body parts from time to time for me to work with. There was something said about needing money that couldn't be traced. I swear, that's all I know!"

"You don't look stupid enough to lie to me. That means you get to take a nice nap until the police gets here," Batman said, then knocked the villain's head into the wall, "I guess that all we'll be getting out of him. We're done here."

The Red Fox was ready to sprint out of the building, "Thank god, I didn't wanna spend another minute in here. I wanna get sick just being in this place. Nice work by the way Robin."

Robin tried to act all cool about it, "Yeah, I did pretty good. You did okay too, I guess."

Thought it probably shouldn't have, that made the Red Fox smile. If nothing else, it was progress. He just might be able to get Jason to be part of this family yet.

* * *

With the Dollmaker in Arkham and at least a small lead on the Identity Thief, Gotham's heroes could definitely say that today was a win. However, Bruce wasn't sure if he felt quite like that right now. He still had no idea how he was going make it work with Mei, who'd been watching their entire battle. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd made her understand how much he needed to be in Gotham, but she was needed in the Mist as well. That left them in an impossible situation.

He found himself back where he'd started his conversation with Mei earlier, sitting on his couch in the living room. Bruce rubbed his eyes, tired from his long day, "What am I supposed to do here? I didn't think I was gonna feel like this again after Talia. There's no way I can lose this woman."

"Bruce, you don't have to worry about losing me," Came the voice of his lover, completing the scene, "I want to make this thing work just as much as you do."

Mei sat down next to him, cuddling up to her boyfriend. Bruce had no idea what to do, "I could never ask to leave the Mist, but you saw the kind of things I have to deal with here and Gotham. There's just got to be some way for us to make this work."

"You're not leaving Gotham. Heck, watching you work today made me proud to say that I love you. I think that there is one way we could still do this, but I don't know if you'll like it," Mei said, pulling out a scroll she'd gotten today, "Jiraiya and Tsunade had a date tonight, and I guess that it went really well. To make sure that they can keep seeing each other, Jiraiya mentioned an altered version of a jutsu that his student used to use when he was still alive."

There was only one technique that Bruce could think of to solve that, "Does Jiraiya know how to use the teleportation technique the Fourth and Second Hokage's used?"

Mei quickly corrected him, "No, but he's come closer than anyone ever has. Ever since Naruto came here, he's been creating a system of seals from Gotham to the Ninja Nations. They work like a relay system that can transport a person from one place to another. It wouldn't be effective in battle, as it takes years to set up, but this could be a lifesaver for us. Jiraiya's almost finished it, and he said it wouldn't be too hard to extend the relay system to the hidden Mist."

"Just how fast would these seals work?" Bruce asked, starting to get some hope back in the situation.

His girlfriend gave him the good news, "They transport a person almost instantly. Bruce, we'll be able to see each other every day. Whoever's done with work first can just transport over in the blink of an eye."

The news that he was going to get to see the woman he loved every single day had Bruce over the moon, "I don't think I've ever liked Jiraiya more than I do right now, and that's saying something! Do you have any kind of idea how great things are going to be now?"

"Oh, I have an idea," Mei said in sultry, seductive voice, "I have a very good idea."

She pulled him into a long a kiss, sending Bruce into overdrive. The two laid down on the couch as he began to kiss and nip at her neck. It was his intention to spend the night celebrating the fantastic news they'd just gotten, and there was no way in hell Mei was going to stop him.

* * *

After a month of very hard work, Chesire felt as though she had Naruto right where she wanted him. The two of them had been on more than a few dates now, during which she'd shown the boy plenty of affection. Nothing that would be considered trashy, but enough to get his attention. It was her mission to capture the boy's heart, but it was not exactly a mission of her own. This was a mission that had been given to her by her master, Ra's Al Ghul. She'd been hand chosen by the League of Assassins to seduce the boy, making him fall as deeply in love with her as she could. Hugo Strange, the league's personal psychologist, felt she was the perfect subject to gain the boy's affection. Once Cheshire had him right where she wanted him, that's when she'd convince him to join the league. How could he possibly say no to the girl he loved?


	16. Party Time Pt 1

Hello everyone, I'm back from vacation and ready to write another epic chapter of The Red Fox. Now, this is going to be part one of a two part chapter, and it's a big one! We've got two new villains coming in, and a visit from a couple old foes as well. All of this ties into the Joker's big master plan too. Plus, we've got the first genin team coming over to help train, along with some other things. Wow, that's a lot of stuff for two chapters. Now, this is again **IMPORTANT**, I will **NOT **be able to post next week. As I will only have three days to write next week, I simply won't have the time to write an entire chapter. Don't worry though, this shouldn't be a problem again for quite some time. Oh, and I'm shooting to get over a 100 reviews by the end of July, so if you could help with that, it'd be great. Thank you for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack: The Beatles: Come Together

* * *

Within a large botanical warehouse located in the east of Gotham City, three of the Batman's oldest foes had been working for the past two weeks to create the most dangerous crop imaginable. They were plants that could produce the chemical compound known as Venom, which was dangerous in almost anyone's hands. While it made a person impossibly powerful for a short amount of time, it typically ended up killing them as well. It took two people to create these plants, and one other to keep the whole process afloat.

Pamela Isley, better known as the supervillainous Poison Ivy, was the one creating the plants themselves. She had been a simple botanist when she first graduated college, a woman driven to protect the earth's plants and the environment, but an experiment gone horribly wrong turned her into so much more. With a greenish tint to her skin and the ability to manipulate plants on a molecular level, the redhead set off on a quest to create a world plants overtook the human population of the world. The Venom made her plants stronger, so she was happy to produce as much of it as possible. However, that meant she needed someone who knew how to make it to begin with. That was where Bane came in.

Bane, one of the world's most highly sought after mercenary's, was the person who knew the actual formula needed to create Venom. As child growing up on the island of Santa Prisca, it was quickly apparent to the boy that he was no like the others in his home land. He had a photographic memory, a genius level intellect, and was naturally skilled fighter. Because of all this, he was chosen by the corrupt government of the island to be injected with Venom for research purposes. Instead of killing him, the chemical proved to have a stronger reaction in Bane than in person injected before him. It didn't kill him, so he used this new power to raise up and create a small army of his own. Now the man was a legend, but he was a legend who was addicted to Venom. It was a hard chemical to come be and an even harder one to make. Hopefully these plants would make enough Venom to to feed his little problem.

Last but not least was the man who'd made this all happen, The Penguin. He had gotten the warehouse and was the one making sure that it would never be found. Of course he didn't do this out of the goodness of his heart. No, he was going to make a bundle off from it, or off from parts of it anyways. A third party needed a very special byproduct plant that this plant just happened to make.

"Oy, Ivy, make sure that those little things on the side don't get harmed. You have no idea how much I'm getting paid for those. We're talking more money than you could dream of," Penguin snapped at her as he walked through the fields of massive vines. The warehouse was packed full of these plants, too the point where there was almost too much of them to handle.

They were going to need to figure something else out eventually, because there was no way Ivy was going to let them trim them. These were her babies after all. She told the small man as she tended to her garden, "If your refering to the pink bulbs on every few feet these masterpieces, they're called Geneticae Bulbi, and they won't be damaged. They're just little blemishes on my babies that you can remove at anytime. Now stop being so snippy you ugly little creature!"

Bane, who was standing on the side just taking in the smell of the place, agreed with her, "Hiedra knows plants better than anyone Penguino. Just let her do her work and be silent. You'll get your money and I'll get my Venom."

"You hear that my darlings?" Ivy asked as she ran her fingers across the slimy vines, "The big spanish fellow over there seems to get it. I guess there's worse meat sacks out there, huh?"

Being insult wasn't the something the gangster took lightly, so the Penguin decided to leave before he did something he'd regret, "I don't have to take this crap! You bastards just make sure that shit's ready when I come back here tomorrow! Then you can do whatever you like with this damn warehouse. Honestly, this what I get for working with you superpowered freaks. I've gotta go meet the buyer, so don't wreck this place while I'm gone. It's still mine until I get the cash."

The little man left in a cloud of rage, leaving the two villains to do as they pleased. Bane walked over to end of the warehouse where a few vats were connected to the end of plant vines. This was where the Venom was stored. A few small tubes connect back to the plants making them even stronger. It was a sight Bane loved to see, "Yes my sweet pair, feed each other. You must make one another stronger. Juntos, all of Gotham will be ours, and I will at last have an end to my nightmare. Prepare yourself Dark Knight, because I am coming...and I'm not alone!"

* * *

"Okay, one more time, give me a rundown of who's all coming here," Naruto asked Tsunade, his head spinning like top. The two of them were standing at the front door, waiting for the first of the Leaf's genin teams to arrive. Thanks to the system of seals Jiraiya had created, it was going to be a quick trip for them.

Tsunade smacked her forehead in aggravation and repeated to the boy for the third time, "They're sending over genin team 8, lead by Kurenai Yuhi. She's a genjutsu expert and a fine kunoichi. Her team consist of Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. Hinata uses her family's Gentle Fist combat style as her main method of attacking. She's very shy, so try not to scare her. Kiba uses techniques with his canine partner Akamaru, similar to the way his ancestors have. He's a bit brash, but very nice once you get to know him, just like you. Shino uses bugs like the rest of clan and doesn't really talk much from what I've heard. Since they're a tracking team, they'll be helping you learn how to track things. Did you get it all this time?"

Scratching at the back of his head, Naruto mumbled to himself, "Yeah, I think so. That's a lot to take in at once is all. What time did you say they'll be here?"

"In about five minutes I believe," Tsunade said, glancing over at the clock. The doorbell went off shortly thereafter, "Huh, I guess that they must be early."

Naruto quickly got to the door and twisted open the handle so that he could let the group in. As it turned out, it wasn't the genin team at all, but the blonde's recently acquired girlfriend. This didn't make sense to him, as he recalled no plans for them to hang out, "Oh, hey Cheshire. Were we supposed to study today or something? Did I forget that we had a date?"

The girl giggled at him in her sweet voice, something that always made Naruto blush a bit, and pulled something out of her pocket, "No dummy, you forgot your wallet at my house yesterday. I wanted to see where you lived, so I decided to come and bring it to you myself. Gotta say, I'm impressed by your digs. It's like half a mile just to get up the driveway."

"I forgot my wallet? Huh, that's not really like me," Naruto said as he took it from her hand. He hadn't forgotten the wallet at all really. Cheshire had simply snuck it away so that she'd have an excuse to come over, "But thanks for bringing it here anyways. You can come in for a second if you want to, but you can't stay long since we've got people coming over."

Cheshire needed to meet Wayne family in order to get closer to Naruto, so she told him, "I'd really like to stay for a bit if don't mind. You've met my family, so I think that I should meet yours."

What she'd said was true, but Naruto added in, "To be fair, you're entire family consisted of your Dad who hardly even said a word to me. I've got quite a few more people for you to meet."

"That doesn't mean I don't wanna see them," Chesire said, trying to keep from sounding too determined. The father that Naruto had met actually was her father who also worked for the League of Assassins. She had other family, but none that she could actually introduce Naruto to without blowing her cover. That was for the best though, as it kept things simpler. Simple was always best for things like this, "Why don't you just introduce me to them quickly? It's better than not seeing them at all."

Naruto looked at the clock and shook his head. He did want his dad and friends to meet the girl, but there was just no way they could do it now, "I'm sure they'll love you, but this just isn't the right time. We'll set up a day to do this or something, make it special and everything. Okay?"

Not wanting to seem to crazy about this, Cheshire smiled and nodded shortly, "If that's what you want. Call me with the details when you get some time. See ya babe."

"Yup, I'm sure it won't be, mphf," Naruto started to say before Cheshire pressed her lips to his. It was brief, but it still had the boy under her spell when she pulled away, "Hehe...thanks."

Tsunade was nearly ready to laugh her ass off at this point. Not just at the boy, but at the fact that the couple was unaware that team 8 had arrived seconds ago and was standing right behind them. This fact was son discovered when Chesire turned around and saw four people standing behind her. One was a young man with brown hair who was wearing a thick grey coat that covered all the way up to his face and a pair of dark sunglasses. Shino was his name, and he seemed to not care about what he'd just seen, unlike the blue haired girl in the baggy sweatshirt who was standing next to him. That was Hinata, and she seemed a little jealous of Cheshire. Kiba, a brown haired feral looking boy with red triangles on his cheeks and dog named Akamaru on top of his head, seemed more jealous of Naruto, impressed by his attractive girlfriend. Last was the group's sensei, a tall woman with black hair, rub ready eyes, red lips, and strange looking dress. Her name was Kurenai, and she seemed a little confused by the display, but not the least bit offended by it.

Cheshire awkwardly waved at them, "Oh, hello there. I was just saying goodbye to my boyfriend. Hope you all enjoyed the show."

None of them understood what she'd said, as they didn't speak English. They just watched her step past them, stopping only to give Akamaru a little pat on the head. Naruto did his best to explain them in Japanese what had just happened, "Sorry, that was my girlfriend, Cheshire. She was just stopping by to give me something is all. I'm Naruto and the lady behind me is Tsunade. I remember a couple of you, but not very much about you guys. Why don't you guys come inside so that we can talk, eh?"

"Dude, she's your girlfriend! I've gotta get some pointers from you," Kiba said, running right up to Naruto, "I remember you a little bit from back in the village, you seemed pretty okay to me. I'm Kiba."

Naruto shook his hand, "Yup, you I remember. You seemed pretty okay to me too. The blue haired girl is Hinata, I remember that. That means the other guys gotta be Shino, and other lady is Kurenai."

Once he said her name, Kurenai stepped forward to greet them, "That's correct Naruto, and it's very nice to meet you. It's an honor to meet the great Lady Tsunade as well. Why don't we go inside like you mentioned earlier. That'll make things go much more smoothly I think."

"Right, everybody come on inside. Just take off your shoes when you come in, Alfred doesn't like us tracking dirt in the house," Naruto said, leading the way into the mansion. Hopefully everyone in group would be able to benefit from this rondevu.

* * *

There weren't many things that truly made the Penguin's skin crawl. After everything that he'd seen in Gotham, he'd just grown accustomed to the dark and disturbing. However, there was one thing that never failed to scare the hell out of the man. That would be his long time villainous rival the Joker. The two had waged war on each other for years, with the latter usually emerging victorious in their battles. Penguin may have been ruthless, but he had nothing on the incredible derangement of the Joker. Yet, even with the bad blood that ran between them, there were still times they needed each other's assistance. Today was one of those rare occasion.

The Penguin was currently waiting inside an abandoned toy store, one of the Joker's favorite places to hide out, with his umbrella at the ready. This particular model was a modified version of a high caliber handgun with a blade attached at the end of it. He still didn't trust the villain at all, and the dirty floors and dismembered toys scattered about didn't improve his mood either, "Where is that bloody clown? If that bastard wasn't paying me so damn much, I'd cut him the moment he walked in here!"

"Now Ozzie, you wouldn't really do that to your old friend, now would you?" The Joker asked as he entered through the building's back door, "Committing crimes in Gotham wouldn't be nearly as much fun if I didn't get to show you up everyday."

That was enough to get the old brit to scowle, "One of these days Joker, I'm gonna teach you to keep that big fat mouth of your shut! I'll kick your arse and tear that smile right off your face!"

The Joker was silent for a moment, which was never a good sign with him. He quickly broke into a twisted grin and grabbed the Penguin's umbrella, putting the bladed portion right below his neck, "Hahaha, well then why don't you just do it old boy? Come on! Show me if you've really got the guts to be Gotham's top dog! I'm waiting..."

"Man alive, you really are crazy," The Penguin muttered, looking deep into the clowns mad eyes. That look was what made him think twice about killing the man. He pulled the umbrella away, "If I kill you now, then I don't get all that money you promised me. Besides, I ain't havin Harley come after me right now. That little bitch is bonkers!"

Once again, the clown prince of crime had put himself in the line of fire only to come out unscaved, "Aw, and here I was hoping you'd throw a little chaos into this city. Just imagine what it'd be life if I kicked the bucket, haha!"

Wanting to move on more than anything, the Penguin forced the Joker to get down to business, "Shut up already you wanker, and tell me what I'm doing here! I told you that you'll get those plant thing of yours tomorrow. God knows what you want with them, not that I care. All I want is that cash you promised me."

"'I'm British, I like money, give me my cash, blah blah blah,'" The Joker muttered, making fun of the Penguin's accent, "Honestly Ozzie, get that stick out of your ass already. I just came here to tell you there's been a slight change of plans. I'm gonna need those bulbs from the plants tonight. That won't be a problem, now will it?"

That was just fine by the Penguin, "Sure, the quicker this is over the better. I'll send someone over with them in a few hours."

The Joker had something different in mind, "Oh that's no fun, I want to come and get it myself. You've got the crazy plant lady and buff boy working for ya, and I haven't seen them in ages. I just know that Harley will want to see her old best friend!"

"Woah, hold on just a freaking minute! I never said anything about you or your girlfriend being allowed in that warehouse," Penguin spat, not wanting to take a risk that monumental. This was dangerous stuff they were dealing with.

It wouldn't take much for the clown to change his mind, "What if I added on another 10,000 dollars to what I'm already paying you? Then will you let the gal pals hang out for a bit?"

Now he was speaking the Penguins language, "Make it 15,000, and you've got yourself a deal. Five of Gotham's craziest people hanging out under the same roof. Can't wait to see how this one turns out."

"As long as our nosy friend with the pointy ears doesn't show up, it'll be fine," The Joker said, referencing his nemesis, "And if he does show up, we'll just have to have ourselves a little party. One that'll go out with a real bang! Hahahahahahaha!"

* * *

Team 8 found themselves in complete and utter awe of just how large Wayne Manor really was. Only Hinata's home rivaled it, but she was heir to what was currently the most prominent clan in the Hidden Leaf. The fact that this mansion belonged to one man and his small family was something else entirely. It was nice though, as that meant every person got their own room to stay in. Once they were all settled in, everyone went down to the training room to get started.

Usually Bruce or Tsunade was the one leading the training session, but this time it was Kurenai who in charge. She decided that it'd be best to make sure that they knew each other a little better before they began. Standing in the middle of the room with everyone around her, she called out in an assertive voice, "Okay, to begin with, we're going to do something that's a tradition in the hidden Leaf. All of the younger ones are going to tell us about their likes, dislikes, and dreams. Since Naruto's the new one here, he's going to go first. Whenever you're ready."

"Whatever you say Sensei," Naruto said, showing her some respect, "You guys know my name, and I like training and hanging out with my family. I dislike the nutjob villains that mess with Gotham, and my dream is to become the Hokage in the hidden Leaf and leave my mark on this city too."

That all seemed pretty standard to Kurenai, "Nicely done Naruto. Kiba, would you mind going next."

Despite the fact it was phrased like a question, Kiba knew that he couldn't say no, "My name's Kiba, and this little guy on the top of my head is my partner Akamaru. I like working at my family's vet clinic, I don't like people who dislike dogs, and my dream is to be best Inuzuka who ever lived."

"Pretty much the same as last time, but that's a good thing with dreams like yours," Kurenai said, knowing her students very well by this point, "Shino, you're up."

Shino pushed up his glasses and said in an emotionless tone, "As you wish Sensei. I'm Shino, I enjoy studying insects, I don't like judgment people, and my dream is to make people more understanding of my clan."

Again, this was no surprise to Kurenai, "Good old Shino, you never do change much. Last but certainly not least, Hinata. Don't be too shy now, be nice and loud so that everyone can hear."

"Um...Oka-ay Kurenai Sens-sei," Hinata stuttered, trying to muster up all her courage, "My name is Hin-nata. I like my little sis-ster and cinnamon rolls. The on-nly thing that I dislike are some of the meaner pe-eople in my clan. My dream is to be th-he best clan head I ca-an be."

Kurenai smiled gently at her student, "Good job Hinata, you're stutter's starting to get better. I think that we might even be able to eliminate it soon."

The entire time this was happening, Jason was watching on the side with Shizune, "That's her stuttering getting better? How was she even able to talk before this?"

"Now Jason, be nice," Shizune said, lightly scolding the boy, "Just because she can't hear you over here doesn't mean you can talk about her like that. Hinata's trying very hard, and I admire her for that."

Jason cursed under his breath, upset that he'd done something Shizune didn't like. His crush on the older woman ran very deep, and there was a good reason for it. He felt like she was the only one who treated him with real respect. Everyone at the mansion was trying so hard to be nice to him and trying to help him adjust, but they almost always seemed frustrated with him too. It wasn't in the boy's nature to get close to someone at the rate these people wanted, and he was starting to feel like child when they called him out on it. Shizune, on the other hand, seemed much more understanding of how hard something like this was on him. At first that simply meant that he liked her, but the more he spent time with her, noticing how beautiful she was and how sweet she could be, the more he felt a real affection for her. The age gap between the two of them was far too great for it to be anything, but the young boy could still dream.

"Sorry, I won't let it happen again," Jason said in a small voice, "I understood everything she said though, so my Japanese is getting better."

Considering how little time he had to learn the language, the did impressed Shizune, "You're definitely doing a good job with it. Now let's be quite. I think that Kurenai is about to tell everyone what they're going to be doing with Naruto."

"Naruto, from what I've been told, you have a sense of smell that's better than most, but not quite as good as Kiba's. I also heard that you can sense chakra to an extant and have been trained to notice the smallest of details. All of that gives you the potential to be a skilled tracker, which will come in very handy as a shinobi," Kurenai began to say, capturing the blonde's attention, "My team and I will help you get your training in the field started and doing some sparring with you on the side. Sound fair?"

The fact that he was getting new sparring partners was all Naruto needed to hear, "Heck yeah! I love training with different people. Let's me see how strong I really am."

Hinata was pretty certain he didn't need to test that, "Yo-ou seemed very st-trong when I s-saw you figh-ht in the hidden Leaf, Narut-to."

"Haha, thank Hinata, I knew I remembered you being really nice," Naruto said, making the girl blush heavily, "But wait, when did you ever get to see me fight?"

It seemed the blue haired Hyuuga had some explaining to do, "I-I watched you fight th-hat boy from the hid-dden Sand last year. The one with the red ma-ark on his head."

The instant he heard that, Naruto knew who he was referring to, "Oh, you mean when the council had me fight Gaara to see how strong I'd gotten. That was an awesome fight. I hope that let me do that again this year. The council actually told me that if come back strong enough this time, they'll give me the official rank of chunin. Not like there's anything I could do with it in Gotham, but it'd still be cool."

"I know it would be, but we'd better get to work now. I want to get you as far along as possible with this stuff before we have to leave, " Kurenai said, trying to get back on track. There was a lot for the boy to learn and not nearly enough time to do it. Still, she was going to make sure the boy was on the road to becoming a great tracker by the time she was done with him. On that, you could be sure.

* * *

They spent the next few hours giving Naruto a crash course on how to track someone. He was learning how to pick up scents, looks for signs that someone may have been near, and sense a person's chakra. It was quite the little endeavor, but they had fun with it nevertheless. Bruce, however, was forced to leave towards the end of the session. Barbara had called him with what she said was urgent news, and she wasn't lying. A police officer had noticed some strange things involving a fishing boat coming into Gotham harbor and decided to look through it. What he found was that the boat was actually smuggling in various plants and chemicals. It took Barbara no time at all to cross reference the chemicals with their database and discover that these were the exact ingredients for Venom. Considering that the crates had Santa Prisca markings on them, only one conclusion could be drawn. Bane was in town.

"Bruce, what the hell are we gonna do? The last time Bane came here, he nearly tour half the city apart. For god's sake, the guy actually blew a hole in Arkham Asylum and let out half of our most dangerous villains," Barbara added, then got to the worst part, "This is the guy who broke your freaking back! Hell, if it wasn't for the memory loss that comes with Venom, he'd still know your identity! The man was smart enough to figure out who you are Bruce! We need to find him, like yesterday!"

She didn't need to lead it on so thick, as Bruce knew what they were dealing with. About a year before Naruto came to Gotham, Bane made his presence known to the Batman. He believed the hero was actually the physical incarnation of a nightmare he'd been having since he was a child. From the moment he saw the Batman, he knew that he was monster who'd been haunting his mind for so long. That was why he came to Gotham to break the Bat. It was quite the wait while Batman recovered, but he had some friends who held down the fort for him until he was ready to get up and kick Bane's ass. There were only a couple of occasions after where Bane popped again, but nothing as bad as what they now referred to as, 'The Knightfall Incident.'

So, the hero knew better than anyone that Bane had the potential to be dangerous, "I know that we need to track him down, but it's easier said then done. He covers his tracks well and there's nothing that the Venom making process lets off that we can scan for."

"Man, where's a team of trackers when you need them?" Barbara muttered, completely unaware of the irony of what she'd just said.

She couldn't see it from the other end of the phone, but Bruce had started to smirk, "They're right here in Gotham. Suit up Barbara, cause we're about to find out exactly where Bane's been hiding out."

* * *

"So we're going to help a guy who dresses like a giant bat track down one of these villain guy's who live in Gotham?" Kiba asked, as Team 8 waited on the rooftop of the Elliot Memorial Hospital. Tsunade had told them when they finished training that they were needed for a very special mission. The local vigilante needed to find an extremely dangerous criminal, but didn't have time to track them down the usual way. That was why Team 8 had been called in.

Kurenai tried to confirm everything for them, "That's the way that I understood it. Tsunade said she's patched members of the Batman's team more than once, which is why he knew she might be able to help him with this. All we need to do is find the guy that they're looking for and that's about it. Unless something bad comes up, we won't have to do any fighting. Should be good training if nothing else. If we'd been able to, I would've brought Naruto along with us, but I don't think his father would've approved of something so dangerous."

Even though she didn't know it, Kurenai had just made the funniest joke of her life. If Batman could've, he would've laughed when he landed with the rest of his family. Everyone was there, with Red Fox right by his side and Batgirl and Robin behind him. The Dark Knight was already in business mode, "So, you must be team 8. I'm sure that we'd all love to greet one another, but the person we're dealing with here is incredibly dangerous on both a physical and mental level. We've got a sample of the chemical compound known as Venom that I want you to use to track him down. Find the largest source of it that you can in the city and we'll do the rest. I'm sorry if I seem curt with you, but Venom is not something I want on the streets of my city."

"Completely understandable," Kurenai said, as she was able to tell the difference between someone being rude and someone who was on a mission, "If you give my students that sample, it won't take them long to find the chemical. Thank you for calling us by the way, it's great practice for my students."

The Red Fox grabbed a vial from his belt and tossed it to Kurenai, "I wish that was the only reason we were doing this, but we all know there's more to it than that. No idea how you guys plan to do it, but I wish you all the luck in the world."

Kurenai opened the sample to let her students get look at it. Kiba and Akamaru merely sniffed it while Shino allowed his bugs to try a little taste of the stuff. The few bugs that did try it were dead seconds later, and the boy could see that Kiba and Akamaru looked a little dazed after sniffing it. Not an intoxicated daze, but more like they'd be struck on the head by how powerful the smell was, "What in the hell is in that stuff? I mean it was burning my freaking nose hair it's so strong!"

"I don't kn-now, but the Byakug-gan makes it look li-like it's glowing," Hinata stuttered, having activated her family's famed bloodline. The Byakugan allowed a person the ability to enhance their sight, see through things, see in 360 degrees, and see chakra along with some other forms of power, "I've o-only ever seen it do this wi-ith very strong che-emicals."

That description fit Venom pretty well as far as Batman was concerned, "It's powerful stuff alright. So, can you find it's source?"

Kiba didn't doubt it for a second, "With a smell like that, it's gonna be impossible to miss. Give us like fifteen minutes We'll be able to tell you where it is. Right Sensei?"

"I have faith that you guys won't let them down," Kurenai said, before giving them an order, "Now, let's move out. Like our friend here said, this stuff is dangerous, and we don't want to give them time to make more of it."

All of the students nodded before jumping off and using their various senses to discover the source of the Venom. Batgirl was impressed by how well the group listened to her, "Wow, they really seem to trust you. You make a great team."

They were more than just a team to Kurenai, "To me, those kids are like my family. I haven't had them for long, but I know I love them. You understand I'm sure."

"Believe me, there's no need to explain. We act just like a family," Batgirl replied, thinking back on their adventures and struggles, "Even when it comes to the stressful parts."

There was brief nod of understanding before everyone jumped off from the roof to follow the genin of Team 8. While he ran, Robin pondered to himself, "_So we're supposed to be like a family? They all must think of me as the useless little brother who can't do anything. Well I'm gonna prove them wrong, they'll see! I'll be a better Robin than Dick Grayson ever was! They're going to give me respect, no matter what I have to do to earn it!"_

* * *

The warehouse was a little farther away than they'd originally hoped, a whole twenty miles from where they'd started, but actually finding was easy enough. Turned out the villain was held up inside of an old warehouse, one that seemed much larger than what Bane would typically need. Batman could tell something was up, meaning that he was gonna need more information.

Looked like the Dark Knight was going to have a request of Hinata, "Ms. Hyuuga, would you take a look inside the warehouse and tell me what you see. If there's people in there as well, try and tell me any unique you see about them."

"Um, ok-kay," Hinata said, activating her Byakugan and observing who all was inside, "There's five pe-eople inside and avbunch of bi-ig plants. One's a very large ma-an, another's incredibly shor-rt. There's another wo-oman who's seems more l-like the plants than a hu-uman, and then there's one othe-er man and woman who j-just seem normal."

The intel was enough for Batman to figure out a few of the identities, "The big one must be Bane, and short one is mostly likely the Penguin. With the plants in there and the first woman you described, it sounds like Poison Ivy is there as well. There's lots of possibilities as to who the other to could be."

That was a pretty odd list as far as the Red Fox was concerned, "Those three are working together? I don't know what that's about, but I don't like it. Maybe we should have these guys come in there with us just to be safe. They're trained ninjas with cool powers, right?"

"Good point Red Fox," Batman agreed, even more inclined to do so as they didn't know who those other people in the building were, "We'll give them some masks to cover their faces and have them head in with us. I don't usually like doing this, but there's too many people in there for us to go in solo and the threat's to big to wait for backup. You guys up for a fight?"

Shino seemed very interested in the prospect of a battle, "I've never faced these 'superhumans' you have here in Gotham. It will be an interesting learning experience to face them."

His Sensei was a little more clear on the matter, "That's Shino's way of saying we'd be happy to help. Just tell us what we need to know about these guys, and we'll help you take them out."

"Thanks for the assistance," Batman started to say, "Now, each one has a very unique set of powers…"

* * *

"Red!" Harley Quinn screamed as she ran up and tackled Poison Ivy, "Oh, I missed you Pammy! We need to have a girls night again! We'll paint the town red! Or maybe green! Heck, we'll do both! It'll look like Christmas!"

The supervillains wriggled her arms out so she could hug her friend back, "It's good to see you too Harl's. When the Penguin said I would be getting a visitor, I never thought it'd be you. What on earth are you and your boyfriend doing here."

Harley turned and pointed to the pink bulbs on the plants, "Mr. J want's those thingys for some big fancy plan of his. Thanks for making them by the way, they look really pretty! I should keep a couple of them to have around the hideout."

"Pretty isn't the point Harley, I need these for my plan to finally break the Bat," Joker said, as he started picking the bulbs like they were apples, "Don't worry though Bane, I'm not stealing your plan. I'm gonna break his mind. You can have the whole back thing to yourself."

What the clown did was of no real concern to the mercenary, "Do whatever you wish Payaso Loco, just don't touch the Venom. It belongs to me, and Hiedra as long as she keeps making more of it."

"Now I don't speak spanish," The Joker admitted, "But I think it's safe to assume Payaso Loco means handsome man! Thank you Bane, you're too kind!"

Bane started cursing to himself in spanish, starting to remember why he stayed out of Gotham for the most part. There were far to many crazies in this city for his liking, not mention the vigilantes always ruining his plans. Speaking of which, something began crashing through the glass ceiling as a young voice said, "Look out below crazies, we're coming to kick your ass!"

All of the villains covered their faces to avoid the sharpened shards falling towards them. Batman and the rest of the squad landed in front of them, Team 8 with their faces concealed of course. The Joker seemed to be expecting the man, "Ah Batsy, I just knew that you wouldn't be able to mind your own damn business. That's okay though, now you can be part of the party! Wow, it looks like you brought some of your own guests too. You will spend most of your time with me though, won't you? You're not going to leave me alone to play with the other guests, now are you?"

"What are you doing here Joker? You not the kind of person who plays nice with others," Batman mused, knowing that villains in Gotham usually avoided the clown. Getting involved with him would typically get you in some hot water.

They weren't far enough along for the Joker to give up his reasons just yet, "For a giant rodent, you sure do ask a lot of questions. Uncle Joker will explain it all to you when you're older. In the mean time, I'll teach you something else: Getting your ass kicked 101!"

The Red Fox noticed the huge vats of Venom after he said that, "So that's what you guys are doing. You give her the ingredients, she makes the chemical, and Penguin supplies the place. No idea what the clown prince of nutjobs is doing here, so we'll beat the answer out of him."

"Um, is someone gonna translate all of this for us?" Shino asked in Japanese, as the last bits had been in English, "I'd like to know when we're to attack."

It was time to get to work, so Batman answered him in his native tongue, "We attack them now! Hinata and Batgirl, you take Harley! Red Fox and Kurenai, you're on Bane! Kiba and Shino, handle Poison Ivy! Robin, you're on your own with Penguin, but I know you can do it! The Joker's mine! Once you've taken your guy down, help someone who hasn't!"

Harley's head was spinning after hearing all that Japanese, "Okay, I got the names of the hero's and that's about it. Who are the other guys in the masks? Are they new are something?"

"Who cares about what they're saying? We'll turn their heads into sock puppets and make them say whatever we want them too," Joker said, tossing back a big bag of the bulbs and a suitcase full of money to one of his goons, "Get those to the hideout and give one Penguins men the money. The party's just begun!"


	17. Party Time Pt 2

Hello there ladies and gents, and welcome to the next exciting chapter of my fanfic, The Red Fox. Now, I'd like to say thank you to all of you for bearing with me while my schedule's been so busy. There are certain times of the year where my schedule is quite hectic, but I should be able to post on a weekly bases for at least the next month or two, unless something completely and utterly crazy comes up. Hey, you never know. Now, this chapter's going to split up into five battles, some of which will take longer than others. Let's face it, there's definitely a few villains in this fight who are more powerful than the others. Now, if any of you have any tips to give me on my fights, don't be afraid to say so in the reviews. They're kind of my weak area, and I'm totally open to hearing ways to improve them. Enough talk though. Thanks for reading and please review!

Chapter Soundtrack- The Coasters: Down in Mexico

* * *

The Red Fox had faced Bane a few times during his crime fighting career in Gotham, so he knew to have a healthy respect for the powerhouse of a fighter. Once he found out that he and Kurenai would be going toe to toe with the man, he honestly found himself getting a little nervous. There hadn't been one occasion where the Red Fox had hit Bane while in his Venom form where the villain actually felt it, and Tsunade had told the hero that using attacks like the Rasengan would give his identity away to the genin team. That meant this was going to be one hell of a tough fight, but it was one that they had to win.

The mercenary stood right in front of the two, certain that this was going to be no real challenge for him. Knowing that it was where most of his strength lied, Bane immediately reached for device on his wrist and turned on his Venom that were connected to his arm and skull began to fill with a green liquid that poured into his body. Like magic, the man shot from 6'8" to 8'3", and his already muscular body grew until his arms where the size of tree trunks. This was Bane in his true form, "Hora imbecilas, I break like I broke like a broke the bat! Prepare to meet your maker!"

Charging at them like a bull, Bane lowered his shoulder and tried to turn the two ninjas into stains on the wall. They stayed where they were for a moment, but jumped out of the way just in time for Bane to smash into the wall, the entire warehouse shaking with the force of his Red Fox couldn't help but yell, "Toro! That's right ya big dumb bull, go for the red! Toro!"

"You will be silent, you little cabrón," Bane cursed, getting up and turning himself back towards his opponents, "I will crush you like an insect!"

Kurenai could tell he was getting ready for another attack, so she said to her partner in Japanese, "I may not be able to tell what he's saying, but I know he's not happy. He seems strong, but he must have some kind of weak point. You know him better than me, so what is it?"

For as tough as he was, there indeed was one very simple way to defeat Bane, and the the Red Fox knew this, "You see those tubes sticking out of him? Those pump him full of Venom, and if you take them out, he's not that much tougher than any other mercenary. That's the biggest flaw with his powers."

To Kurenai, that meant things were going to be very easy from here, "Those tubes are his weakness? Guess we're going to have to remove them from the equation. Follow my lead!"

"No, wait," The younger ninja cried, trying to stop her. There was no way her plan could work, "It's not that easy!"

It was too late. Kurenai had already run behind Bane so that she could rip the tube right out of his skull. She thought that the speed of a kunoichi would be enough to give her the advantage here, but she was sadly mistaken. With near impossibly fast reflexes, Bane spun around and struck Kurenai with his backhand, sending her right to the floor, "Ah ah ah chica, you didn't think I was going down like that, now did you?"

Instead of anger, Kurenai could hear smugness in his voice this time. This guy was more dangerous than she first realized, but that didn't matter. If she couldn't break his body, she'd just have to break his mind…

* * *

"Hehehe, where's Catwoman when ya need her?" Harley asked, retrieving some strange kind of staff from her back, "We've got ourselves a real catfight going on here girls. I'm glad I didn't leave this in the car, cause now I can use it to smash your brains in! I'll even take a picture for Mr. J when I'm done!"

That catfight was of course Harley Quinn vs. Batgirl and Hinata, with the heroes having to listen to the clown girls irritating voice. Rather than translate the ridiculous statement Harley had given, Batgirl gave Hinata a quick rundown of who their opponent was, "Be careful Hinata, Quinn's more skilled than she looks. She's a good fighter and has plenty of fun toys to use on us. I know we can take her, we just have to work to together!"

Hinata nodded, sliding her leg back to get into a taijutsu stance. During battles, she could mostly control her stutter, "I'm best when fighting at close range. If you c-can get me in close, I know how to shut her down without muc-ch trouble."

"Hey, start speaking English over there, or I'm gonna make you," Harley cried, twisting the staff until a click was heard. A block at the end of the staff expanded, taking the shape of the end of a hammer. She raised her new weapon above her head and lowered it back down with all her might. Cracks formed in the ground when it hit, "Ya see what I mean?"

Even Hinata didn't need that message explained to her, "And I thought the people back at the vill-lage were crazy. Why don't we show her that bigger isn't always b-better?"

Batgirl found that to be a perfect line to attack on, "I knew we'd work well together. I'll hit high, you hit low. Go!"

The redhead jumped towards Harley Quinn, trying to kick the villainess in the head. Letting go of her hammer, Harley caught the kick just barely in had her distracted, giving Hinata a chance to sweep for the legs, which she soon did. Like a dead tree in a forest, Quinn came tumbling down right on to her painted face. Needless to say, she was not pleased when she got up, "Okay, now I'm pissed off! Nobody get's rough with me expect for Puddin! Eat this!"

"Hinata, you're gonna wanna move," Batgirl called as she watched Harley pull out a jack in the box, "Those things tend to have a real nasty surprises in them!"

The box was quickly thrown from Harley's hand, landing not far from the two girls. They could see that the handle had started spinning on it's own while they jumped back. A cheery little children's song played before it began to make a horrible ringing noise. With a sudden crackle, the box exploded and purple gas came flooding out. Harley clapped her hands together with glee, "Now it's time for some of Mr. J's patented Laughing Gas! Don't worry, this jokes alway _KILLS!"_

"Eh, gah," Hinata said, starting to cough from the toxin filling the air, "What is this stuff?"

Batgirl had managed to get her gas mask before the substance reached her, but there was nothing to protect the Hyuuga, "Hinata, back away from the gas! If you breath too much of it in, you're done for!"

The lavender haired girl stepped away from the cloud, but some of it had still made it's way to her lungs. All of sudden Hinata began to giggle uncontrollably, "Hehe...why can't I stop…hehe… la-aughing...hehe!"

"Looks like laughing is the same in every language," Harley said, eager to see the young girl die, "That's right girly, take in your last laugh!"

Batgirl was not about to let that happen, so she threw a little container to Hinata, "There's pills in there that should help you, but they take fifteen minutes to take full effect. I'll hold her off until then, but I need you to rest. The toxin spreads faster if you're active."

She brought her attention back to Harley and said in English, "You wanna dance Harley? Fine, let's dance!"

* * *

Robin was starting to feel like his father really had some faith in him. He was facing an extremely high profile villain on his own, no one was backing him up. Granted, on a physical scale the Penguin wasn't much of a threat, but he was still a big deal. There was no way he would screw this up.

The Penguin had his umbrella pointed right at Robin, ready to blow the boy's head clean off, "You know, I'm a little insulted right now. Does the bat really think that I'm so weak, that he can send his lapdog over to take care me?"

"You're four feet tall and your guns looks like a kids toy," Robin pointed out, hiding a projectile in his hand, "Unless you've got something a little scarier to use on me, you're about as threatening as an actual Penguin."

That had Cobblepot's eye twitching, "You know what? I think it's time to say bye bye to this birdy!"

The gangster pulled the trigger, but Robin was already in motion by the time he had. Missing the him by a good margin, the Penguin could only watch as the boy wonder used a batarang to knock the umbrella from his hand. Seeing that he had nothing to protect him, Robin went on the offensive against his foe. He dashed in front of the Penguin with his fist ready, hitting the little man his ample stomach. Then he landed a nice uppercut right on the his chin, followed by a kick to the man's knee. Finally, Robin grabbed his arm and twisted it back, causing the Penguin to scream out in pain, "Ah! Let go of me you little bastard! You don't know who you're messin' with!"

"I don't know, seems to me that I'm messing with a guy who doesn't know how to fight," Robin said, twisting the arm even more, "Hard to believe you we're Gotham's top white collar criminal just two years ago. Now look at you, another freaking gangster for us to pound on."

An insult like that was enough to make Cobblepot crack, "I lost all of that because your boss took it away from me! He destroyed my business, forced me to lead around a bunch of dumb blokes with guns to survive! Now I'm gonna make him pay, by killing you!"

Taking his brass knuckles out of his pocket, the Penguin elbowed Robin in the ribs with his good arm. That built up some space between them, allowing Penguin to pull his arm out and swing around to punch his opponent in the face. It was a hard hit, one that had Robin holding onto his cheek, "Dammit that hurt. Oh it is so on know!"

"It's been on this whole time ya mangy brat," Cobblepot said, cracking his knuckles for show, "Now try and keep up, because I only fight the best. From what I'm seeing, you're pretty fucking far from the that title."

Robin wiped a little blood from the corner of his mouth and got back into fighting position. Cobblepot was gonna regret saying those things, even if he didn't know it yet.

* * *

Upon first glance, it would seem like Batman had chosen who was to fight Poison Ivy very poorly. His choice to have Kiba against her was questionable, as it would seem like the brainwashing pheromones she released would be far more effective on the boy due to his heightened sense of smell. Yet, that ability was exactly why he picked the boy. Batman had discovered something about Ivy's pheromones years ago while working a case with The Red Fox. The villainess had tried to control the boy's mind with her powers only fail miserably, as he seemed disgusted by the smell of the enhanced pollen she'd used. After defeating her and doing some more research on the matter, Batman discovered that people with an enhanced sense of smell actually found anything involving Ivy's pheromones, be it pollen or any other plant matter, to smell horrible. It was very pleasent to a human nose that only got what was on the surface, but someone who could smell deeper beneath her chemicals got all of Ivy's nasty add in's as well. Kiba wouldn't be affected by her scent based tricks, meaning that it was only skin to skin contact that he had to be worried about. Shino would play his part as well. This plant was about to get a whole lot of trimming, via a bunch of hungry insects.

"If either of you meatsacks get anywhere the roots of my babies, I swear, I'll rip you apart and use your corpses for fertilizer," Poison Ivy threatened, guarding her plants with her life. She was standing where her vines had sprouted up, their most vulnerable spot, to assure their safety.

Shino tuned the woman out, not only because she was speaking complete gibberish to him, but because he was trying to figure out where he wanted to strike. Considering how much Ivy was protecting her current area, it seemed like a good place to start, "There seems to be something very important about that spot to our floral foe. Kiba, do you suppose that's where the plants originated from?"

"Could be, but I don't know a whole lot about this stuff," Kiba admitted, taking Akamaru off from his head and giving the dog a soldier pill so that he'd be ready to fight, "Is there something you can do if that where they're at? I mean, that Venom stuff was killing your bugs before."

That had been the case before, but Shino had a theory, "Yes, the Venom would kill them, but the roots themselves won't produce it. The Venom is being extracted into those canisters behind us, so my bugs should be able to eat right through the roots. It'll be much easier to fight a woman who controls plants if they're dead, so I think that should be our current plan of action. I will need someone to pull them out of the ground for me though."

Kiba didn't need to hear anymore. He may have acted like a goofball at times, but the kid was one hell of a fighter when he needed to be. With Akamaru's help, he'd have those roots up in not time, "Alright, something for us to do! Come on Akamaru, we're gonna tear this place up!"

The dog gave an enthusiastic 'arf' before jumping onto Kiba's back. There was a brief puff of smoke before Akamaru transformed into an exact copy of his master. This was their clan's famous Man Beast Clone technique, and it was going to help Kiba bring those plants right where he wanted them. Poison Ivy didn't like the way this was shaping up for her, "The dog can turn into a human? That's a strange power, even for Gotham. I can't tell what they're going to do, but I don't like it. This whole three against thing one isn't fair, so I'll think that I'll just even the odds!"

"Now, Fang Ov-hey," Kiba began to say, before something slithered around his ankles. It was Ivy, controlling the vines that surrounded them. She'd gotten the Akamaru clone by feet as well, yanking them both towards her, "What the hell are you doing?"

Ivy smiled as she watched her babies drag these men around like toys. She ordered the vines to bind the real Kiba's arms and then hang by his legs in front of her face. The boy found himself just inches away from the woman, who had a strangely seductive look in her eyes, "Oh don't worry mutt, this won't hurt a bit. In fact, I think that you're about to see things the way I do. All you have to do now is enjoy."

She suddenly cupped Kiba's face in her hands and parted her deep red lips, crashing them into the boy's. A small part of him did enjoy this, but also knew it could only mean bad things to come. Kiba's eyes turned a deep shade of green and he stopped struggling against the woman. Ivy knew that he was under her control now, so she let him down. He was a zombie for her to command, and she planned to do the exact same to the other Kiba. That was until she turned around and found the he was nowhere to be seen, "Now where oh where has my little dog gone?"

A growling sound caught her attention, so Ivy glanced back to see a white dog standing behind her, "So, you changed back, hm? It doesn't matter, you're master's mine, and I'm going to see how well he stacks up against his friend over there. Hope you're ready to like the blood from his wounds, you mangy mutt!"

* * *

Most people thought of the Joker as a very cerebral villain. The psychopath was a genius, and he'd proven that several times with how close he'd come to destroying entire cities. However, he was actually a skilled combatant as well, and not just because of the tools he used. Joker had an incredibly high tolerance for pain and naturally good instincts when it came to a fight. He actually gave the Batman a good battle, even if he could never actually beat him.

The Joker didn't want things to be any different or less fun this time around. He began by standing in front of the Dark Knight, bouncing around as if he was boxer, screaming at the top of his lungs, "In this corner, weighing in at just 150 pounds, below the belt that is, it's the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker! And in that corner, weighing in at 200 pounds of pent up rage, that probably isn't healthy, it's the Batman! Place your bets folks, this is gonna be a wild one!"

"Enough with the games Joker," Batman said, his voice especially gravely, "Either you tell me exactly what you're doing here, or crack open your skull and look for the answers myself."

A crowbar slid down the clowns sleeve, and he intended to get it nice and red with the Bat's blood, "Oh, you wanna crack my skull? Here, you'll need this to do it."

Batman saw him bring his arm back, so he got ready to deflect whatever blow might come. The crowbar started to tear through the air, directly on it's way to the Dark Knight's head. Naturally, Batman caught it before it could do any damage to him. He thought this would give him a chance to attack the Joker, but sound of a gun going off stopped that. It was clear that the clown had tricked him, using the first assault as a distraction. A bullet struck his abdomen, right in one of the gaps where his armor plates met. It was one of the few places you could shoot Batman and get the full effect. Blood was exiting the bullet hole quickly, so he needed to act fast, "I'm losing a lot of blood here. If I don't close the wound, I could end up bleeding out."

"Hahaha, that looks like it hurt Bats," Joker mocked, spinning the gun around in his hand, "People think that you're bullet proof or something, but you've just gotta know where to shoot is all! Nothing personal old boy, but you know me. If I'm beckoning you with one hand, it's because I'm gonna strangle you with the other."

Batman felt too concerned with his own well being to mince words with the Joker. He took out a black cylinder with red lights on it's side and placed it on the bullet hole. The device both magnetically pulled out the bullet and cauterized the wound, making it a great dual purpose device. The part where it burned your skin back together hurt like hell, but it got you back into the battle fast. A grunt of pain came from the Dark Knight's lips when he used it, but he quickly forgot about the pain. Now it was time to get some payback on his nemesis, "I'm going to make you regret that Joker, more than you can ever imagine!"

The clown prince of crime continued to chuckle, "Not likely Batsy, but feel free to try. I don't know about you, but I'm having a lot of fun here!"

* * *

Returning to the first set of fighters, Kurenai had an excellent plan to take out the hispanic brute. She knew that they had to distract him if they wanted to cut off his supply of Venom, she learned that the hard way from her last failed attempt, and there was a very simple way to do it. Well, the idea of it was simple, but actually doing it was going to be a challenge. The plan was to put Bane in a genjutsu that would give the Red Fox time to end this, but there was a few issues that brought up. By far, the easiest way to deploy a genjutsu was to connect to another person's chakra system, which Bane didn't actually have. Kurenai was going to have to use the next easiest method, which was connecting directly to the brain with chakra. This presented challenges of it's own, as Bane had developed ways to fight off mental tampering over the years. It was going to take some time for Kurenai to get through his mental barriers, so someone needed to keep the villain occupied. Luckily, she had someone who could do just that.

"Would you stay still you little mongrel?" Bane screamed, trying to get a hold of The Red Fox, "I can't kill you if you're jumping around like a conejo!"

It was more than a little difficult for the Red Fox to avoid the massive hands and stomping feet of his foe, but he needed to act like it was nothing for him. The more he aggravated Bane, the easier it became for Kurenai. This was where the boy's skill for irritating people came in handy, "Oh, what's the matter big boy? You broke Batman's back, you're supposed to be the tough guy. How can you crush me if you can't even catch me? Let's go Bane, I want a workout!"

"Shut up pendejo," Bane spat as the Red Fox started slide in between his leg. The villain tried to grab the hero's collar, but missed by just centimeters. Once he was behind him, the Red Fox unsheathed his chokuto. He tried to slash the tubes, but Bane's arm shot back and grabbed the boy's wrist, throwing him into one of the containers of Venom, "Ha, did you really think such a trivial trick would work on me? You have no brains or brawn! Now I kill you, then I kill the chica. Adios fool!"

With the Red Fox propped up against the canister, Bane started to sprint at him with the intent to kill. He reached the canister in a blind rage, his fists clenched and ready to kill the boy. All he saw was red as he went berserk, sending a barrage of mad punches at his combatant. He was expecting to feel blood on his knuckles and hear the screams of the Red Fox in his ears, but he got neither. In fact, once he could see again, he found that that he'd been punching nothing but the canister. Bane didn't understand until he felt his body begin to shrink back to it's normal size, "No, that can not be possible! I cannot be tricked so easily!"

"Obviously that isn't true," The Red Fox deadpanned, standing in front of Bane with his chokuto covered in Venom, "You didn't even notice when I cut the those tubes in half. Granted, my friend was poking around your head, which didn't help you. I don't know what the big deal is anyways, you're still six feet tall without the Venom."

Bane finished returning to his normal size, which only served to fuel his rage, "Ustedes van a sufrir! Nadie me quita Venom de mi!" (I'm going to make you suffer, no one takes my Venom from me)

He was speaking in full on Spanish now, meaning he was really angry. Bane planned on snapping the Red Fox's neck for what he'd done, but suddenly his whole body went rigid. Kurenai had used her genjutsu to mask her presence until she could get up behind him, then grabbed she started to press down on one of the pressure points in his neck, "I must say, you impressed me. It took over twenty minutes to get past all the safeguards in your mind. Too bad it won't save you."

"No! No! No," Bane kept screaming, not knowing what she said but knowing what was coming, before Kurenai clamped down on the pressure point and knocked him out. For someone who didn't have chakra, he'd proven himself to be a powerful foe.

The Red Fox put his blade away, very happy with what they'd accomplished, "Nice job Kurenai, you've got some skill. He really thought he was hitting me for a while back there. You're really good at that genjutsu stuff."

Kurenai was always glad to get compliments on her fighting skills, "Thank you, you're quite impressive for your age as well. Now, let's go make sure my students are okay. I'd hate to think one of them got seriously injured while on my watch."

* * *

It was just fifteen minutes. Batgirl only had to hold off Harley Quinn for fifteen minutes, and then Hinata would be back in the game. Only with Harley Quinn, fifteen minutes felt like fifteen hours. She was an expert in gymnastics, making it very difficult for Batgirl to hit her on her own, threw explosive around like they were bouncy balls, some which actually were shaped like said object, and swung her bone crushing harmer around as if she was using it for a pillow fight. Essentially, she had no regard for human life at all when she fought, proving just how insane she really was. It's not as though she was shy to show it either, "Hehehe, I love fights! Things get blown up, you get all sweaty, and the room's left in tatters when you're done! Kinda like when me and Mr. J…"

"Do not finish that sentence," Batgirl said with a gag, throwing another batarang at her opennet, "I don't know what's worse, having to fight you or listening try and talk about you and that pyscho's love life."

Harley took to pistols off from her belt and pointed them Batgirl, firing off a few rounds and shooting down the projectile, "Oh don't be so uptight. I'm sure you've taken Batman for a couple of rides, haven't ya?"

The redhead dove to the left to avoid the bullets, then started to run towards Quinn so she could shut her up, "I would never do that you crazy pervert!"

"Really? How come? He seems like he'd be a real stud in the sack," Harley asked as if it was the most natural thing in the world, "What about the old Robin? He was kinda cute. Did you teach that little birdy how to fly?"

Batgirl got to Harley and struck with a slew of hits and kicks, all of which the clown girl either dodged or blocked, "Why won't you stop talking? It's none of your damn business!"

The villainess giggled like a little school girl, "Looks like I hit a nerve! You two did the dance with no pants, didn't you? Is foxy boy too young for you, or are you planning on breaking him in too?"

"Hinata, please tell me you're ready to go," Batgirl called in Japanese as she kept trying to land one of her strikes, "She's making jokes about me and the Red Fox doing...ah, I don't even wanna say!"

That perked up Hinata's ears, frankly a little more than it should have. In an instant, she appeared right in front of Harley Quinn. The villainess didn't even see her coming, and it didn't give her any time to stop the girl gentle fist style of attacks. With a strange amount of anger in her eyes, Hinata began to strike Quinn like a mad woman. It left clown girl completely lost, "Ow, oof, gah! What the hell? Was it something I said?"

Even the strikes that she was able to block were painful for Harley. Hinata was going to leave more than one bruise on her before the night was over. The girl mustered up all her remaining strength and and hit Harley with one last blow to the chest, sending her reeling back to the floor, knocking her unconscious. Batgirl had no clue what to say after watching the whole exchange, "Well, looks like you're good to fight. Do I really need to tell you good job for that?"

"Lousy clown girl, ma-aking dirty jokes like that," Hinata started to grumble before catching herself, "Um, right, you did great too. Let's go mak-ke sure the others are okay."

Batgirl was pretty sure the girl was hiding something from them, but chose to forget it for now. It was likely harmless, and there were others things to worry about. Mainly, the rest of her family being in danger.

* * *

"Boy, this has gone on long enough. I'm gonna give you one chance, and one chance only, to let me get the hell out of here," The Penguin said, reaching into his shirt pocket, "Or I swear, I'll blow this place sky high! This whole warehouse is rigged with high grade explosives, so don't think that I'm bluffing!"

Robin watched him pull out a detonator with five or six small buttons on it, clearly ready to use it. The fact that it had more than one button did confuse the boy a tad bit though, "What's with all extra button's Cobblepot? If you need to press them in order, I'll just take you out before you ever have the chance."

Things were far more complicated than that, "Ha, not a chance in hell! If I blow up the whole place then I end up dying too! The buttons are so that I can destroy sections of this place without killing my bloody self. Your friends on the other hand, well, I don't give two shits about them!"

"You really are an angry, angry little man, aren't you?" Robin half asked, half taunted, "Keep your hand off the buttons, I'm sure that we can work something out. Something like…"

Half way through his sentence, Robin threw a small disk at Penguin that landed right at his feet. An electric shock shot from the disk and to the villain, not only putting him in a great deal of pain, but also disabling the detonator in his hand. This meant Robin had time to jump right in front of the Penguin and jab him in the face a couple of times. His foe grunted before Robin finished the fight by bringing his foot to his man's temple.

The boy wonder couldn't help but beam with pride as the Penguin hit the ground, unconscious, "I did it. I actually beat him all on my own. Okay, calm down Jason, you're not done yet. Let's go see if the others okay, then you can celebrate. Weird, I Kinda hope there is a round two!"

* * *

Shino had to admit, he was in a very tight spot here. When it came to raw power, no one on the team could beat Kiba. Granted, the insect user was a fair amount smarter than his friend, but right now he was being controlled by strange plant woman. There was no way for Shino to be sure what was coming for him, but he was certain that Kiba wouldn't attack. Poison Ivy failed to understand one major thing about Inuzuka's, and Kiba in particular, and it was something that was going to cost her dearly in this fight.

"Alright dog boy, you might not know English, but I'm willing to bet you understand basic gestures," Poison Ivy said to Kiba, who stared back at her with a blank expression, "So, here's what you're going to do."

First the villainess pointed at Shino, causing the shinobi to follow her finger, then she brought her hand back to her throat and made the motion of slitting it. Kiba got the message and began to growl at his old friend. He got down on all fours and started make his way for Shino, who stood his ground, unafraid of Kiba may do. The boy reached him and went upright, his claws looking sharp enough to cut his friend's jugular. Poison Ivy watched in anticipation, ready to see blood pouring like it was rain...only it never did. Kiba stood there, his arm in mid air, frozen in place. It was just as Shino had predicted, the Inuzuka couldn't bring himself to hurt someone he was this close to.

He was far too loyal to ever do such a thing, "Shino, you need to run! I'm not sure how much longer I can hold back like this!"

"I have faith in you Kiba, you'd never hurt me," Shino told him, not moving an inch, "You're an Inuzuka, and an Inuzuka never betrays their friends. She can't control you Kiba, she's not strong enough. Fight this, and we'll defeat her together."

Kiba had no idea his friend believed in him so much, and hearing all this completely reinvigorated him. He began to try fight the woman's hold over him even harder than he had before. His fist clenched and started to regain control over his body, struggling with everything he had. Poison Ivy found it a comical sight, "Are you trying to fight my power? Really? Oh come now, far better men than you have tried and failed at that endeavor. Allow me to show you what I mean."

Increasing her influence over the boy, Ivy force Kiba to his knees. He held onto his head, screaming as the pain of trying to fight become worse. There was a familiar bark heard as something bit the boy's leg. Kiba's eyes looked back to see that it was his partner Akamaru, growling at him just a bit. For an Inuzuka, this was major. Your companion biting you was its ultimate way to show you that it wasn't happy with your current course of action. Akamaru felt Kiba could fight harder, and he was showing it. That was the last little push that Kiba needed.

It took everything that he had, but the boy shakily got to his feet and faced Ivy, leaving her in complete shock, "What? How are you doing this? There's no way! Nature always wins! Always!"

"Here we go you bitch, it's time to pay for messing with me," Kiba said as Akamaru jumped on his back and transformed back into a clone of him, "Fang Over Fang!"

The two of them lunged forward, turning into spinning tornado's in the air. They became tangled with the vines in front of them, which had been point all along. By doing this, Kiba and Akamaru pulled the roots up from beneath the ground, giving Shino a chance to do his part. He raised up his hands and hundreds of insects began to fly from his coat sleeves and at the roots of the plant, "Now, that's the Kiba that I know. It's time for my friends to have a nice snack."

Shino's bugs swarmed the roots, eating their delicious treat with gusto. Ivy screamed in utter horror, "No, my babies, not my babies! Leave them alone you vile creatures!"

"Huh, she sure is screaming a lot. Kinda wish I knew what she said," Kiba noticed after their attack was finished, then got a sly smile on his face, "What do you say me and you put her out of her misery Akamaru?"

The dog/clone nodded in agreement and the two of them snuck up behind her, each grabbing on of her arms. Ivy had little time to be surprised as they threw her straight up into the air. Next they grabbed her ankles on the way up, pulling her back down and slamming her into the ground, knocking her unciouses. With how distraught she was, Ivy never stood a chance of noticing the attack. It was another win for the good guys, "Woohoo! That's how you do it man! Just me and you Shino, we beat her like it was nothing!"

"I don't think that I'd say we beat her like it was nothing," Shino commented, mostly referring to what'd happened to Kiba, "But yes, we are victorious. Do you think that the others won their battle as well?"

Kiba looked around and saw that just about every other group was finished, "Yeah, looks like we all got done at about the same time. The only one left is the Batman guy. Guess we should go and help him. He's only got the clown guy though. How tough could he possibly be?"

* * *

Fists flew, knives cut, and destruction reigned as Batman and the Joker continued to do battle with one another. The two had gone back and forth like a tennis match, each one having a perfect counter to the first's attack. If the Dark Knight threw a batarang, the Joker's threw a grenade. If the clown threw a grenade, Batman shielded the explosion with his cape. If Batman shielded the explosion with his cape, the Joker used acid to try and melt it. This went so on, and so forth, showing once again how much these two mirrored one another. By now, their suit were torn, burned, and nearly worthless. To the Joker, that was exactly how things should be.

"Oh yes, this is just what I wanted! You, me, pools of blood, and now, even an audience," The Joker laughed, as all of the other heroes and ninjas surrounded him, "Batsy, our relationship is just getting so developed. We're even telling other people now."

Batman noticed that the others were closing in and motioned for them to stop. He had this well in hand, "Joker, do you have any idea how many times I could've killed you, and chose not to? How many people have told me to end you?"

The slash of a knife was the Joker's way of responding, "Sorry, I never really kept count."

"I did," Batman said shortly, dodging the knife and grabbing Joker's shirt. He pulled the clown in and gave him a quick head butt, knocking him to the ground.

The Joker stayed on the floor, chuckling to himself, "I know, and I love you for it. Well, it looks like it's that time again, eh old boy. Hope they kept my cell warm for me."

Was the Joker just giving up? That was never good, "I thought you were enjoying the fight? Why go back to Arkham so soon?"

"What can I say? I miss my old home," The Joker said, getting to his knees and putting his hands behind his head like a prisoner would, "You know it's kinda strange, the way you just found that boat with Bane's stuff in it when all the others got passed. It's almost like someone wanted you to find it and lead you to this place. Hehe, maybe I'm just looking too far into it."

Those words chilled Batman to his core. The Joker had played him. All of this was just another part of his plan, and now his plan required him to go back to the Asylum. Everything that was happening was happening according to his design. It almost made the Batman not want to take him back to the Asylum, but he knew it's what he needed to do. That way, the Joker would show more of his cards. He walked over and cuffed the clown, "You never can stop talking, can you? No, you truly do _need_ to taunt me. It doesn't matter. I'll stop you just like I always do. Everyone go and grab one of the villains, we've got a large delivery for the Asylum."

* * *

"Again, I can't thank you and your team enough for coming here and training with Naruto," Bruce said, shaking the young woman's hand. It was a week after they'd defeated the warehouse full of villains, and he would've thanked for that to if he could have.

Kurenai happily shook it back, grateful for the help her own students had gotten, "It's no problem at all. This experience did wonders for my students as well and they had a great time. I hope that we might be able to come back one day."

Bruce heartily laughed as the conversation carried on. Alfred and Jason watched from a distance, the butler dusting and the boy relaxing on the couch. Even a week later, Jason was still buzzing from his victory, "Man, you should've seen me against the Penguin. It was the best fight I ever had. Hey, do you think that this means Bruce might start letting me do solo missions and stuff."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves Master Todd," Alfred responded, focusing mainly on not breaking an expensive vase, "It was only one fight after all."

That didn't damper Jason's mood, "Yeah, but it was amazing. I feel like I finally proved that I'm a good enough fighter to to be here and to be a part of this team."

Alfred didn't care for the way the boy had said that, "Good enough fighter? Master Todd, do you think that the only reason you here and part of the team is because you know how to fight?"

"Well yeah," Jason replied, not sure what else he brought to the table, "You guys don't exactly seem to like who I am personality wise."

This response made Alfred stop dusting and lean down next to the boy, "Master Jason, we didn't ask you to join us here because we wanted some replacement for Robin. We invited you because we saw someone who had the potential to be a very good person and maybe even a great hero one day. You're not going to disappoint us if you're not some kind of fantastic fighter. I know that you're not the most forthcoming person in the world, so I never expected you to be close to us right away. Just know that we're here for you whenever you're ready, and that we don't expect anything from you for living with us and training with us. Master Bruce's kindness comes with no expectations."

Jason didn't have anything to say back to that. He just took in what Alfred had said to him, beginning to wonder if he'd had it all wrong about this family. Over in the kitchen, Naruto was saying goodbye to the genin of Team 8. He'd already told Kiba and Shino goodbye, really glad that he'd gotten the chance to meet the two of them over the past two weeks. Now there was only Hinata to send off, though hers would be a little more interesting than the others. He leaned in and gave the girl a hug as the other two walked away, "Bye Hinata, It was really good to see you here. You didn't talk a lot, but you seemed just as nice as I remembered you being."

"Than-nk you...I...I k-know it was yo-ou," Hinata said in quite voice, confusing Naruto, "The R-red Fox...I know i-it was you. Your c-chakra's always b-been very strange, an-nd it makes it r-really easy to tel-ll who you are w-with my byakugan."

Naruto nearly fainted when he heard that, "Hinata, that wasn't...I mean, I'm not..I think you,"

The girl put a finger to his mouth to keep him quiet, "It-t didn't supris-se me. You were a h-hero back home to. I-I remember you sa-aving me from b-bullies when I saw younger. It-t's what made me really l-like you. Maybe m-more than like you…I wo-on't tell anyone, I j-just want one thin-ng."

"I never said that I was," Naruto started, but then realized it was no good, "Oh, forget it. It's pretty clear you know. What do you want exactly?"

It was clear the girl was going to have a hard time saying this, but she forced herself to say, "I wan-nt you to k-kiss me, like y-you do your gir-rlfriend. It's w-wrong, I know, bu-ut I won't tell a-anyone. Pl-lease, just once. It's be-etter than your ot-ther secret getting out-t."

"I'm not sure you'd tell anyone about it if even if I didn't," Naruto said, then looked into Hinata's eyes. He wasn't sure if he'd feel more guilty about not kissing a girl who wanted him so much or about kind of cheating on Cheshire. In the end, he went with the safer option, "But this isn't something I can risk. We're only doing this once, so don't come back asking for more after this."

Hinata was happy he agreed at all, so she didn't plan on asking again. She close her eyes and began to lean in, Naruto soon doing the same. There lips met in the middle, a little noise coming from Hinata's throat when they did. They stayed like that for a few second, then parted, Hinata giving a little sigh as they did, "That was amazing."

The boy had enjoyed it quite a bit himself, though he couldn't admit it, "Sure...so um...see ya."

"Hehe, yeah, see ya," Hinata said, a goofy smile on her face. She had to keep herself from actually skipping away after that liplock.

That strange, though very fun, action ended the week. Team 8 went home and the Batman family continued on defending Gotham. What the Joker had said still bothered Bruce greatly, as it seemed like his plan just kept getting bigger and bigger. Whatever the Joker was going to do, it was massive. Bruce just prayed that it was nothing that would destroy his city...or his family.


	18. Revelations

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm back, completely on my regular schedule, and ready to type up another chapter of the Red Fox. Wow, we're starting to get pretty far in this fanfic. For the first time in the story, we're officially getting the Akatsuki involved. This ones going to be very fun, as the Akatsuki memeber I'm bringing in actually mirrors a villain I'll be introducing in this chapter as well. I don't want to go too far into it, as I want it to be a bit of a surprise. Also, they'll be no Joker in this chapter, but Cheshire and Hush will both be involved. Things keep barreling towards the epic finale of this arc, and I can't wait for you all to see it. Oh, and two more **IMPORTANT** things before we begin. First, this chapter will deal with something that's always bothered me a little bit in the comics, which is just how how many people know who Batman is. It's a large number, and it's never really covered just how much risk this puts him in, so look for that towards the end of the chapter. Second, if anyone has a better picture to use for the cover image of this story, please contact me about it through PM's. I really need something better than what I have now and I'll be sure to thank you in next intro. Man I'm talking a lot today. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Poison: Every Rose Has Its Thorn

* * *

There's not a single soul on earth who can keep themselves sane without having a little bit of time to unwind. It's human nature that all work and no play tends to drive anyone a tiny bit mad. Naruto was no exception to this rule, and his father knew it. So, in order to keep the boy from going crazy over too much training, it was decided that he'd get at least three days in between each genin team visit so that he could relax. His first day off, however, would be anything but relaxing for Naruto. That day would be nerve wracking for him, as it was the day his family would at last meet Cheshire.

Bruce had done all the planning of the event, as this was a big deal for him. It was Naruto's first real girlfriend, and that was something a father had to be a part of. He'd called up his favorite restaurant and made reservations for dinner, planning to get to know the girl over a meal. At first it was just going to be Bruce, Naruto, and Cheshire, but the guest list quickly grew. Cheshire told Naruto that she wanted to meet his entire family, which meant everybody he was always telling her about. That added more people to the party than she possibly could've imagined.

Now, Cheshire was going to be meeting Jason, Barbara, Alfred, Tsunade, Shizune, and even Bruce's girlfriend Mei, as she was basically family at this point as well. The only person Cheshire was bringing was her father, Lawrence Crock, known more commonly as the mercenary Sportsmaster. It may have seemed like a silly name to some, but like most villain identities, it actually started as a nickname due to the way he kept himself in top physical form and tended to uses gadgets similar to sporting equipment. He'd have to try and lay low during the dinner, as he and Batman had a few run in's when the Dark Knight had fought the League of Shadows. Luckily he didn't know who Sportsmaster actually was because Lawrence always wore a mask, but it was still best to be careful.

After all of that was taken care of, they were finally able to meet up and have their dinner. It had gone very smoothly so far, with the food being excellent and everyone getting along very well. Mei told a story about when she and Bruce had first began to date and how she'd almost been arrested for smashing a paparazzi camera for taking photos of them trying to have a sweet moment. Then Alfred told stories of Naruto coming to America and trying to understand the cultural differences, mainly all of the more advanced technology. Barbara also told a couple of stories about the crazier criminals her father had come across while working. However, the best story of the night came from Cheshire, telling a tale of when Naruto had been asked to help out the school's Japanese language teacher for a day. Seeing as how he could talk circles around the woman, the blonde had decided to have a little fun with him.

"It started out okay, Naruto was nice to the teacher and everything," Cheshire began to say, holding back her laughter as best she could, "But then she started trying to correct his Japanese. That's right, the teacher, who'd only been studying the language for about six years, was trying to correct someone who actually grew up in Japan. I am not kidding you."

Bruce had known his son long enough to have a pretty good idea how that was going to go, "I'm not even sure I wanna know what Naruto did to her. The waiter's probably gonna need to bring me some more wine."

Everyone laughed as Jason asked with a mouth full of food, "So, what happened next?"

"Well, after about the fifth time she did it, Naruto finally snapped. He didn't wanna get in trouble though, so did something really sneaky," Cheshire said, looking over at her boyfriend and involuntarily blushing, "He started teaching her words in Japanese in that ancient form that she didn't know. Only, they weren't the words she thought they were. Naruto had lied to her just a little bit on what they meant…"

Tsunade was eager to find out what her cousin had said, "Oh man, what did you have that poor woman saying?"

"Come on, I just taught her a few words," Naruto said with a mischievous look on his face, "A few words like…"

The boy listed off three or four words, words that even an adult might have been leery to say. Mei suddenly burst out laughing, with Tsunade and Shizune covering their mouths trying not to giggle, "Oh Bruce, my sweet, you're son is an absolute genius. She's gonna be walking around school or something someday, calling people that stuff, thinking that it's some kind term of affection or something."

Only the three women from the ninja nations knew what the words had meant, as they more slang terms that wouldn't really be taught in a traditional sense. Bruce had heard enough by that point, "And on that pleasant note, I think that we'll call it a night. Just let me get the check and we can all head home. I don't know about the rest of you, but I had a great time tonight. Cheshire, you seem like a lovely girl to me."

"Thank you sir," Cheshire started to say, before remembering he prefered not to be called that, "I mean Bruce, that's very kind of you to say. You're family is very nice, though much bigger than I anticipated."

Bruce had heard this before, and it never did bother him. He put his hand in Mei's and squeezed it gently, "I didn't always have a huge family to love. For me, knowing that this many people care this much about my son is a blessing. Those feelings are what Mei and I bonded over in the first place."

The Mizukage leaned over and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, "Both of us lost the people we loved because of things we couldn't control. It makes things scary for us sometimes, getting so close like this, but it's fun too. We know that we want the same things out of life."

"Please stop with all the kissy face stuff, I think that I'm gonna hurl," Jason half joked, making everyone at the table roll their eyes a tad and smile. He still wasn't used to seeing two people be intimate with each other.

Once everyone was full and the meal was payed for, the group pushed themselves away from the table and walked for the door. Bruce still had something bothering him a little bit though as they walked out, "Lawrence, I know that I asked you this before, but are you sure that we've never met? Something about you just seems familiar."

Lawrence answered the question just as they walked to the parking lot, "LIke I said, I'd never seen you before tonight. I must have a familiar face. We're on the other end of the parking lot, so this is where we split. Nice meeting you all."

"Bye Naruto, I'll see you at school on Monday," Cheshire said, giving the boy a quick kiss before she and her father walked off to their car.

The taste of the girl lingered on his lips, which Naruto found very pleasant. He still really liked the girl, but something was bothering him. When he'd kissed Cheshire, he didn't enjoy it as much as when he'd kissed Hinata. That could've just been because she was a better kisser or something though. What bothered him even more was the way he kept thinking about the lavender haired girl as well as his old friend Temari. He'd always felt attracted to her, and it actually started to get worse when he started dating Cheshire. It made him feel bad to be thinking like that when he was dating someone else, especially when still really wanted to be with his current girlfriend.

"Naruto? Hello? Can you hear me?" Barbara asked, breaking the boy out of his thoughts, "I said that Cheshire seemed nice enough. You could've done much worse for first girlfriend."

The boy had to think about his response, "Yeah, she's nice...I mean she's great. Hey, can I ask you guys a question? It might make me sound kinda bad."

Alfred was pretty sure he knew what the boy was going to ask, "Master Naruto, I do believe you're about to ask us the exact same question that Master Bruce asked me when he got his first girlfriend. Are you wondering if it's wrong that you're still thinking about other young ladies even though you've already got a lovely girl on your arm?"

"How in the heck did you know that?" Naruto asked, starting to wondering if the butler was psychic or something.

Barbara put her arm around the boy, "This isn't exactly Alfred's first time around the block. For the record, it's totally normal for you to be feeling the way you are. You're a teenage boy, it's only natural for your hormones to be going crazy. I highly doubt that Cheshire is gonna end up being your one and only anyways, so as long as you don't do anything about it, it's okay to have those urges. Does that make sense?"

That got a nod from Naruto, "I think so, yeah. We better hurry up and get home, otherwise we might not get the chance to go out on patrol tonight."

"It never ceases to amaze me the way you always just flip right back to training so easily," Shizune commented, as the group finally reached their cars.

On the other side of the parking lot, a very different conversation was going on. One that was more like a warning than anything. Lawrence had learned a great many things during that dinner, but only one of those things had him worried about the future of their mission, "Cheshire, you and I need to have a little talk. You are getting way too close to that Naruto brat."

The only sound he got back was her footsteps on the pavement. She seemed a touch nervous about the topic, "To be fair, getting close to him was my mission to begin with."

"No, your mission was to seduce him into joining the League of Assassins," Her father corrected her, "Look baby girl, I saw all those blushes and glances that you were throwing his way, and I thought that maybe you might like him a little. After how into that kiss you got, I knew it. You ain't that good of an actor, so don't even try and tell me that you don't have a thing for him."

Cheshire's face was getting all red, which even she couldn't believe, "Oh for god's sake, yes, I have a bit of crush on Naruto, but it's no big deal. I'm in complete control of myself. I can have a little fun with him and still focus on my mission. After the childhood you put me through, I deserve a little bit of normality."

The mercenary had been training her in the ways of the assassin since she'd been born, and she never let him forget it, "Complain all you want, but look at you. You're tough, smart, and a looker to boot. I think I did a pretty good job."

"Yes, teaching me to kill before I could ride a bike, you're father of the year," Cheshire scoffed, "Not to mention pimping me out to seduce a teenage boy. Truly, that's some great parenting. Pft, screw you old man."

That was definitely a little more anger than the usual teenager had, but Lawrence could live with it. He still had a job to do, and it was a job that paid well. For the amount of money he was getting, Cheshire could hate him all she wanted.

* * *

The most dangerous enemy a person can face is one that it knows nothing about. You have no room to plan for an opennet you don't know, forcing you to hope that you're either more powerful or more skilled than he is. An enemy in the shadows is one to truly be feared, which is what made the Akatsuki such a daunting force. They were a group of incredibly powerful shinobi trying to obtain all of the tailed beasts for a reason that was yet to be determined, and only one or two rogue ninjas had actually been confirmed as members. There was only one thing that was really certain about them. This was not a group to be trifled with.

"God, look at this city. So loud and dirty, just utterly disgusting," a young redheaded man commented, as he looked out upon Gotham City from a restaurant rooftop, "I can't believe Pain sent me out here to find some sniveling little brat. He didn't even let me bring my puppets along to work on. They could've just sent Zetsu, but no, he has to go and help maintain our asset in the hidden Mist, and I'm the only other person who knows how to use a translator seal. This Naruto boy had better be close by."

The man on the roof was none other than the notorious shinobi fugitive known as Sasori of the Red Sand. This was a nickname he earned on the battlefield, as he he killed so many people that the sand around him turned completely red with blood. What did he use to kill that many people so easily? As he said mentioned before, the man was a master in the art of battle puppetry. In fact, he was considered by many to be the greatest puppeteers who had ever lived. He had been one of the hidden Sand's most valuable assets, until he went and betrayed them. No one knew exactly what happened or why he left, but he killed a lot of shinobi when he shipped out. Now he was a member of the Akatsuki, searching for tailed beasts and creating the most dangerous puppets known to man. It was a mostly pleasant, except for days like this of course.

Sasori jumped down from the building with a look of aggravation on his young face. Well, it appeared to be the face of a late teenager, but in reality he was middle aged man. Again, no one knew how he'd managed this, but no one wanted to ask either. He walked down the street, wondering why this billionaire Bruce Wayne would ever adopt a child from Great Ninja Nations. For Sasori, it seemed unlikely that this bit of intel would turn out to be true. Naruto must have went into hiding somewhere and this Gotham thing was just a cover story.

"I thought I told you mooks to move dammit, we're on a tight schedule," A new voice said as alarm sound went off near Sasori. He looked over to see that two large men carrying guns running along with one smaller man who was carrying a...puppet? Yes, it was a puppet in gangster clothing, not that Sasori knew what that was. It seemed that the puppet was the one who was controlling the group.

This got Sasori's attention, so he turned on his translator seal to hear what they were saying, "Another person who appreciates the power of puppets. Perhaps this town isn't as bland as I originally thought."

The man holding the puppet was doing his best to keep up with the men, but it was proving difficult for him, "I'm sorry sir, I'm not as fast as Rhino and Mugsy. I'll do my best to keep up, I swear."

"You'd better, after all I work the boss put into this plan," Rhino screamed at him, clearly thinking of the puppet as their leader, "We've got a chance to steal ten grand worth of stuff tonight, and you ain't gonna mess that up!"

That's when the puppet, who was holding a gun of his own for some reason, snapped, "Hey moron, did I ask you to speak? He knows what'll happen if screws up! I can take care of my own handler, thank you very much!"

Both Rhino and Mugsy seemed frightened of the hunk of wood, "Sorry boss, it won't happen again, I swear!"

"Hm, the puppet is in complete control of the situation," Sasori mused as he watched them run, "He's created a puppet that's so real to both himself and his cohorts that they actually believe it's alive. Now that is a true artist. This is a man that I simply must meet."

A police car pulled in front of the criminals, two men jumping out with guns pointed and ready, "All of you, get down on the ground! Do it, now!"

"Fat chance," The puppet fired back, "Looks like we got us some piggy's boy! Some fat slobs going oink oink! Now what do we do with pricks like this, eh?"

Sasori watched all this and began to wonder if the man was going to get himself killed. He couldn't let such a work of art go to waste. The man had accomplished something that Sasori could respect. Whoever he was, this man had managed to make his puppet part of part of himself, just as alive as he was. A artist like that needed to be kept around as far as the puppetmaster was concerned.

He dashed behind the criminals and launched two well placed kunai from his hands, each of which pierced one of the policemen's throat. A crimson mist shot from their necks as they fell to the ground, sputtering from all of the blood they began to spit out. Mugsy looked down at his gun, "Um, boss, did we do that?"

"No you idiot! We don't use knives like dat," The puppet scolded him, then turned around to face Sasori, "Hey buddy! Not that I'm not appreciative of the help or nothing, but what hell you do that for? I don't know you from jack."

Sasori worked over to the policemen's bodies and pulled out his kunai, not wanting to leave behind any evidence. His seal worked both way, so it would translate the words for the criminals as they left his mouth, "I was just passing by and decided to land a hand, that's all. May ask your names? If you'd prefer an alias of some kind, that's fine too."

"You sure got a fancy way of talking hot shot," The puppet remarked, noting the properness with which he spoke, "The name's Scarface, and this wimp holding me here is Arnold Wesker. He's worthless, but I keep around anyways. The guy can't think up a damn thing without me around. I'm the brains of this here operation. Which, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to. Come on Rhino, Mugsy, we got work to be doing."

There was still more Sasori wanted to ask him. He was careful though, as it was such a beautiful allusion they had going that he didn't want to break it, "Mr. Scarface, if I might have a moment of your time, I have few brief questions I'd like to talk to you about."

Rhino was having none of it, "Hey bucko, there's a guy willing to pay big bucks for a bunch of bugs and plants and stuff, and the boss knows how to get it for him! We're gonna be rich, rich, RICH! We've got other places to hit though, so buzz off before you ruin everything!"

"Don't tell him the plan you knucklehead, it's gonna take us a couple of days to get it all" Scarface screamed, angered by his cohorts ignorance, "Hey, whatever your name is, if you could kindly forget about what he just said, that be delightful. I'd hate to have to pump you full of lead after you just helped us out back there."

Sasori had no interest in their crimes. He just wanted to make sure this puppet stayed with it's master, or controlling its master more accurately. They needed some way to make sure that no one could separate them. While he couldn't make them as powerful as him, as Wesker couldn't control a chakra based puppet, Sasori could still make them quite a bit stronger, "Actually, I wanted to talk to about some, er, let's call them weapons, that I could offer Scarface…"

* * *

"Come on, come on, when are they gonna be here?" Naruto asked, bouncing around the kitchen with excitement, "I haven't seen those three in freaking forever!"

Tsunade couldn't help but be mildly amused by the boy's excitement. After a few days rest, Naruto had the next genin team heading over for some training, and this time it was some old friends of his. The Sand Siblings, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, had managed to convince their sensei to let them come to Gotham as one of training teams for Naruto. She knew her cousin was going to love having them around once more, "They should be here about any second now. It took them a little bit to get to the Leaf so they could use those seals Jiraiya set up. That old prev is much more skilled than I used to give him credit for."

Ever since the two of them started dating, Tsunade had grown much more fond of Jiraiya. This was the way things were supposed to be, of course, but not everyone seemed to appreciate just how drastic the change was. It was almost like she went from hating him to adoring him overnight. For a long time, Tsunade had forced herself to dislike Jiraiya because she felt like she had to be faithful to her deceased lover Dan. When she finally managed to move on with her life, it was almost like she'd flipped a switch in regards to her old teammate. Now they were lovers, and that was something she didn't plan to change any time soon.

"Tech, I told you guys that you'd be a couple someday," Naruto told her before there was a ring at the doorbell, "They're here!"

Naruto was at the door in flash, Tsunade watching him with a small chuckle. He flung the door open to find Gaara had arrived with his siblings, along with a man with a face that was half covered by a white sheet. Gaara was very quick with the hellos, "Naruto, it is excellent to see you again my old friend. Tell me, how's life treating you these days?"

That monotone voice was actually something Naruto had grown to miss, "As good as it can be I guess. How about you? Things okay over in the hidden Sand?"

"Yes, things are quite well. I'm very glad that we could come here though, so that I may train with you once more," Gaara said, realized he'd yet to introduce his new teacher, "Oh, and the man that you see behind me is Baki, our new sensei. He's going to be telling you about the relationship and treaties that our two nations have. Apparently someone back at your home has you lined up for a career involving politics."

That had to be the old man making sure was doing stuff that related to him becoming Hokage one day. Hiruzen was still good to Naruto in so many ways, "That's fine by me, as long as I get some free time with you guys. Come in, the whole gang's here and itching to see you."

Temari couldn't wait any longer, so she pushed past her brother enveloped Naruto ino a hug, "Long time no see Whiskers. What's it been? Two and a half months? That way too long for me not to see my favorite fox."

"Hehe, yeah, it's good to see you too Temari," Naruto said, hugging her back and trying not to notice that the 15 year old's breasts had gotten bigger since they'd last seen one another. She was holding on to him very tight, "Kankuro, buddy, can you come peel your sister off me so we can get inside?"

The brown haired boy laughed as Temari took that as her signal to let boy go. All of them walked into the mansion and made their way to the living room, "Seriously Temari, either ask him out or stop teasing him like that. One of these days he'll have a girlfriend or something around when you pull that and you'll get him in some huge trouble."

There really wasn't a better time for Naruto to bring up Cheshire than right after Kankuro said that, "Actually, I just got a girlfriend a little over a month ago. That's one of the things I was gonna tell you guys while you were here."

"Well I'll be damned, Naruto's got himself a girlfriend," Kankuro cheered, glad to see his friend was having no trouble with the ladies, "Is she hot? Does she come to see you a lot? How'd you two hook up in the first place?"

Temari suddenly got a kind of quiet and reserved. She'd never said anything to the boy, but she had a lot of affection for him, and she was pretty sure he did too with the way he always looked at her. It would be hard for the two of them to have any kind of relationship, with Temari living so far away, but that didn't mean she wanted him dating other girls. Even so, she tried to seem happy for him, "You've got a girlfriend...that's great. Really, I'm glad you've got someone who likes you."

That response seemed kind of half hearted to Naruto, and he really wanted to ask Temari why, but wouldn't get the chance right now. His father's voice was calling him urgently in English, "Naruto, we've got a problem! How long before your friends get here?"

"They're already here dad," Naruto called back as the group ran into the living room to find Bruce pacing back and forth, "What's the big deal? Did I do something wrong?"

Bruce shook his head, still pacing, "No, nothing like that. I need their help with something. Tsunade, could you go and get whoever this gentlemen is some tea, this stuff doesn't really concern him."

She nodded and said something to Baki in Japanese. As she was one of the Sannin, he just nodded and did whatever she said. Once they were out of the room, Bruce turned to Kankuro and asked him in his native language, "You're the one who uses puppets, right?"

"Yeah, they're my specialty," Kankuro said proudly, "I'm gonna be one of the best puppet user the Sand's ever had!"

That was exactly the kind of confidence Bruce was looking for, "Well good, because I'm going to need your help. Gaara, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that your siblings already know about our side job."

Yes, Gaara knew the truth about Naruto being the Red Fox and everything with the rest of his family as well. It turned out that Jinchurikis could sense one another much in the same way spiders can, which proved to be a problem about a year ago. The Red Fox had been helping his father track down the recently escaped Two-Face at the time, and the villain had decided to see if his old friend Bruce Wayne would be willing to provide him safe haven while the Batman looked for him. This course of action proved useless, as Bruce Wayne was the one tracking him down in the first place. To add in even more stress to the situation, that was exactly when Gaara and his siblings had been visiting as well. All of this lead to a hostage situation with Two-Face putting a gun to Gaara's head. He was saved before Harvey could do anything to him, but it had still given the boy a chance to be up close and personal with the Red Fox. Gaara sensed it was his friend in a mere instant, but promised not to go off blabbing the information to anyone else...except his brother and sister anyways.

"Of course I told them, there are no secrets between my siblings and I," Gaara responded easily, and it was the truth, "I didn't tell my bastard of a father or my sensei, but I did feel that Temari and Kankuro needed to know."

Bruce wasn't the least bit upset, "That's going to come in handy today. There's a situation involving a villain we fight regularly here, and I think Kankuro may be able to help."

That left Naruto in a pretty confused state, "Um, the only villain we have that uses puppets is the Ventriloquist, and it's really just a hunk of wood with a machine gun slapped on there. That's not exactly what I'd call a battle puppet."

"A week ago, you'd have been right, but take a look at these pictures I got from a robbery yesterday," Barbara said, having just walked into the room with Jason. She handed the pictures to Naruto and waved to the others, "Hey Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, glad to see you could drop by. You all remember Jason, don't you?"

Gaara briefly greeted the boy while Kankuro looked at the pictures over Naruto's shoulder. There was a picture of robbery at the botanical gardens where someone was fighting off the police. It looked like the usual Ventriloquist, but Scarface seemed different. His arms had small cannons coming from the hands, his mouth was dispensing some kind of gas, and there appeared to be plenty of other add ons as well. Kankuro could see what the issue was, "That things been jacked up by some puppet user. It looks like it's been designed to be used by someone who doesn't have chakra. I've studied a lot of the great puppet master to improve my own stuff, so I can get a better look at this thing, I might be able to tell you who made it."

The boy seemed to know exactly what Bruce had wanted, "That was my concern all along. Whoever made this is clearly from the great ninja nations, and I want to know who they are and what in the hell they're doing here. This could put both my family and my city at risk."

"Does this mean that we're bringing these three out into the field with us?" Jason asked, kind of hopeful as he really liked these particular friends of Naruto.

Bruce had planned for this in advance, "There's likely going to be another robbery tonight, and I'll want them there to give me advice about how with this new Scarface. In the meantime, you can all get back to your training. Be ready tonight, because you're coming on patrol with my team and I."

There was an eager glint in Temari's eye after hearing that, "Oh yeah! This is gonna be fun!"

"Glad you guys are all in," Bruce said, heading right for the Batcave, "I'll get some suits ready for you. Time to see if you can fight as well as Naruto says."

* * *

The Ventriloquist watched his men walk around the insect habitats, pathetically attempting to read the species names on the tanks for each bug. Rhino and Mugsy didn't even have a high school education, so reading names like these were just about impossible for them. Scarface, who you wouldn't even be able to tell had any alterations if didn't already know, began to yell at them, "Hey, morons, the buggers are labeled alphabetically! All you have to do is find one that starts with the same letter and go from there. It's not like this is hard shit."

Rhino suddenly fumbled with a habitat he was holding, nearly dropping it, "Sorry boss! Don't worry, we've only got two more to go and then we'll have them all!"

"I've got them," Mugsy suddenly cried, holding up two boxes that each had 25 large cockroaches in them, "The Santa Priscan Terror Roach. These are the last things that we need. We're gonna make so much money tonight!"

Finally, they could all get out of there. The place gave Wesker the shivers, "Good Mr. Scarface, perhaps you'll finally take my advice and leave Gotham for somewhere a little less dangerous."

Getting out of town was the last thing the puppet wanted to do, "I'll leave Gotham when hell freezes over! This is my town, and no one's taking my town from me. Now load those last two in the truck so that we can deliver all this on time."

"Yes sir, bossman," Mugsy said, running outside to get to the truck, "I'll have it ready for you in a second."

The Ventriloquist watched him run out to the vehicle, ready to move the second they were loaded up. He truly was a criminal genius, probably one of the smartest people in Gotham in fact. Yet, Arnold couldn't do a thing about it without Scarface in his hands. Some doctors believed that it was form of multiple personality disorder, and others said that he was faking it entirely just to avoid the death penalty for his crimes, but none of that made sense to the Ventriloquist. All he knew is that Scarface was his master, and there was no way he could disobey him.

The sound of car doors closing was heard outside, so the men walked outside to get going. They walked to front door and heard the sound of someone struggling. It was clear that something had gone wrong, so both men sprinted out the door to figure out what was wrong. Mugsy was laying on the ground, dead, with a bullet to the heart. Standing over him was man with a bandages around his head, holding a gun. He seemed very calm as he turned around to face the Ventriloquist, "I hope that man was expendable, because I don't think he'll be of a whole lot of use to you now. You don't have to worry about loading his body into the truck, I'll take care of that little detail myself."

"Load him in the truck? You can worry about that after I make you pay for what you just did asshole," Scarface cursed at him.

The man reached behind the truck and pulled out a large briefcase, "Ah yes, the matter of your payment. I do believe that all of the money we discussed is right in here. By the way, please refer to me as Hush."

Scarface didn't answer him, instead motioning to Rhino to take the briefcase and check the contents. The thug grabbed it and looked inside, counting every last dollar. Once he knew the money was all there, the puppet responded, "So you're the guy who hired us. Nice to finally meet ya. Not to be rude, but you'd better have a damn good reason for killing one of my guys."

"Your friend here pulled out a gun on me when I tried to get near the truck," Hush said, opening the back of the vehicle and tossing the dead body in, "Not a wise move when facing someone like me. I'm glad you found my payment sufficient. These are supplies needed by an associate of mine, but I've been far too busy to retrieve them myself. Can't say I'm sorry about your friend here though, he brought that on himself."

There was much love lost there as far as Scarface was concerned, "Screw him, he was an idiot. I can get a hundred more like em. This just means I ain't gotta pay as much. Pleasure doing business with ya."

"So, you're the bandaged faced man the Dollmaker was telling me about," a gravelly voice said as multiple pairs of feet landed on the roof of the van. It was Batman, along with the rest of the Bat family and three more people in thin armor, "I will say, Hush has a much better ring to it than the Identity Thief."

Scarface and the Ventriloquist seemed horrified to see Batman, but Hush almost looked excited, "Thank you Dark Knight, I picked the name myself. I'm so glad that we could see one another face to face once again. It'll be such a nice reunion."

"You seem to know me, but I don't know you. We'll have to remedy that," Batman said, then added in Japanese, "Red Fox, you and your friends go and take out the Ventriloquist. The rest of us will deal with this serial killer once and for all."

The four ninjas jumped from the roof and ran towards the villain and his thug, leaving Hush to the others. In an added twist, the man responded right back in the same ancient form of Japanese, "Multilingual, very impressive. A pity it won't protect you from the safety measure I've installed in the car."

A small beep was heard as electricity shot through the frame of the truck, electrocuting everyone on top. They all stumbled a bit and tried to jump off, but Hush stabbed Batman in the stomach on his way down, making a nice slow cut that was very painful. The Dark Knight started to choke on his own blood as Hush pulled the scalpel he'd used out and let the hero fall to the ground. With a dark chuckle, he leaned down next to the Batman and whispered to him, "The electrical shock reduced your reaction time by 23%, giving me the chance to stab in between plates AL1 and AL2 of your armor. If not for my previous attack, you likely would've been able to deflect the move. Don't worry though, it's not in a spot that will do any long term harm. I want you in tip top shape when we finally fight again. It's funny, I think that I know you better than you know yourself. I've studied you so that I could make myself better than you. You'll see what I mean soon enough old friend. Until then, rest easy...Bruce!"

"Who...who are...you?" Batman rasped out, holding his bloody side.

The man did not say anything back. He only walked to his truck while Batgirl and Robin came to assist him, "Batman, are you alright? There's a lot of blood here."

Batman shook his head, "Don't worry...about me...go...go help the others!"

"I'm on it," Robin told him, "Just stay still, you're gonna be fine!"

What Robin didn't know was that the Ventriloquist was going to be defeated before he even got there. Kankuro had brought a seal with him that was designed to disable any battle puppet, weather it was chakra based or not. All he was going to need was some cover for his friends to get it on Scarface, "Well, it's now or never. You three better be watching me, or I swear I will kick your asses when we get home!"

"Shut up and start running already," Temari yelled, while she and the other two supporters stood behind him.

Kankuro began to charge at the Ventriloquist as fast as he could, and Scarface was ready to defend himself, "You coming at me boy? Fine! I'll clean your clock so good you that you won't know which is up!"

Scarface's arms shot up and two small grenade like objects shot out of canons that came from his hands. The Red Fox jumped to the side and took out one of his chakra metal batarangs. Once he had a good amount of wind chakra flowing through it, the hero threw the batarang at the explosives, slicing right through the both of them and making them go off before they were anywhere near Kankuro. "Oh, so you've some buddies you little brat," Scarface growled, "Fine, let's see what you can do about this!"

The puppets mouth opened a mist of poisons gas sprayed out. This on was all on Temari, so she jumped to the other side of Kankuro and took out a large paper fan. She swung it hard and kicked up a massive gust of wind that blew the mist of poison away before it could hit her brother. Scarface was getting angry, "Fine, let's she what you do about this you little bastard!"

From the canon on his arms, the puppet launched over 300 senbon at Kankuro, each covered in a dangerous toxin. Luckily for the boy, Gaara was prepared for an attack like this. He created a wall of sand in front of his brother that stopped the senbon in their tracks, each one falling helplessly to the ground. After that Kankuro was just a few feet from the man, securing his victory pretty well.

"Tch, and you call yourself a puppeteer," Kankuro said, as he reached the Ventriloquist and shoved the seal onto the puppet, making it useless, "I think I'll be taking your little toy. I need to know who'd give someone as stupid as you something as dangerous as this."

That's when he gave Wesker a hard punch to the jaw, knocking him out. Kankuro watched him crumple to the ground and then reached down to grab Scarface. It was at this moment Robin ran up, "Guys, we've gotta get home! Hush escaped and Batman's hurt!"

The Red Fox got wide eyed. What kinda guy were they dealing with? For now it didn't matter. He'd worry about that after he was sure his father was okay.

* * *

"Master Bruce, please tell me that you're joking," Alfred said desperately as he watched Tsunade treat his surrogate son's wound on the livingroom couch, "There's yet another person who knows your identity and this time it's a villain who's out for blood!"

Bruce winced a little as Tsunade started to close his injury, "It looks that way. I know that this is dangerous Alfred,"

The butler didn't let him finish, "Dangerous! This stopped being dangerous a long time ago! This is something far beyond dangerous! Master Bruce, I can not allow you to go on like this. I promised your parents that I would alway make sure you're safe, and I told you when you started all this vigilante nonsense that I was willing to abide it as long as it couldn't be traced back to you. Now god knows how many people know who you really are, including one who wants to kill you! You've got a family, people who care about you! I can't let you do this any longer sir!"

"Don't you think I know all that already?" Bruce asked him, trying to stand up before Tsunade stopped him. He'd have to make this argument sitting down, "I know what I'm putting at risk every time I go out on that street. If we're being honest, someone should've figured out who I am a long time ago, I'm the only one in the city who could possibly pull this off, but do you know why they haven't? It's because they refuse to believe that the Batman could be just a regular man! When the sun comes up after a long night, the criminals breath a little easier, and that's because of me! This city is different because of the Batman, I've given them hope, something to believe in! I can't give that up, not now, not ever. As for my family, I'll see to it they're safe. Nothing's going to harm them as long as I'm around! No matter what happens, no matter who knows, I'm going to save this city!"

Alfred felt that there was more arrogance behind some of those words than bravery, "Believe that if you wish sir, but I can't stand by and watch you put yourself in these situations much longer. One of these days Master Bruce, you may wake up to find me gone. Please sir, remember that."

He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Bruce ponder what he'd said. There was no way Alfred would ever really leave him, was there? The man was like his father, the person who'd help teach him right from wrong. Hopefully this was just a storm that would blow over, but the way the butler had said all those thing...he just wasn't sure.


	19. Reality Pt 1

Well, looks like we're up for yet another exciting chapter of the Red Fox. Now, this last one left off with a pretty serious scene involving Alfred and Bruce, which we will be coming back to later. First, we have to find out who Hush was bringing those roaches to. It wouldn't surprise me if some of you actually figured out who he's bringing it to already, but it will likely still be a surprise for certain others. Now, a quick thank you to you all for getting me to 100 reviews last week. I guess the only thing left to do is try and shoot for 200. Thank you all so much for reading and please be sure and review.

Chapter Soundtrack- Cage The Elephant: Ain't No Rest For the Wicked

* * *

The room was crawling wall to wall with a little over a hundred cockroaches, each one trying to find some kind of way out of their air tight confinement. Scattered about them on shelves were dozens of plants, each with it's scientific name directly underneath. On a small table in the middle of the room, there was a small laboratory designed to work with chemicals, a few beakers, some funnels, a bunsen burner, the works. Only two men stood in the room, each one with a similar goal in mind: to get revenge on those who had destroyed their dreams.

One was a man covered in a thick trench coat, had black clothing underneath, and wore a metal mechanism that held of his left leg in place. His face was covered by a mask, and if you looked underneath you would've found a great many scars it was hiding. This was all that remained of the great psychiatrist and chemical genius that was Jonathan Crane, better known as the Scarecrow. A cockroach crawled by his hand and he quickly grabbed it, holding it above his workstation, "Hello there, little creature. You're quite a unique insect, though I doubt you realize it. You, much in the same way I do, fool you predators into thinking you're small and weak. We know better though, don't we? Both of us use fear to make them pay for their mistake of underestimating us. Our toxin destories all...or at least it did, until he came along! That boy, breaking free from the grip of terror with sheer will alone! Throwing me in my own Asylum to be torn apart by the wolves! There's no way we can allow something like that, now can we? After these long years, his reckoning is almost here. You, my tiny friend, are going to help me destroy his mind."

"Quite the speech Dr. Crane," Hush told him, as he watched Scarecrow crush the bug in his hand and let its venom fall into the beaker below it, "You seem to need awful lot of these things, don't you?"

The Scarecrow took a leaf from one of the plants and dropped it into his new compound, "For the amount of base that I desire to make, I need as many as I can acquire. That reminds me, you've held up well on your ends of the bargain, so I should give you your reward now. I went through quite a lot to get it, even with my old connections, but it was all worth it for what you've given me. It's all yours, over on that desk to your left."

Hush didn't care how difficult getting his reward was, he just wanted it already. He started to walk over to the desk to get the piece of technology that Scarecrow had acquired for him for him. It was device that could burn off and replace a person's fingerprints. How Scarecrow knew where to get such a device, Hush would never know. This was the final piece to his master plan, "Thank you Crane, this is precisely what I've been looking for. I really must ask before I go, what exactly is the Cloudburst?"

That was something the Scarecrow was hoping he'd ask, "It's a weapon capable of destroying Gotham in a matter minutes if they don't comply with my demands, that's all I'll say for now. I really can't decide what I'm rooting for more, them doing as I say, or them forcing me to use it. Fear is about to receive its final vengeance!"

"Another lovely speech Crane," Hush complimented him, "But such a powerful weapon will need protecting. Do you need someone like myself to keep an eye on it for you?"

Scarecrow had that taken care of already, "No, I've hired a very special pair of individuals to guard it. They were actually recommended to me by the same person who gave me your reward. I hope that for your sake you never have to cross their path. It's highly unlikely that you would come out alive."

* * *

After a long night of checking the puppets every last nook and cranny, Kankuro could only come to conclusion involving the new Scarface: This was the work of a master. Whoever altered this puppet managed to work a large number of weapons into a minimal amount of space, more than should've been possible. They were put in perfectly, not a single flaw to be found. There was only one person who could've managed this level of craftsmanship, but Kankuro had a hard time believing it was him.

The boy was sitting at a workbench in the Batcave, looking Scarface over one more time, with Bruce looking over his shoulder. He still had a little pain in his side, but he was strong enough to keep an eye on the boy. Kankuro had clearly figured out something, and Bruce wanted to know what, "Is there something wrong? Looks to me like you know who we're dealing with. So, is this guy dangerous or what?"

"You could say that, yeah," Kankuro responded, then put the puppet down, "The only person who could make a non chakra based puppet this powerful is a missing-nin known as Sasori of the Red Sand. He's the most dangerous puppet master the sand village has ever seen. I've got no idea what he'd be doing around here though, let alone helping out a low life criminal."

Bruce picked up the puppet and sighed, "Gotham seems like it's magnet for psychos these days. If I had to guess, I'd wager this guy being here has something to do with Naruto, but I can't say for sure. Would you be able to write down a quick profile of him for me so that I can know what to expect if he attacks. I know it might be a lot to ask…"

Kankuro cut him off, "Heck yeah I can, I know everything about him. I'll have it for you in five minutes. This is not a guy you wanna go up against unprepared."

"Thank you Kankuro, I'm infinitely grateful for any help I can get," Bruce said, walking over to the side of the cave where he kept his trophies from various criminals over the years. He put the puppet in a glass case in between an older model of the Riddlers cane and strange looking staff with the label, 'War World' underneath it, "There's nothing I hate more than trying to fight someone I don't understand."

After seeing all of the strange gadgets and weapons, Kankuro was wondering, "What is all that stuff? I mean some of it just looks like tools, but some of it is really weird. What in the hell is with the giant coin?"

Bruce chuckled and looked over at the giant penny that he had propped up with the rest of his memorabilia, "It was something that Two-Face tried to crush me with a couple years ago. You should've seen the look on the cops faces when they realized it was gone. Some of the fancier stuff I actually got while working with a team I run from time to time. Well, it's more of a league than a team…"

"Sounds like it's cool. You'll have tell me about it some time," Kankuro said, before his stomach started to growl, "But for now, do you think that you can get Alfred to make me breakfast while I write that stuff up? Not to be rude, but I'm starving."

Having pulled a couple of all nighters himself, Bruce knew this feeling, "Sure, let's get you some food and a cup of coffee. I tried to tell you last night that you didn't have to stay up so long, but you wouldn't listen."

Kankuro didn't regret it for a second, "Are you kidding me? I never could've slept knowing I had that amazing piece of art to examine. The coffee does sound good though."

"You've got it," Bruce said, leading the way back to the kitchen, "You can write it up while you eat. Nice work today kid, I owe you one."

* * *

Naruto and Temari sat eating breakfast in complete silence, neither one entirely certain if they should talk. The boy put a little piece of egg in his mouth and chewed it a little bit, then took a sip of coffee. They were both so attracted to one another, yet they both knew they couldn't do a thing about it. Still, Naruto had to know, "Temari...I hate to ask you this but...if I had made a pass at you the last time you were here,"

"I would've pounced on you like a puma," Temari answered shortly, not wanting to lie, "But, it's probably for the best. We live so far away, it's not like we could've ever made it work. You're busy and I'm busy, that's just the way things are. No reason to dwell on it, right?"

The girl was right, and Naruto knew that. Still, it was always tempting to wonder what could've been. He kept wondering about that when Bruce and Kankuro walked in, both looking very hungry, "Bacon and eggs, now that my kinda breakfast. Alfred, would you please make up a plate for me and Kankuro?"

Alfred picked up a couple of plates and started to scoop food onto them, "Of course Master Bruce, I'd be happy to. About yesterday and those things that I said,"

"I understand Alfred, you said what you felt needed to be said," Bruce told him, knowing where he was going, "I'm thinking about what you told me, I promise."

The butler handed both of them some food and a cup of coffee, "Thank you sir, that's all I ask. Just keep in mind, that I meant everything that I said."

Bruce took the plate and nodded, "I know, you never have been a lair. Now, let's eat."

The two of them set down just as Jason and Shizune came down for breakfast, "I thought I smelled some breakfast. Jason, could you get me a little bit while I have a quick word with your father."

"Sure thing Shizune," Jason said, walking to the kitchen, "You like lots of cream and sugar in your coffee, right?"

Shizune smiled at him, making him smile right back, "Exactly, glad you remember. He's a real sweetie if you just work with him a little. Oh, Bruce, Barbara called and we've got some bad news. Scarecrow broke out of the maximum security wing at the Asylum a few days ago and the guards just discovered it today. It looked like he was having correspondents with someone outside prison walls as well. Crane's definitely got something already planned this time."

"Seriously, Scarecrow managed to bust out again?" Naruto groaned as Jason came back with food for the two of them. They both sat down as the blonde vented his frustration, "That guy get's in and out of Arkham like it's a revolving door. You'd think five years would be enough to figure out how to contain him, but nope. He's still got it out for me too, ever since I beat his fear toxin. Man, did that piss him off. To this day, everytime we fight Crane, he still goes after me more than anyone else."

The villain had fought the Bat family many times over the years, and he was still one of their most dangerous foes. Jason, even though he'd only fought him once, knew exactly what Naruto was talking about, "I remember him. He kept saying that you'd finally get what you deserved. Man, what a tool."

Naruto felt the same way, "Such a tool. He says that it's my fault that his face is all torn up and that he gotten beaten in the Asylum. Hey, it's not like I told him to experiment on his patients and dress up in a freaky mask. If you're gonna torture the whole nuthouse, don't get tossed in it later. Crane just loves to hear himself talk too. 'Oh, I like fear, I'm a Scarecrow, boo!'"

"Haha, that's a perfect impression," Jason said, deciding to try his hand at this himself, "'You think you can beat me? I'm the master of fear! Mwahahahaha!'"

Now that had Naruto laughing as well, "Oh man, that's awesome. Let's see if we can do the Joker next!"

Bruce watched his two sons joke with one another with a big smile on his face. Shizune was right about Jason, he was finally starting to come around. Weather or not he knew it, they boy was really integrating into this family. For the rest of the breakfast, the heroes continued to do their best impressions of various villain and people that they knew. They expected Barbara to be completely thrown off when she walked in, but that was not the case. In fact, the first words out of her mouth were an impression of Harley Quinn. Needless to say, it was a fun morning.

* * *

The next two days went by relatively smoothly, all things considered. Bruce and Alfred were still a touch edgy from their previous argument. There would come a time shortly when the matter who be up for discussion again, but for now they were still speaking with one another. Shizune kept Jason up to date on his lessons, teaching the boy about medical herbs and the human body while also trying to sharpen his manors up a little bit. He appreciated this more than she could ever know, as he felt like Shizune was the reason he was finally starting to feel normal. As per usual, the ninjas did their training, with Naruto learning about politics as well. Baki was teaching him some of it, while Tsunade helped with the rest, as she'd learned a lot from watching her grandfather as the Hokage. Finally, Mei had to stop by today in order to discuss a couple of things with Bruce regarding her appointment to Mizukage, which was in less than a week. Of course the supposed playboy billionaire was still nervous about this Sasori of the Red Sand attacking, but that was because he didn't know the shinobi had already gone home. Once the man had discovered that Naruto was in fact in Gotham, having spied on the Wayne family in order to figure that out, Sasori high tailed it back home to tell his boss. What his boss would do with that information, only time would tell.

Right now, all Bruce could worry about was his girlfriend, who was sitting in front of him on the couch listing off the things she needed him to do, "Now, the official surrender came two days ago, which means the Mizukage ceremony will be in three days, giving people enough time to get used to a new power being in charge. I want you to meet Ao, my personal advisor and old friend, just so that he knows who you are and how serious the relationship is. Then you'll come for the ceremony, which will be long and boring, but that's just how things go. Lastly, you'll go to the party afterwards as my arm candy and have a few drinks. Then, as your reward for being such a good boyfriend all day, I'll take you to the Hokage Mansion and we'll break in my nice new bed. Sound like a plan?"

"Anytime I get to have the roll of arm candy is fine by me," Bruce joked, "And as for breaking in your bed, that shouldn't be problem at all. Do you want me to bring Naruto or no? I don't know if he'll be busy or not."

Mei knew the boy had a lot on his schedule, "If he can make it, great, if he can't, that's fine too. It's mainly you being there that I'm worried about. I need to make sure everyone knows who you are so that they don't start pestering me about arranged marriages or something."

"Is that still a thing over there?" Bruce asked, not a fan of the archaic practice.

It was something that had been on Mei's mind for a while, "Yes, though it's uncommon, it does happen. Luckily I'm a woman, so I won't get forced into the Clan Restoration Act. Don't ask about that one, I'll tell you another day."

Bruce didn't get the chance to ask, as Naruto ran into the living room too quickly for him to say anything, "Dad, turn on the TV, now! Channel 4!"

"Alright, just give me a second," Bruce said, feeling around until he found the remote and got the tv on. It was actually already on channel four.

The Scarecrow's deranged mask filled the screen, an eerie stare piercing through the screen, "Hello Gotham. My apologizing for hacking your typical broadcast, but there a message that I needed to get out to this city's self appointed saviors. Listen closely you helpless heroes, I've got urgent news for you."

How these villains always managed to do this was something that baffled Naruto, "Is it just like, the easiest thing ever to hack into the news stations around here. Seriously, they do this three times a month. Can we just get some kind of precaution going for this or something?"

"People of Gotham, tonight you will have the rare privilege of witnessing the true power of fear," Scarecrow continued, as the camera zoomed out to show a massive and strange mechanism behind him. It had a black base with lots of bells and whistles on it that then lead up to four huge glass cylinders with an orangish yellow liquid inside of them, "What you see behind me is a chemical dispersal unit known as the Cloudburst. This is a weapon that can release a chemical agent faster than any bomb or missile ever could. Not only that, but it nearly doubles the level of toxicity of any chemical inserted. I've filled the Cloudburst with the latest batch of my fear toxin and I can use it in a moments notice. In less than thirty seconds, this entire city could be covered in a toxin that's ten times as potent as anything I've produced before. There is only one thing I demand in exchange for not using this weapon. I want the vigilante known as the Red Fox delivered to me, unarmed and alone, to the old theater on the west end of Chinatown. You have one hour to do this. Refuse, and you will face the consequences. Your choice makes no real difference to me, but you all know which one is for the greater good. Goodbye, people of Gotham."

The screen went black as he finished his sentence, leaving everyone in the room to digest everything the villain had said. Bruce was the first one to state the obvious, "We can't let him use that weapon here in Gotham. There'd be no stopping the riots if that gas got out."

Mei stated the next obvious fact, "We can't hand off Naruto to Scarecrow either. Which leaves us right between a rock and a hard place. What are we supposed to do here?"

"Who says that I really have to go there alone?" Naruto asked, not willing to let the villain win, "It wouldn't be the first time we tricked a guy into thinking that he was safe. You'll sneak around with me, then take him out when his back's turned."

It wasn't that simple this time, and Bruce knew it, "Usually I'd agree with you, but there's one major advantage Crane has over us. He's got the Cloudburst hidden somewhere in Gotham city and we have no idea where it is or what will make him set it off. Once he uses that thing, there won't be any stopping it. We need to know that thing is out of the game before we do anything. He's too dangerous for us to go along with what he says."

Naruto hadn't thought about that, "I guess you're right. Okay, then we've got an hour to track down where the Cloudburst might be. How do we do that?"

"The manufacturing process," a new voice said as an 18 year old man with dark hair walked into the living room, "Scarecrow wouldn't want to drag a ton of toxin to the device or vise versa, so he's likely keeping the two in the same place. You find out where he's making it, you'll find him."

The moment Naruto turned to see who it was, he ran over and hugged him, "Dick, it's awesome to see you! What the heck are you doing here?"

Dick Grayson, previously known as the original Robin before becoming Nightwing, had returned home, "Hey little bro, Bruce invited me. He's taking a trip in a few days and wants me around to keep an eye on Gotham for him. I've got a couple other friends coming too, but for the next couple of days it's just me. I thought I'd come a little early and visit for a while. That's okay, right Bruce?"

"Of course it is," Bruce said, walking over to give the boy a hug of his own, "What you said about the manufacturing was brilliant. I don't know if we can figure it out and shut down the device before the hour's up though."

That was something Naruto had the solution to, "He only said that he'd set it off if I didn't come to see him. I'll distract him until you guys disarm the Cloudburst. We can have Gaara and others shadow me from a distance and step in if things get too risky. It's not perfect, but there's not a whole lot else we can do."

"Master Naruto, you can not really be proposing that you put yourself in such a position," Alfred mused as he walked into the living room, turning to Dick as he did, "Hello Master Grayson, lovely to have you visiting us. Now talk some sense into your brother if you'd be so kind."

Dick had to admit, it was a little insane, "Hate to do it to you buddy, but Alfred may be right this time. I'm sure you've gotten better since I left, but not good enough to do this on your own."

Naruto wasn't backing down, "I won't be alone, my friends will be there. We can have Alfred leading them the whole way, telling them what they see so that he can keep everything under control. I'm sure we can keep everything under wraps until you've got the Cloudburst done for!"

"It's not great, but we're low on options right now," Bruce said, but needed another opinion, "What do you think Alfred? Usually I'd shoot it down, but there's a lot at stake here."

As much as he hated to do it, Alfred was ready to greenlight the idea, "I suppose we can't take chances with someone as crazy as the Scarecrow. Do what you must Master Bruce."

Even with the situation as bad as it was, Dick couldn't help but be excited, "First day in Gotham and I'm already back in the game. Man I missed this city. Let's go get suited up. This is gonna be a blast!"

* * *

"Okay, now everyone knows the plan," The Red Fox said with the sand siblings surrounding him, "I'm going to go into that old theater, follow whatever instructions the Scarecrow gives me, and try to stall for as much time as I can. You guys step in the second things get too intense, but don't make saving me your first priority. Take out the psycho so that he can't set off the Cloudburst, then worry about me. Got it?"

His three friends had only been told half an hour ago about all of this, and now they were standing in front of an elaborately decorated chinese theater which was usually surrounded by people. Scarecrow's threats cleared them out in a jiffy, leaving it a complete ghost town. They'd heard plenty of stories about this Crane guy from the Red Fox, and they didn't like leaving him alone to him. Gaara was not the kind of person who got close to someone easily, so this seemed like a very bad idea, "My friend, as powerful as I know you maybe, you still can't take on a psychopath single handley. There must be a better way."

In Gotham, even the best way was usually bad, and the Red Fox knew this, "If only Garra, if only. I'm gonna go in there, now you guys get your masks on and keep your heads down. You'll get a message as soon as they've got the Cloudburst shut down. Good luck people, we're only getting one shot at this."

"So you know, no pressure," Temari joked, before they watched the Red Fox run off to the theater of doom, "For pete's sake Naruto, don't do anything too stupid."

The Red Fox pushed his way through the double doors of the theater and immediately felt many sets of eyes fall on him. Scarecrow was standing on top of the theater stage and there was 20 people standing on the walls, all of them with guns. Even with the mask on, you could see how happy the villain was, "Ah, Red Fox, so good of you to finally join us. You were cutting it very close on time, only five minutes left before I set of the device. Come here boy, join me up on stage. It's time for our little game to begin. Oh, and I do hope you're unarmed, or my friends here will gun you down like a mad dog and I'll use the Cloudburst to destroy this city."

After grinding his teeth a bit, the Red Fox began to walk to him with every gun in the room trained on him. He climbed the stairs with the Scarecrow watching his every move, a dark glint in his eye. There was something in his hand, but it wasn't a detonator of any kind. It looked like an injector, "What, is that for your own protection? In case you've forgotten, I already beat that stuff once."

"I haven't forgotten Red Fox, it's something that's haunted me for nearly five years now," Scarecrow started, raising up the injector and holding it out to the boy, "But you're not going to do that this time. What I hold in my hand is the same toxin that remains in the Cloudburst. As I stated before, it's ten times as powerful as what you took. You're going to inject this into your body and I'm going to broadcast it across Gotham. There'll be no fighting it this time, the world will see that you're just as susceptible to fear as the rest of them. It's going to be glorious."

His words got to the Red Fox, though he would never admit it. What he went though the first time was bad enough, something ten times worse sounded like death. Still, what choice did he have? They didn't stall nearly long enough yet, and there was so much on the line. He took the injector from Scarecrow with a scowl under his mask, "Oh, I'm sure that's what you think. If that's how you wanna play this, then fine. I'll just beat it and embarrass your ass again."

Scarecrow highly doubted that, "Enough bravado, let's get the camera rolling so we can begin with the broadcast. Unless you want me to set off the Cloudburst that is."

"Calm down you freak, I'll do it," The Red Fox spat as the camera began to focus in on him. A red light had come on, letting him know they were rolling. It was time to see if the hero could pull this off once again. He put the injector shot himself full of the strange liquid, "Round two, here we go."

* * *

The rooftop was full of tension as Nightwing and the new Robin simply stared at one another. Batman had gathered them all on top of building in the middle of the manufacturing district, the one that was the closest to where they believed the Cloudburst to be, and it was the first time the two heroes were meeting. Everyone was terrified that Robin was going to be upset about having Nightwing here because he always felt he was the man's replacement rather than an actual hero.

Nightwing was the first one to make a move, walking over to Robin and holding out his hand to him, "Hey, so you're the new guy. I'm Nightwing, but you can call me Dick when we're not in the field. It's good to meet after hearing so much about you."

"...Yeah, cool to meet you too," Robin replied, shaking the man's hand right back, "My real names Jason. Naruto says that you're tough as hell. Maybe you and me can train sometime."

Batman and Batgirl could hardly believe what they'd just seen. The boy had been polite and kind to Nightwing, which was totally out of character for him. It threw off everyone except for the young man, who seemed pleased, "I'd love to work with you. For now though, we oughta try and find Scarecrow's new weapon. Batman, I think that you said you found a way to find a way to locate the Cloudburst."

It was such shocking turn of events, Batman almost didn't know how to respond, "Um, yes, I did. I won't go too far into the details, but there's two very specific machines that Crane would need to produce the toxin on this scale. Only three factories in Gotham have those machines, and there's only two of them that have light enough security to occupied like they'd need to be. The last thing needed would be a power source, and only one of the two factories has one that's strong enough to run the Cloudburst. Ace Chemicals Plant-B is the only one Scarecrow could possibly be using-"

"Plant-B?" Nightwing interrupted, puzzled, "They got a second one while I was away?"

Batgirl had actually forgotten about that herself, "They needed to expand or something. If that's where the Cloudburst is, then we should get in there now before something makes them set it off."

Everyone was thinking that, but Robin was the one who pointed out the key factor, "As long as we take out everyone in that room before anyone knows we're there. If even one person sees us, they'll set off that Cloudburst and we'll all be screwed. Wait, will setting it off in a building even work? The walls would stop it before it ever got out."

"That's what I was trying to say before Nightwing asked about the other plant," Batman said, getting to his next point, "The Cloudburst will likely be at the center of the plant, as there's a large open area where the two sides of the plant meet. It's outdoors, so they'll be nothing to prevent it from doing it's job of spreading the toxin."

Once all of them heard open area, they all but groaned. Robin smacked his forehead, "An open area, great. So there'll be nothing for us to hide behind and we'll be incredibly easy to see. They'll probably have guys surrounding us from all sides too. Does anyone have the slightest idea how we're going to work around all of this?"

Batman had been in a situation like this before, though it hadn't been quite as extreme, and had a couple ideas that might work, "For now, let's just head to the plant and see exactly what we're dealing with. Once we know what they've got, then we'll worry about a plan. Everyone follow me, we're not too far away. Be ready for whatever insanity Crane may have in store for us."

* * *

It began with the darkness. Naruto once again found himself swirling into the dark abyss of his own mind, falling without a safety net. He hit the ground like a rock, his back slamming into what felt like a hard concrete floor. Yet, there had been a splash, as if he'd fallen into water. This let him know right where he was, "Oh god, not this again."

"**Well, look who's back to fuck things up yet again," **The Kyuubi spat, causing Naruto to spin around and see the giant Fox in front of him, "**How did I get stuck with a kit who's stupid enough to inject himself with an even more powerful version of something that nearly killed him last time?"**

Naruto was not happy about having to see this creature once again. For five freaking years he'd been trying to get the Kyuubi to work with him, but to no avail. Every single suggestion that he made would be shot down by the tailed beast, even if it was one that would benefit the both of them. The only thing he'd been able to figure out was that the Kyuubi's actual name was Kurama, not that calling him that did any good, "Kurama, I'm not going to get into this with you right now. You've made it very clear to me every single time we talk that you'll never willingly let me use your power, but can we make an exception here so that the two of us don't end up dead?"

The fox growled at him through the bars of his cell, "**It's not as though you've given me a whole lot of choice. The toxin doesn't look as though it's taken full effect yet, so we've got a little bit of time to get the jump on this."**

"I bet you fools wish that were true," a voice that strongly resembled Naruto said, "But I'm afraid that you're entire plan is about to go in smoke...quite literally."

Something that felt like a strong wing began to kick up a thick yellowish smoke. Naruto tried to keep the smoke out of his face as the force became more and more intense. The boy was picked up off from his feet and throw to who knows where. After a few moments, he landed in the center of some kind of small tornado. It was made of the same stuff as the smoke, and it was blowing too intensely for Naruto to ever get out, "Well, isn't this lovely. Five years of begging for Kurama's help, and it gets blocked off the one time he'll give it to me."

That was when Dark Naruto jumped from the tornado and landed in front of the boy, "Oh I'm sorry, did you think that the Kyuubi was gonna save your ass this time? Unfortunately, the whole point of this little exercise is to make you face your worst fear. I know exactly what it is too, you know, since I'm the real you and all. You're so scared that without the Kyuubi, you're nothing. It's the only reason your father adopted you, it's saved your ass more times than you can count, and you're nothing but a regular lame little ninja with out. You fear becoming it, but you're worthless without. How ironic."

Naruto stood up with a deep rage in his eyes, "You're wrong jackass, and I'm gonna prove it! I'll kick your ass without Kuruma, because I'm stronger than you will ever know!"

"Believe that if you'd like, but this toxin as me stronger than you can imagine," Dark Naruto said, as his body wave back in forth in a strange manner, "Go ahead, hit me. I'll give you the first one for free."

Considering how much this guy was pissing him off, Naruto was happy to do just that. He swung hard, right for his opponent's head. Naruto's eyes shot wide when his fist went right through him like his body was made of smoke, "Okay, did that really just happen? I'm in my head, so I could've dreamed it up, right?"

Dark Naruto gave a twisted grin as the tornado around them intensified, "I prefer to think of this as a nightmare. A nightmare in which I'm going to rip you to shreds and takeover your mind. This toxin makes my invincible, and an entire army to battle you with! Just look around!"

"An entire army?" Naruto asked as he looked around to see figures coming out of the tornado. They looked like undead versions of the Scarecrow, well more undead than he'd usually look anyways. It was clear they were coming for him, "So I'm literally trying to grab smoke and fight the undead. Okay, this might actually crack to five weirdest fights. Let's see if it cracks my five favorite ass kickings I've ever given too! It's time to get wild boys!"

* * *

When Batman and his team reached Ace Chemicals, they found themselves in state of relative shock. It seemed that there was no one at all guarding the Cloudburst. The massive device was just sitting in plain sight, as though no one was worried about anything happening to it. Only the top of it was visible, as there was a layer of mist covering the bottom half. Batgirl could hardly comprehend it, "This is way too good to be true. Scarecrows one of the smartest villains in Gotham, right up there with the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, and the Joker, but he just leaves the greatest thing he's ever built unguarded. Plus, what's with that mist? Is the Cloudburst putting it off? He must be planning to trap us, right?"

"No doubt," Nightwing agreed, turning on his thermal verizon to survey the area, "But it must not have anything to do with people, because I'm not reading any real heat signatures. There's something weird about that stuff surrounding it though. My goggles are getting a weird reading off from it. I don't like it Batman, I don't think we should go in there."

Batman understood his concerns, but was forced to ignore them, "Remember what's at stake here Nightwing, we're going in. Put on your gas masks and be ready to go into thermal mode if we need to. Take it slow at until we're sure it's safe."

Somehow, the night had actually gotten worse. They were about to go into a trap almost entirely blind, and it was still the closest thing they had to a good plan. All of them jumped from the rooftop they'd been standing on and dove headfirst into the strange mist. It was clear the moment they stood up that it'd be impossible to see through it, so they tried to turn on thermal mode. Robin tried it first, and what he got was nothing close to what he expected, "I can't see! Seriously, the mist is keeping my vizor for seeing a thing! I'm totally blind here!"

"Me too," Batgirl called from his left, "This stuff is making it impossible to know what's going on around us. How are we supposed to disarm the Cloudburst like this?"

A gruff voice cut through it all, but it wasn't Batman's, and it wasn't in English, "So, our employer was correct about us receiving interference. Even better, it's from the city's greatest warrior and his lackeys. Perhaps they'll be able to give us a real fight, eh Haku?"

Another voice was heard from where this mysterious foe was, "I believe they just may Zabuza. Do you wish for me to leave the leader to you?"

"You know me too well partner," Zabuza said back to this Haku person, "Lot's of armor on him though, I'll have to choose my strike carefully if I wanna take him down in one hit."

The more of this he heard, the more worried Batman became. They were speaking Japanese and had created a mist that his usual tech couldn't see through. These guess must of have been ninjas, which was a disturbing fact. A second pair of rogue ninjas had found their way into Gotham in less than a week, and they were working with an even more dangerous villain than the previous one. Who were these guys? How did they find out about this place? Were they working with Sasori somehow? Batman knew the answers to none of these questions, but he needed to find them out. Weather or not he knew it, this Zabuza person was going to fill the Dark Knight in one everything he wanted to know, or pay dearly for keeping silent. It was going to be a long night for Gotham.


	20. Reality Pt 2

Here we are people, my evil cliffhanger will have its resolution. Naruto's really in the belly of the beast and the Bat family is up against two tough as nails ninjas. Not only that, we'll have some new visitors coming over as well. Oh, and haven't mention this before but I feel like should now, Kurama learned how to speak English when Naruto did. My amazingly loyal readers, I really hope that you enjoy this chapter. I've been planning most of this stuff way in advance, and it's been going super well so far. I can't thank you guys enough for how great you've been with this fanfic. All I can say is thank you all so much for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack: Fallout Boy-Irresistible (Non Demi Lovato version)

* * *

"Let's see, maybe I'll start with the spine, that's always a good one," Zabuza started, circling Batman silently in the mist, "Although if I'm fast enough, I might be able to take the head clean off. Just imagine me putting the Batman's head on a stake in the middle Gotham. That would stir up plenty of trouble."

These words, while demented, did nothing to effect the Batman. The Dark Knight wasn't actually listening to them at all, instead focusing on hearing Zabuza's movements. He had a plan to get rid of the blindingly thick mist, but it was going to take at least five minutes for it to kick into action. Until then he need to be on his guard, or this ninja would end his legacy and leave Gotham to buzzards. Zabuza took one foot off from the ground and lunged at Batman, his feet tapping just loud enough for the hero to know he was going for a frontal assault, "A head on attack? This guys got guts, I'll give him that."

He looks up just in time to see a large man right in front of him with a mask over his face, grey pants, no shit, and giant meat cleaver like sword in his hands. Zabuza had already begun to bring the sword down upon Batman, who had to use his arms to keep from getting cut in half. It was incredibly heavy, making the fact that this man could swing it so easily beyond impressive. Batman's next move was to knee him in the stomach, which earned him a soft grunt from his opponent. Sadly, that was all that it got him, as the man was so heavily built that the attack was hardly even felt, "Not bad, but you're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that if you really want me to feel it. Something more along the lines of this!"

Zabuza swung his sword back onto his back and headbutted Batman all in one motion. Even with the protection his mask gave, it was a heavy blow for the hero to take. It disoriented him for a moment, giving his opponent a chance to disappear back into the mist. This foe was every bit as powerful as he'd first feared, maybe even more, "He's strong as an ox and can move almost as silently as I can. This guys just getting warmed up and it already feels like I'm on the ropes. I need to think up a new strategy fast. Robin, give me an update on how you're all doing over there!"

"Um, we've been a whole lot better," The boy called back, as a flurry of sharpened icicles came flying at him. Robin didn't see it, be he definitely heard something, so he jumped as far to the left as he could. One of them nearly nicked him, which is when the boy noticed it, "This guy's using ice on us! It's like he's Mr. Freeze or something."

That was a bullseye of a description, and this ninja seemed to be throwing bullseyes as well. With aim like that, it would only be a matter of time before one of them ended up getting hit. Nightwing needed to find Haku as quickly as he could, "Batgirl, you remember that little trick that we used to snuff criminals who were hiding from us?"

Batgirl needed to think for a moment before she remembered what he was talking about, "Oh, you mean the old shock out! That'll be perfect!"

"On my count," Nightwing said, retrieving his two escrima sticks with electrified tips from his belt, "Robin, I'd recommend you get down. In three...two...one...now!"

He raised the sticks up into the air and turned the electricity on to full power. Batgirl ran up behind him and jumped onto Nightwing's shoulders. She grabbed the sticks and raised them up even higher into the air, firing off a huge shock wave. Robin was clinging tightly to the ground to keep from getting electrocuted, but Haku took the full blunt of the blow. The ninja gave a light scream from the mist as electricity coursed through his body, "Ah, lightning chakra! Interesting, but it'll be no match from for my bloodline!"

Nightwing realized right then that Haku thought they were ninjas as well, "He seems to be under the impression that we're gonna be fighting like him. Time to show him that we don't need chakra to beat his ass into the ground. Everyone, on me!"

"Wait, on him?" Robin repeated, completely confused, "But we still don't know where this guy's at!"

Actually, they knew exactly where Haku was at, as Batgirl explained to him shortly, "That wasn't just electricity he fired, there was something very special about that shock. It comes with a very small dose of non-lethal radiation that works like a tracker. Now, no matter where this guy hides in that mist, we'll be able to find him."

It was pretty genius move as far as Robin was concerned, and he was hoping that his father had done something that would help him keep an eye on Zabuza. The boy wouldn't have been disappointed, as Batman had done just that. When the swordsman had been up close to him, the Dark Knight snuck a sensor onto his blade. It caused the wrists bands of Batman's suit to vibrate as it got closer, meaning that he'd always know just when Zabuza was starting to get near him. What he didn't know was that it wasn't when Zabuza was close to you that you had to worry about, it was when he was farther away that was the problem, "You seem like you're pretty capable with hand to hand combat, but let's see what you do when I turn things up a notch. Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"

"A jutsu?" Batman said and narrowed his eyes, "This might be a good thing. I can get a better idea of what kind of attack I might be facing with him."

The sound of rushing water echoed through the area, and cracking could be heard as if the water was being pulled right from the pipes below them. A serpent like dragon burst through the mist and towards Batman, who tried cover himself with his cape. It kept that water out, but did nothing to stop the jutsu from smashing him into a wall of the Ace Chemical plant. Batman hit the brick wall so hard that the swordsman almost felt it. Zabuza's attack worked even better than he'd hoped, "Look like there's not a whole lot you can do to defend against my water based attacks. Too bad, I was hoping you'd put up more of a fight."

Batman scowled at the insult, forcing himself to get back up. He was hurt, but no worse than he had been before. His wrist bands started to go crazy, meaning that Zabuza was coming right for him. Little did he know, this was going to be a good thing for the Batman, as his saving grace was about to arrive, "You're going to regret saying that in about 3 seconds."

"So you're finally gonna turn up the heat?" Zabuza asked, then heard the sound of a roaring engine, which was bizarre to him, "What in the fuck is-"

That sentence didn't get finished, as something large and metallic crashed into him from behind. Zabuza was thrown skidding across the ground, his skin getting small tears as it hit the unforgiving pavement. He had no idea what hit him, but it packed a punch like a gorilla, "Son of a bitch, that hurt! My employer didn't say anything about you being able to pull crap like that."

What had hit Zabuza was the Batmobile, which had been called in remotely by Batman. The vehicle, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, looked more like tank than a car, with a near impenetrable titanium alloy coat of armor and more weapons than an army base on it. It also had the ability to absorb chemicals from the air like a high powered vacuum, which was precisely what it was going to do with Zabuza's mist. Batman's plan was starting to work, "People have a habit of underestimating me because I'm only human. Your mist is going to be gone in a matter of minutes, and then we'll be on a much more leveled playing field. I'd like to give you the chance to surrender right here and now, because I promise you, this isn't even close what I'm capable of."

"And you think that I've shown everything I've got," Zabuza asked him as he watched his mist begin to clear out, "Allow me to show you why you're the one who needs to run from this fight!"

By this point the mist had cleared enough for Zabuza and Batman to look one another in the eye, and this was actually going to be rather helpful to the swordsman. The two stared each other down with malice in their eyes as a purple smoke began to surround Zabuza. He was using one of his most infamous techniques, known as the Demon Shroud, to try and intimidate his stronger than expected foe. This ability allowed him to mix his killer intent with his chakra, killer intent being the pure desire one feels to kill or harm another person, and then focus the foul sensation onto his opennet. It was a technique that could deliver so much fear onto a man, that some had been known to harm themselves rather than continue with the battle. Zabuza expect to see Batman shaking like a lost puppy, but the hero remained his ever stoic self. The killer intent was nothing to him, "Is that supposed to intimated me? I'm from Gotham, I deal with the worst of the worst on a daily basis. There's nothing you can do that'll frighten me."

"You really must have some giant balls to say something like that," Zabuza said as he pointed his gleaming blade at Batman, "I'll cut them off along with that oversized head of yours!"

The charged at one another once again, almost completely able to see one another without the mist clouding their vision. Just a few yards away, the other heroes were beginning to turn the tides of their battle as well. Things had gotten easier when they'd started tracking the radiation on their opponent, as it better allowed them to better predict Haku's attack, and now it looked like the mist was clearing up as well. Nightwing figured this could finally be the time to go on the offensive, "Looks like Batman's given us a leg up for now. Robin, Batgirl, let's go for a three stage attack, formation C! No way he'll be able to keep up!"

Up until now though, they hadn't even been able to see the boy. Haku had long black hair, pale skin, large, dark-brown eyes, a slender frame, and was a little on the short side from what they could tell. There was a mask on his face with red markings and he wore a green haori with white trimmings. It didn't seem like a combat outfit, but it mostly designed to allow Haku to move quickly and remain flexible. The more easily he could move, the more dangerous he was. Even without the mist, he was just as much of a threat as he was before, "I don't know if you people can understand me, but if you can, listen closely. Without the mist, I will be forced to use my most dangerous attack to defeat the three of you. You will be caught inside of it, you will be receive the full strength of it, and the three of you will more than likely die. Those are not threats, they are facts. Still, knowing all this, I will give you a choice."

"What a freaking blowhard," Robin said as he and the others got into the perfect formation, "Let's show this punk what it's like when we're in the driver seat!"

All three heroes started running at the same time, with Nightwing being the first to reach Haku. He swung hard at his opennet, intent on knocking out a few teeth. Haku caught Nightwing by the wrist and tried to kick him in the shin, but stopped when he saw that Batgirl was now coming for him as well. She slid down by the boy's feet and tried to sweep his legs, but Haku was able to do a small backflip in order to avoid that attack. That lead him right into Robin's trap, as the hero threw his elbow into the boy's lower back. This would've been a dangerous blow to suffer, that is if Haku had actually been the one receiving it. Robin soon discovered it was a clone of Haku, as his body shattered into hundreds of shards of ice. Everyone covered their eyes in order to keep from being blinded by the treacherous particles. It was disheartening to Nightwing that his plan turned out to be worthless, "Dammit, I really thought we had this guy for a second! Does anybody know where he went?"

Batgirl could see where he'd went, but they weren't gonna like it, "Um, guys, you might wanna take a look around. Something seems a little...off."

"What do you mean off?" Robin asked as he removed his arms from over his eyes to find something absolutely mesmerizing, "Wow…"

All around them, dozens of shining mirrors had appeared, both on the ground and in the air above them. They formed something akin to a dome that entrapped the heroes inside. Within each mirror there was a reflection of Haku, or at least they hoped it was a reflection. It both terrified and astonished them. The ninja knew that their attention was in his hands, "This is my ultimate attack, and I gave you all a chance not to be a part of it. I'm sorry, but I must make sure that none of you harm my master. May you all rest in piece."

Those weren't the kind of a words to be taken lightly, and Nightwing knew it. He needed to take charge right this instant, "Everyone, huddle around me! Get yourselves into full defense mode and be ready for virtually anything! This guy's using something big!"

"Oh shit, they've got Haku going all out," Zabuza observed from afar as he dodged another blow from the Dark Knight, "Hate to tell you this, but I think you're gonna need some new partners. I'm not even sure that I could get out of that mirror trick of his."

Batman glanced over at the strange dome Zabuza was referring to and started to worry. If he was going to protect them, then his opennet needed to be dealt with. It was time to see if he could be even more threatening than the Demon of the Hidden Mist, "Zabuza, I will give you one last chance to the hell out of my way. Fighting me is one thing, but you put my men at risk, and will make sure you're in pain for the rest of your natural born life!"

For the first time in what must have been years, Zabuza felt an emotion he thought he'd all but eradicated. Those weren't just threats the hero was throwing around, they were a promise. It was like someone had poured ice water right down the swordsman's back. Batman's words had actually made him feel fear. Not enough fear to make him back down, but enough that he noticed it, "It's not my fault your brats aren't strong enough to take mine. You shouldn't have come here, you shouldn't have tried to play hero, and you shouldn't have dragged others into it. I might not know a lot about you, but I know enough to say you're doing more harm than good. Now, what do you say I put an end to your little stunts?"

"Zabuza Momochi, you stop right where you stand," A female voice called out, one that the missing-nin recognized, "That is an order from your new Mizukage!"

The swordsman turned around to face a woman with auburn hair, a woman from long ago in his past, "Mei Terumi, it's been a long time. I certainly didn't expect to see you here. You've left me in a pretty confused state. If I were you, I'd start explaining things, starting with that Mizukage remark, before I get really angry."

"I'd be happy to, under a couple of conditions," Mei told him, her eyes briefly meeting Batman's after she said that. She'd been watching this whole thing through her boyfriend's vizor and came running the moment she saw that it was Zabuza he was facing, "One, you let these heroes go without causing them any more trouble, and two, you tell them exactly how to disable that device."

Zabuza was willing to do the first part right away, "Haku, leave those guys alone at least until I'm done talking to the lady! I'm gonna need to hear what you have to say before I let them turn that thing off though. I need to know if I still need to worry about a paycheck from my employer."

Her friend weren't going to get hurt for now, so Mei could live with that, "Fine, allow me to explain exactly what you've missed while you were away from home."

* * *

Naruto couldn't remember the last time things had seemed this bad for him. He was trapped inside of his own mind, playing prey to something that he was completely unable to comprehend. His darker half was untouchable, nothing more than smoke that danced around him, taunting him about his every last inadequacy. From his fear of losing control, to his inability to earn the trust of the Leaf villagers, nothing in Naruto's mind was safe. Still, he kept trying to fight his darker self, doing everything he could to suppress it. It was a valiant effort, though useless considering that there was nothing he could actually do.

All around him, matters kept getting worse. The Scarecrow corpses had surrounded Naruto, slowly closing on him at a rate he couldn't keep up with. He tried his hardest to fight them all off, but once he took out one, three more would pop up. There was less and less room for him to fight in as time went on as well. The tornado that had been trapping him inside his own mind was beginning to shrink. Naruto could feel his own doom wrapping around his throat, and he wasn't sure how much more he could take.

The corpses were upon him now, grabbing at every scrap of clothing they could find, trying to drag him down in the abyss. Dark Naruto stood over him, smiling that twisted smile. If Naruto lost, he would take over, ready to reap vengeance on all those he felt wronged him. Everything was falling apart before his eyes, Naruto was watching his worst fears become a reality. He couldn't let this happen, he just couldn't! Something surged inside of him, something raw and primal. There was no way to tell what it was, but it was bubbling up, ready to burst! It was trying to help Naruto fight. All he was red as he let this new power take him, he gave it free reign of his mind. Whatever it was, Naruto knew one thing about it for certain. It had to be better than the darkness...

* * *

"I'm sorry Nightwing, you're gonna have to speak up. I can't quite hear you," Temari yelled into her walkie-talkie as she waited with her siblings in the alley behind the chinese theater, "What did you say about the Cloudburst?"

Nightwing had called her just a few moments ago, but the signal was weak, making it difficult for him to be heard. He had raise his voice in order to get his messages to the girl, "_I said the Cloudburst is no longer operational. It's a long story, but Mei was able to help convince the people who were guarding it to shut it off. Just get yourselves and Naruto back to the house and we'll explain it all there. He's okay, right?"_

To the best of her knowledge he was, "Seems like it. That freaky looking guy in the mask made him put something weird up to his neck and now he's just standing there. I was gonna stop him, but it doesn't seem like he's in any danger. Naruto's just staying there, perfectly still."

"_Sounds like Scarecrow injected him with his fear toxin," _Nightwing deduced with a nervous touch to his voice, "_He's broken out of it before, but I still don't like the sound of that. Get in there now and make sure he's alright. Take out any gunmen you see so that you don't get yourselves killed. Oh, and watch out for Crane. Bastard's a lot tougher than he looks."_

Temari let him finished speaking and then turned back to her brothers, "We've got the okay to go in. There's an awful lot of guys with guns in there though. How do you wanna go about taking them all out."

Both Gaara and Kankuro had plenty of ideas as to how to handle the situation, most of which involved taking out every single enemy at once. However, they never even got close to talking about them. There was some kind of burst of power from the chinese theater, something so strong that it came right through the walls and shattered the windows. Gaara could tell that it was tailed beast chakra, meaning that it was time for action, "Naruto's in trouble! We need to get in there, now!"

"No argument here bro," Kankuro said as he and the others kicked off from the wall and up into the window above, "I'm just hoping we don't find a bloody mess. That was some strong shit!"

They found no blood when they got through the window, only several knocked out Scarecrow goons. Naruto was lying passed out on the ground too, his eyes completely glazed over. He'd clearly used some kind of attack that wiped him out. Temari figured they could scoop him up and take him back home, "Wow, he looks rough. Let's get him somewhere he can recover."

Gaara was more than happy to pick up his old friend when he was down, "I'll take care of it. He still seems to be radiating a little bit of the Kyuubi's chakra. I wonder that could be about."

"Hahahaha," They heard someone cackle off to the side. It was Scarecrow, muttering to himself in English, making it impossible for them to understand, "I did it. The Red Fox, I broke him! He wasn't able to beat it this time! I've won!"

The sand siblings didn't need to comprehend what he was saying to know he was out of his mind. Gaara ignored him and walked over to Naruto, who was still in his Red Fox outfit, and slung him over his shoulder. All of them wanted to get out of here before any of the henchmen woke up or Scarecrow decided to do something crazy. Naruto's body was completely limb, which made them nervous, but he still had a heartbeat. That meant he was still alive if nothing else. There friend was going to be alright, that much they were certain of.

* * *

From the moment that he got Naruto home, Bruce could tell something was wrong. Everyone told him that his son would wake up in a couple of hours and that the Kyuubi's chakra would simply fade away, but Bruce didn't believe them. He'd always been able to sense when something bad was afoot. Bruce had arrived home before his son, he having deactivated the Cloudburst and Mei having been able to talk Zabuza into seeing the hidden Mist council about rejoining them now that Yagura's reign of terror was over, and he could just feel something sinister looming above him. Mei tried to tell him the whole story on Zabuza to calm him down, how he'd left the Mist after Yagura ordered his death for knowing too many of governments dark secrets, but the Bruce wasn't listening. He just kept thinking about Naruto.

By the next day, everyone was just as worried about the boy as his father was. He'd been sleeping for over 30 hours by that point, and the Kyuubi's chakra was still radiating off from him at an alarming rate. Tsunade quickly discovered that the boy was in a comatose state, likely some kind of defense mechanism brought on by Scarecrow's toxin. There was no way for her to snap the boy out of it because she would've had to enter his mind to do so, and Tsunade had no powers that could do anything even similar to that. Yet, as fate would have it, Dick knew someone who could get inside Naruto's head and figure out exactly what needed to be done, and she was already on her way there.

"Dick, I need to hear it from you one last time," Bruce told him as he sat at his kitchen table, nervously tapping his fingers on wood's surface, "Tell me everything you know about this Raven girl. If she's going to be poking around my son's head, I need to know everything about her."

Dick tried not to sigh, as he knew that his mentor was only asking him to repeat it a fifth time because he was so afraid, "Like I said before, she's a member of my team with mystical powers I don't fully understand. From what I've been able to gather, she's either from another planet or another dimension where her abilities are pretty common. Raven's always been reclusive about her past, and I'm certain it's because it was very painful for her. I know that she hasn't shown us even close to what she's capable of, which likely makes her the most powerful member of my team. After working with her for almost a year now, I'd more than trust her with my own life as well as Naruto's."

Those words were closest thing to comfort that Bruce had, "Good, because she's all we've got left. You said that Starfire was coming along with her, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I don't think it'll be too long before they're here," Dick confirmed, then asked a question of his own, "What time did Gaara and his siblings leave?"

Bruce needed to think for a second, "I believe that it was two hours ago. I don't know if I would've called it leaving exactly, it was more like they were dragged out of here. None of them wanted to with Naruto in the state that he was, but their sensei said that it was time to go. They're good friends, and he's lucky to have them."

That was when Alfred walked into the room, "Master Bruce, there's someone here to see you, and before you ask, no, it's not Master Grayson's friends. Oliver Queen has come over from Star City to pay you a visit."

"Green Arrow? What in the heck's got the world's greatest archer coming all the way to Gotham?" Dick asked, as he knew that the hero only left his city when he absolutely had to.

Bruce was going to have to talk to Oliver to find that out, "I'm assuming that he needs to discuss something important with me. Tell him to come on in, I'm sure he'll wanna say hey to Dick."

The butler nodded and walked back to the entry way. A few moments later he came back with a man with medium length blonde hair and a goatee, "Hey, it's the big bad Dark Knight and my favorite sidekicked gone solo. How's it going guys?"

"Hey Oliver, things have been a little bit better," Bruce told him, leaning back into his chair, "Naruto's over extended himself and might have gotten hurt. Dick's got a friend coming over to check him out. I swear, I'm gonna ring Scarecrow's neck if there's any permanent damage. What about you? How are you doing?"

Oliver shrugged and sat down next to them, "I'm good I guess. Just got done with some stuff with the Justice League. Doctor Destiny busted out of prison, so most of the last night was spent getting him back under control. We heard about the whole thing with Naruto. Heck, everybody did. Kinda hard to miss an energy spike that big."

He should've known the chakra burst would attract some attention, "Naruto had some issues, but I have faith he'll be alright. The situation with Scarecrow was a bad one, I'll admit. Is that the reason you came here? Does the league think I should've called them in for this?"

"No, no," Oliver started to say, then stopped himself, "Well yes actually, everyone felt you should've asked for at least a couple of us to come in and help, but that really isn't the point. I came here to tell you that the league wants to bring you in for an emergency meeting a week from today."

Bruce was totally blindsided by this, "Bring me in? In case you've forgotten, I'm not even an full fledged member. I only work part time when you people need me. You don't really have the authority to make me do a damn thing."

This was exactly how Oliver figured this conversation was going to go, "We're not making you, we're asking you. Granted, we're asking firmly, but we're still asking. You know that we wouldn't be doing this unless we felt we really had to. The simple fact of the matter is, there's things that you're not telling us, things about Naruto. He's got more power than you ever lead us to believe. If he can put off an energy wave like the who knows what else he can do. We need you to come in and tell us everything about this kid. Did you really think that someone that strong would just stay under our radar forever?"

"No, I just hoped to avoid this conversation for as long as I could," Bruce said, having known for a long time that this conversation was coming, "Okay, I'll be at the watchtower in one week for your meeting. Are you happy now?"

Seeing as it was exactly what he came here for, Oliver was very happy, "Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it'd be. I figured you'd get all pissy and kick me out. Nice to see that I was wrong. So, now that that's settled, I've got a question for Dick. When are we gonna meet this new girlfriend of yours?"

"Girlfriend? You mean Starfire?" Dick asked, a slightly red tint to his cheeks, "She's only my friend. I mean, yeah, I'm really close with her, but that's it. I'm not saying I haven't considered it, but she's from another planet. The culture on Tamaran makes my head spin. There's things I can't even begin to explain to you guys. Starfire doesn't understand our ways at all, so the idea of taking her out for a date is ridiculous."

Bruce had some advice for his son, "Dick, if there's one piece of advice you take away from me, let it be this: Let the people you care about know how you feel today, because you never know what might happen tomorrow."

It was good advice, but Dick wouldn't have time to acknowledge it. There was another knock at the door which Alfred had to answer, "Ah, that's likely Master Grayson's friends. One moment sir, I'll go and let them in."

"Thank you Alfred," Bruce said, then turned to Oliver, "Did you wanna stay for this or are you needed back in Star City?"

Oliver thought for a moment and then stood up, "I should probably get home and try to get some sleep. You never know what might go wrong, and I need to rested."

That was something Bruce could more than understand, "Fair enough. Thanks for coming, and stop by anytime. I'll be at the watchtower in a week, just like I said. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and take care of my son."

* * *

"It is excellent to at last meet you all, family of Nightwing," Starfire said excitedly, hovering around like a bumblebee in Naruto's room. Bruce, Jason, Dick, Alfred, Tsunade, Shizune, Starfire and Raven were all there, just watching the redhead get so worked up, "He has told us so much about you all! I only wish that my friends Beast Boy and Cyborg could be here to see you as well. Though, I do with that we were visiting on better circumstances."

Bruce was sitting next to Naruto on his bed, nervously watching his son, "So do I. Raven, Dick told me that you've done things like this before. Do you think that you can do it again?"

The girl, who was wearing a purple cloak and had dark raven hair, gave him the only honest answer she could, "I'll do everything that I can for your son, but I'm not going to make a promise I'm not sure I can keep. The fact that there's possibly demonic power involved complicates could complicate things. Still, as I said before, I'll do my best to save him."

"Well, there's not really anything else that I can ask you," Bruce said, moving away from the bed to make room for the girl, "Please, begin whenever you're ready."

Raven walked over to the boy, flinching a little bit when she felt the chakra coming near her. It was a horrible feeling, but she powered through it, placing her hands onto the boy's head. There was a brief flash in her eyes before she entered his mind and everything around her went dark. She had no idea what was trapped in the catacombs of the boy's mind, but she was about to find out.

* * *

It was a strange sense of limbo that Raven found herself in. All she could see inside the boy's mind was endless miles of darkness. There was only one small ray of light that showed throughout the entire place. She had to squint to see it, but was still unable to make out what it was. Raven began to make her way towards it, as it was the only thing she had to go off from for now. After a few minutes of walking towards the light, her footsteps echoing through the emptiness as she did, she tried to make out the shape again. Once she was close enough, it became obvious what she was seeing. Iron bars and two blood red eyes gave it away.

"It's him," Raven muttered to herself, "It's the Kyuubi. How does he still have access if the rest of Naruto's body is shut down though? I'm going to need to investigate this."

She started to walk a little bit faster, Kurama watching her the entire way there. He seemed to be expecting her, "**It's about time someone got here! I was starting to think that they were never going to send anyone to wake this brat up!"**

Raven opened her mouth to speak, but was having trouble finding the words. Her powers made her sensitive to anything even remotely demonic, and the Kyuubi definitely qualified. She had to force herself to say even a few words, "What's going on here?"

"**Oh, isn't that cute? I've got you shaking in your boots, don't I little girl?" **Kurama asked, chuckling to himself, "**Don't be nervous, I can't do anything to you from the confines of my prison. Now, why don't you ask me a question that's a little less vague, hm?"**

The girl felt a little more comfortable after being reminded of the prison. She was at least confident enough to ask a better question, "What's happened to Naruto? How are you here when everything else is gone?"

Those were two reasonable things for Raven to ask the massive Fox, "**You're first question has a simple answer; I syphoned him some of my power to him, which took me forever with all of the fear toxin flowing through his vines, and gave him just enough of it at one time so that it'd shut his body down. My chakra needs to be given in increments, or it will overwhelm the body. This came in pretty handy when that psycho psychiatrist nearly ripped his mind to shreds. As for your second question, it's because I'm a separate entity from the kit. The seal on his body only links us so much, you know?"**

"Not at all," Raven responded, lost as to what Kurama was talking about, "But I think you're basically saying that you shut his body down to keep him safe. Is that right?"

It was a butchered version, but it was close enough for the fox, "**I think that's about as close as you're going to get. Look, I can't switch the boy's head back on from the cage. It was hard enough for me to knock him out for god's sake. You can fix this whole thing though, and don't say you can't, because I can sense your power. Those idiots at least managed to get the toxin out of his system, so you'll get no resistance. It's just as easy as it sounds."**

Raven blinked a couple of times, again trying to take this all in, "I still don't understand though, why'd you save him? Bruce said the toxin couldn't have actually killed him, so why intervene at all?"

"**Because if I didn't, his dark side would've taken over, and he's more hell bent on stealing my power than Naruto is. Besides, as far as containers go, the kit's one of the better ones I've had," **Kurama fired back, tired of this conversation, "**Enough talking already, just wake him up!"**

The girl could hardly believe what she was hearing, "You care about his kid? How is that possible? You're a demon, and demons don't care about anyone."

Kurama rolled his eyes, "**I don't give a shit about that boy! It's just in my best interest keep him as my container for now. I'm done with this conversation, so get the boy's head running right again and get out of here. You're pissing me off!"**

"That's more like what I was expecting," Raven grumbled as she backed away from the cage and looked around the boy's head, "Is it really as easy as just telling the brain to wake up? Well, there's only one way to find out."

Raven brought her arms up to shoulder length and said her three magic words, "_Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"_

* * *

Back in the real world, Naruto shot up like a bullet. His chakra dispersed and he started to hyperventilate. There was a sense of relief he was giving off, "Am I back? Is it over?"

"It's okay Naruto, you're home now," Bruce said, leaning down to hug his son, "You're safe, with us."

Jason was trying not to show it, but he was thrilled that his brother was okay, "Dammit Naruto...don't scare us like that!"

Both Tsunade and Shizune felt the need to check up on him, "Everyone get out of the way, we have to make sure his vitals are where they should be. Shizune, you get his blood pressure while I check his heartbeat."

"Ms. Raven, if I may," Alfred said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, "I'd like to say thank you from the entire family. We can't even begin to repay you for this."

Raven waved off his gratitude, "It was nothing, really. I'll explain to everyone what happened a little while. For now, go and be with Naruto. He's had a rough couple of days."

The butler smiled and nodded, walking over with the rest of the family. Mei would've liked to have been there as well, but she was forced by her council to help plan everything with her inauguration, and she had to get this mess with Zabuza sorted out. She would be happy to discover Naruto was alright though. Though they could all feel that they were still barreling closer towards that mysterious dark cloud ahead of them, they at least felt some comfort today.


	21. Inner Demons

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time once again for another intriguing chapter of the Red Fox. This one is largely going to revolve around setting up the dark storm I've been hinting at so heavily. We're finally going to get an idea of what the Joker's got planned, and we're going to introduce an epic battle that's set to happen in the chapter after this. They'll be a ton of villains in this chapter, and a ton of things happening in general, so pay close attention. **ALSO-**I'm starting back up with school and what not this week, so I'm not certain whether or not I'll be able to keep up with my typical weekly postings. I'll be trying hard and should be able to, but I make no you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Bob Seger: Fire Down Below

* * *

Catwoman had cracked her whip what must have been thousands of times, maybe even millions. Each time she heard it smack against the skin of another human, she felt pretty confident that it must have hurt. Now, as she found herself chained up by her arms with her suit in tatters, she finally got to confirm that. Her whip delivered a level pain he she couldn't have ever imagined.

"Kinda sucks having the shoe on the other foot, doesn't it bitch?" Black Mask asked, as he circled her with the weapon in his hand. He drew his arm back and struck her again, leaving a harsh red mark on her otherwise smooth skin, "How many more times am I going to have to do this before you talk to me?"

The Black Mask was one of the most notorious gangsters in all of Gotham, particullary for how cruel he could be. After setting his mansion ablaze to murder his own parents and inert there money, Roman Sionis had everything he'd needed to start up his own criminal empire and become the Black Mask. He used intimidation and torture to rise up through the ranks of the city, quickly becoming a fearsome foe for Gotham's police force. Almost everyone in the city feared him, with Catwoman being one of the rare exceptions. She was not at all afraid of being held captive in the psychopath's penthouse, "What's the matter Sionis? I'm not saying things you want me to? You gonna beat me, like one of those little whores you pay to be your girlfriend?"

This made the mobster whip her once again, "You really need to shut up, you stupid bitch! My girlfriends do what I say, when I say it, because they know their place! Am I going to have to teach you yours?"

"The only place I belong is standing over you with a gun," Catwoman told him as she noticed the way he was eyeing her, "And if you even thinking about whipping out whatever sad little snake you've got between your legs, I'll shred it like a scratching post!"

Black Mask laughed at her, tossing the whip to the side, "With you, I'd buy that. Let's not forget though, you broke into my home on a very important night. I've asked a whole lot of people to come here, and you ain't one of them. Now, I need to go and tend to my guests, but you'd better ready to purr when get back her kitten."

He straightened the tie of his white three piece suit and then walked to the door. Catwoman looked emotionlessly at Black Mask as he exited the room, which more or less a storage closet, and grinned the moment he left, "Alright, I'm being held up by three different locks, and my chains are made from carbon steel, but, he forgot to bind my feet. Tch, this is gonna be child's play, even without my claws."

Catwoman moved her tongue along her teeth until she felt something small and metallic. She maneuvered it out and got the pin in between her teeth. Once that was ready, Catwoman began to swing back and forth until she gained enough momentum, then kicked up her feet latched onto the chain with them. With the little pin in her mouth, she started to pick each lock, making short work of them. They all fell easily, allowing Catwoman to get free and stretch her legs, "Honestly, he hardly even made this challenging for me. Sexist asshole really doesn't think women can do anything, does he? The fact that he honestly thinks me of all people would actually get caught by his security system if I didn't want to be, I mean really!"

"Hey, did you hear something in there?" One of the mobsters one the outside of the door asked, "I could've sworn that I heard something hit the ground in there. I'm gonna go look."

She heard that and immediately started to cling to the wall behind the door. The thug opened the door and walked into the room, Catwoman closing it the moment he was out of the way. He turned as soon as he heard the sound only to find the feline heroines foot coming right at his face. It smashed into his temple and knocked him unconscious. When he fell to the ground, she noticed her gloves hanging out of his pocket, "So, he left them with you, the guy right outside the door. Seriously, does he think women are capable of anything?"

"Dude, what's going on in there?" The other criminal behind the door asked, "Why'd you close the door?"

He opened the door and was immediately met with Catwoman's fist. She hit him more than hard enough to knock him into the fall behind him, knocking him out cold. Catwoman looked around to see if there was any more guards, which there wasn't, "Only two people? I guess I should be thankful. Now, let's go and find this where this meeting is. Black Mask's got almost every major criminal in Gotham in one place. It's time to find out why."

* * *

"I do not understand, why does your brother speak a different language from the rest of you?" Starfire asked as she watched Naruto converse with his friends who'd just arrived, "You mentioned that he was adopted, but you did say it was from another country."

Dick had intentionally left that part out because it was so complicated, "The place he's from is a place where everybody has powers similar to him. I'll explain that rest of it later, for now I should go say hi to his friends. Barbara, you wanna come with me?"

The redhead, who'd stopped over in order to visit with her old friend, gladly said yes, "Sure thing Dick. It's been way too long since I've seen Ino anyways.

"I wish to say the hellos as well," Starfire said, looking over at Naruto and his little friends, "From who might I learn their language?"

That was a risky question, as Tamaranians learned languages by locking lips with someone who was able to speak it. Dick was currently standing in the living room with her, Raven, and Barbara, so that greatly limited her options. He'd already given Raven a translator, one of the new ones that both told her what others were saying and changed her words to Japanese as well, and was planning on giving Starfire one too, "The only people here who speak it is me and Barb. It'd be a kind of awkward with me, so-"

Starfire didn't let him finish, "Barbara it is then. I hope you do not mind teaching me Miss Gordon."

"I'm not really sure I could teach you entire language in just, mph!" Barbara started to say before Starfire grabbed her and smashed their lips together without warning. Dick and Raven watch with gaping mouths as the two part lips.

No one said anything for a few moments until the Tamaranian said in perfect Japanese, "Thank you for the help Barbara, I do hope that I didn't suprise you too much. I'm going to go say hello to Naruto's friends now."

Raven decided to explain what happened to shocked girl, "I'm gonna guess that he already told you Starfire's an alien, but he might not have mentioned that kissing someone makes her learn how to speak whatever languages they know. She's not the best with social graces yet."

"You don't say?" Barbara asked sarcastically, but did manage a smile, "I guess we should go and make sure that she doesn't do anything crazy with them, huh?"

All of them laughed and began to walk towards the others. Dick whispered into Barbara's ear as she walked past him, "Not gonna lie to you Barb, it was kinda hot. Sorta wish I'd had a camera on me."

Barbara gently elbowed him in the rib, "I just forgave your friend for the surprise makeout session, don't push your luck bird boy."

"Oh my gosh, Dick, is that you?" A girls voice squeaked, "I haven't seen you in forever! Come here!"

The blonde bullet that was Ino Yamanaka nearly tackled Dick to the ground. The young man hugged her back, "Yeah, it's been a while. It's good to see you again. Aren't you gonna say hey to Barbara?"

Ino turned to Barbara and smiled. She'd been coming to Gotham a lot with how close she was to Naruto, so she was close with almost everyone in the family, "Awesome, you're here too! That means I can introduce you guys on my team. They're not as awesome as me, but they're pretty okay. I think that I told you about some of them before."

"Why do you have to be so troublesome Ino?" Asked a young boy with dark blair hair that was spike to the point where it almost looked like a pineapple. He didn't seem interested in being here, "This better be the last group of people you make us meet today."

There was another boy there, this one chubby with brown hair, "Come on Shikamaru, it's not a big deal. They're letting us stay in their house for like a week so this is the least that we can do."

The blonde girl heard the boy, whose name was Choji, say that and it made her start to look around and notice Bruce wasn't there, "Hey, where's your dad? Does he have to work or something?"

"Nah, he left yesterday to spend a couple of days with his girlfriend," Naruto explained, realizing that he'd forgotten to mention it until now, "He'll get to meet your team when he comes home in tomorrow. Do you want me to go and get everybody else so they can meet them too?"

Ino heard Shikamaru groan and rolled her eyes, "If you wouldn't mind, that be great. Asuma or Choji, could one of you get that lazy bum to lighten up a bit?"

As Naruto left to get the others, a middle aged man with brown hair and thick beard, Asuma, decided to take care of it, "Look Shikamaru, get through this introduction and I'll let you go and play shogi for a while, alright?"

"A kid as lazy as you plays a game as complicated as shogi? I never would've guessed," Raven said, catching the boy's attention, "Are you more of an aggressor or a defender? Personally, I see what my opponent's going to do play accordingly."

Shikamaru's entire demeanor changed. He was hoping he'd just found himself a new shogi opennet, "Same here. Sounds like you play pretty regularly. Maybe you and I coill have a match while we're here."

Considering that the only person she got to play with back home was Dick, that sounded great to Raven, "Sure, set a board whenever you'd like and I'd be happy to play with you."

"They're right in here guys," Said Naruto, as he lead Tsunade, Jason, and Shizune into the room, "This is Ino's new team. Ino, whenever you're ready."

The girl gave a little wave to the three new arrivals, all of whom waved ready back. She's only met Jason once, but he'd seem like a pretty decent guy, and of course she was happy to see the two women she idolized growing up once again, "Thanks Naruto. Now, ladies and gentlemen, allow to introduce to you my totally kick butt team! First up, my tough as nails sensei, Asuma Sarutobi! That's right, the son of the Hokage is my freaking sensei!"

Asuma let her finish singing his praises, looking at a little uncomfortable as to how thick she was laying it on, "I don't know why the Hokage being my father means anything, but I have made some accomplishments of my own. I'm one of the Leaf's top jonin and I'm the foremost authority on wind chakra in the village."

"See, like I was saying, a total badass," Ino finished for him, moving on before he could object, "And my chubby buddy here is Choji. He has to have a little weight on him because his clan's techniques require it. Did I say that right Choji?"

The young boy nodded and opened up a bag of chips from his pocket, "Basically, yeah. It's okay though, cause it means I get to eat a ton of awesome food. Plus, we've got some of the hardest hitting attacks in the whole village!"

Ino had to admit, he had some downright devesting attacks under his belt, "He's not wrong, you really don't wanna get in his way if you piss him off. The last member of my team, who's been complaining since we got here, is Shikamaru. He's probably the laziest person on the freaking planet, but he's also a certifiable genius. If he'd only work a little harder, he could be the the Hokage or something one day!"

"The Hokage? That's way too much work," Shikamaru scoffed, finding the idea of him as the leader of an inter village ridiculous, "When would I have time to nap or play Shogi? Nah, I'm good just barely getting by."

The blonde hung her head after hearing that worthless display, "And that's my team. Can we please go and train before my head explodes? I'm starting to worry that Shikamaru's rubbing off on me."

Naruto was eager to get some training done as well, especially since Asuma could teach him some new wind jutsu, "Heck yeah, we'll let Shikamaru and Raven play their board game while the rest work up a nice sweat!"

"Sounds like a plan. This finally gives me a chance to show Jason those moves I've been talking about," Dick said, as it seemed just about everyone in the room was down for training, "I'll go and get everything set up. You guys, follow me. We are going to tear this place up!"

* * *

Social events were something that was in Bruce Wayne's blood. He was from one of Gotham's most important families, so his father had taught him at a young age how to behave at such events and the kind of things you should and shouldn't say. You'd think that being thrown into an entirely different culture would make all the skills he'd learned virtually useless, but that proved to not be the case. As he stood in the heavily decorated courtyard with all of Mei's friends, Bruce remained his ever charming and ever loveable self. Even Mei's advisor Ao, who was by all accounts one of the biggest hardasses ever to set foot in the hidden Mist, found himself unable to deny the man's likeable nature, "I must say Ao, it really is an honor to be present for such a momentous occasion. Mei is the first ever woman to be appointed as a Kage, and you've allowed me and Alfred to come and witness her inauguration. Truly, we can not thank you enough."

Ao, who was an older man with one eye and grey hair, waved off his thanks, "Think nothing of it. I've been anxious to meet Mei's lover ever since she told me about you. From what I've seen of you today, I feel that she could do much worse."

"I'm glad to hear it. She's an amazing woman, and I'm lucky to have her," Bruce said, thinking about what all she'd accomplished so far, "Just since her inauguration this morning, Mei's reinstated Zabuza, convinced Haku to get research for that Ice Release bloodline he has, and has the Leaf talking about an alliance with the hidden Mist. Granted, she had most of that in the works already, but that doesn't make it any less impressive."

That was exactly what Ao was thinking as well, "She's going to usher in a shining new era for the our village, that much I am certain of. Excuse me, I must go and tend to our other guests."

Bruce couldn't help but think about how many times Alfred had said that. Once Ao had walked off, he turned and headed back towards Alfred and Mei, who was wearing her blue and white Mizukage robes for the occasion. The butler was talking about his past at MI6 with her, "Oh yes, I was the best shot in my class at the academy. Didn't matter what kind of weapon, weather it be a sniper rifle, side arm, or automatic, I had fantastic accuracy with all of them."

"Alfred, I love you to death, but I'm gonna need to rescue Mei from all of your old war stories," Bruce said as he put his arm around his girlfriend, "Seriously though, can you give us a moment? There something I need to talk with her about."

There was nothing else Alfred needed to hear, "Of course Master Bruce, I'm parched anyways. I need a stiff drink to buck me up."

Mei gave Bruce a little peck on the cheek as the butler departed from the group, "Hey sweetie, did you come to tell me what a good time you're having? Or did you just want to congratulate me for the 100th time?"

"I would, but I think you've grown a little tired of that," Bruce joked back before getting to his purpose, "I hate to ask you about this right now, but it's been driving me insane and it won't stop until I know. When you questioned Zabuza yesterday, did he say anything about how he ended in Gotham of all places for work?"

The woman knew the answer, but Bruce wasn't going to like it, "He told me that someone introduced Crane to him, and it's someone you know. Bruce, it was Ra's Al Ghul…"

* * *

"Gentlemen, it's so wonderful to see that you're all here," Black Mask declared to everyone who sat at the various tables that filled his dining room, "Just look at everyone we have with us tonight! Two-Face, the Penguin, and Carmine Falcone to represent the five crime families of Gotham, just to name a few. Now, I'm sure you all wondering why I've called you all here, so I'll get right to the chase. I know that all of you know who the Joker is, but what you may not know is that he's been planning something well...something insane as of late."

While he was saying all of this, Catwoman was hanging from the ceiling, concealing herself in shadows. She listened to every single word they were saying, with Two-Face being the first to respond, "It's the Joker, everything that he does is insane! There's a reason that we steer clear of him."

The Penguin added in, "The craziest thing he's done so far is make pick a bunch of damn plant bulbs. What could he do that's any crazier than he's already done?"

"It's not what he's doing do much as it as how he's doing it. His goal to do exactly what he's been trying to do ever since he came to Gotham, break the Batman," Black Mask said, before pouring himself a glass of wine, "Only this time, he's going all out. Look, I've gotten every detail that I can about this thing, and it's big. He's created the ultimate night of torture for Batman, and I think it's going to work. Honestly, there's no one who could go into what that clowns created and come out the other side sane. This is the Joker's masterpiece, and the Batman is going to be finished."

It took everything that Catwoman had to not to gasp. The Joker's masterpiece? For god's sake, this was one of the most monstrous men who'd ever lived. Catwoman shuttered at the very thought of what a man like that could dream up. Falcone had to ask, "How on earth did you manage to get information about the Joker? His men are too afraid of him to give up anything about what he does."

Black Mask had his ways, "I've infiltrated almost every major crime ring in Gotham with at least one of men. I'm sure you've all got moles in my operations as well, so don't get testy. Look, all you need to know is that this is bad, and we need to get ahead of this thing. If Batman does go nuts, he's going to lose the only good thing about him. I know that's he's going to start killing us."

"Woah woah, there is no way in bloody hell we can let that happen," The Penguin yelled, knowing that it was true, "We don't have anything that can stop that crazy bastard as it is!"

Now Two-Face could see why they'd been called here, "We don't have anything that can stop him on our own, but maybe we could manage something if partnered up. Black Mask wants us to work together to kill Batman before he kills us. Are we right, Sionis?"

Black Mask, sipping his wine through the near invisible opening in his mask, responded, "Close enough Dent, close enough. I've got a plan to take out the Bat before Joker makes him go all looney, but we're going to need to pool our resources to do it. By resources, I of course mean our money. Now, I can already hearing you all bitching at having to give up your hard earned blood money on my say so, but I promise you, it's well worth it. We're going to put a price on Batman's head for anyone who can manage to kill the son of a bitch. It needs to be a price that's so fucking huge, it'll attract the best assassins from all around the world, more than that dark prick could ever manage to beat! I've already set aside five million, that's right, five million dollars of my own money to help pay for this endeavor! Who else will throw their share into the pot so that we can have back our city once and for all?"

"Two million!" Two-Face screamed, find himself caught up in the excitement, "We'll gladly pay two million dollars to see that self righteous hero strung up his gills!"

Not to be outdone, Penguin stood up and got into it as well, "I'll give you three million! No way I'm gonna be left out of a chance to kill the Batman!"

Falcone had been on his cellphone for the past few moments, but pulled it away from his ear when Penguin finished, "I can throw in an additional million from each of the five crime families of Gotham. That's a total of five million to bring your total up to fifteen million."

"Bring that total up to 25 million," A new voice said from the corner of the room, "I don't much care for the Batman myself, so giving you 10 million dollars for his head sounds like a bargain to me."

Black Mask didn't need to ask who could pay that much like it was nothing. There was only one man, "Lex Luthor has just brought us all the way up to a cool 25 million. There's not an assassin on earth who wouldn't drool over that kind of money. Thank you Mr. Luthor, for your generous donation!"

Luthor stood up from his table and bowed as the room applauded him. The billionaire owner of Lexcorp was known for being a philanthropist in his daily life, but the higher ups in the criminal underworld knew that he was really one of greatest villains the world had ever seen. He was even the arch nemesis of the Superman himself, "The Batman and the rest of the Justice League have caused me plenty of trouble over the years. I'm glad to help see an end to his pompous legacy. I only ask that you make sure of one thing...make it hurt!"

* * *

The Wayne Manor training room was proving itself to be the most versatile room in the house. Raven, who was going by the name Rachel Roth when talking to the shinobi, played shogi with Shikamaru for what must have been hours. Starfire, who went by the much more difficult to pronounce Koriand'r, helped Ino and Choji spar, more or less acting as a referee, and was enjoying it quite a bit. Barbara gave them tips on their taijutsu, though she called it hand to hand combat, while occasionally speaking with Starfire. Dick and Jason compared moves with one another, with them having a similar attack styles because of the fact that they were trained by the same person. Tsunade and Shizune mostly stayed to the side and practiced there medical ninjutsu. Lastly, Asuma had started to show Naruto how to use his Flying Swallow technique. It was kind of like when Naruto would add wind chakra to his weapons, but this version was more powerful and more complicated. Doing it this way would require Naruto to make his chakra much more dense and concentrate far more than he did with the previous version. While it was challenging, it also more than tripled the cutting the power. No way could Naruto pass up a chance to learn that.

Currently, the group was taking a little break to get some lunch. Naruto had gotten out some lunch meat and bread so that the group could make as many sandwiches as they'd like. Shikamaru wasn't the least bit hungry, so Naruto had set it up for him so that he could play shogi online. As the rest of them chowed down on their lunch, the boy played game after game on the computer, defeating every opponent he came acrossed. In the back of his mind, Naruto really hoped that the Riddler was one of those people and was wondering who was beating his ass so hard. It was unlikely, but that didn't make the idea of it any less funny.

Starfire continued to speak with Barbara while she ate, as the two of them had a common interest, "So Nightwing said that two of you dated for a time when he lived in Gotham. Is that ture?"

"Yeah, we went out for a few years," Barbara replied, reminiscing about their time together, "It almost got pretty serious for a while, but we both knew it wouldn't last because we wanted different things. We were mostly just having fun with each other."

That sent a pretty clear message to Starfire, "I see. Does that mean that you and he had the sex?"

Barbara nearly choked on her food when she asked that. The question was so sudden that the redhead didn't even notice the strange way Starfire had worded it, "I'm...I'm not really sure if I should...Oh, screw it. Yes, we've 'had the sex,' several times actually."

"Was it satisfactory?" Starfire asked, shocking Barbara once again, "I'm sorry if I offend you, but I have a, shall we say, 'special' interest in Nightwing."

It was at this point that Barbara figured out that Starfire was crushing on Dick, pretty hard based on the things she was asking. It made her a little sad to think about her old flame dating someone else, but she wanted Dick to be happy as well, so she gave Starfire an honest answer, "It was great, really great. If you like him, then go for it. He's got a thing for redheads you know?"

The comment made Starfire blush and the two of them continue to talk, mostly just comparing notes about Dick's personality. Speaking of Dick, he was still busy chatting with Raven, who had something very important to tell him about his brother, "I'm telling you, when I was inside Naruto's head talking to that demon, it really seemed like it cared about him. It didn't love him or anything, but I could feel that the Kyuubi was genuinely concerned with Naruto's well being, and not just for his own self preservation."

"I believe you Raven, but it sounds kind of crazy," Dick said, uncertain of what to do with this information, "His whole life, Naruto's been told the Kyuubi's a monster hell bent on destroying anything that he sees as beneath him. Are you sure that he didn't just have a little bit of respect for Naruto or something like that?"

Raven had been doing this long enough to tell the difference, "No, this was more than just respect, trust me. He didn't seem completely malevolent either. The Kyuubi was angry, that's for sure, but I didn't feel an overabundance of bloodlust or anything. I'm starting to think there might be more to this demon than we originally thought."

That was something that Dick was about to agree with before the communicator on his belt started going insane. The only reason that someone would be calling it is because something was wrong, so Dick quickly grabbed and answered it. Before long Raven was forced to try and piece together what was happening with only one side of the conversation, "Hello? Who is this? Wait, what? Selina, how did you even get this frequency? Wait, he gave you a communicator? Woah, slow down! Okay, you were at Black Mask's penthouse, I got that part. What in the hell were all of them doing there? Oh crap, how much money did he manage to get? 25 million! Are you kidding me? Yeah, I get it, I'll give him a heads up. Sure, I'll have him meet up with you too if he's got the time. Keep us updated. Thanks Selina, we owe you one, big time!"

"Hey Dick, what was that about," Naruto asked, having walked over when he heard his brother speaking so urgently, "Is there something wrong?"

Dick need tell Naruto what was going on, but did it in a way that wouldn't let the others know who Bruce really was, "Apparently some villain has announced that there's a 25 million dollar price tag on Batman's head. For those of you from the hidden Leaf, that's roughly 250 million ryo." (Yes, I did the research on that)

All of the ninjas nearly passed out after hearing that sum. Even Shikamaru was pulled away from his game of shogi, "That's a lot of money. I thought Batman was supposed to be a hero, so what did he do to get a bounty for such a large amount of money?"

"Every criminal in Gotham hates him, that's what he did," Jason said, beginning to worry, "Should we call Bruce and tell him about this? You know, because there could be a lot of criminals coming into Gotham and all, so he might want to know."

Dick couldn't think of a better explanation to go off from than that, "Right, that's why we'll call him. You all just relax and keep eating. It shouldn't be too hard to get a hold of Bruce and I'm sure he'll know what to do. Hopefully there's nothing keeping his mind too busy right now."

* * *

Unfortunately, Bruce had something huge on his mind at the moment. Mei had dropped a bomb on him, one that was impossible to ignore. Ra's Al Ghul was helping to bring ninjas into Gotham, and that could only mean bad things for Naruto. There was no way that this didn't go back to the boy, and Bruce knew it. What he didn't know was why Ra's would be doing this, "Please tell me that Zabuza gave you some kind of reason? Why did Ra's go out of his way to bring this guy to Gotham?"

"He didn't say much to Zabuza, but the little he did say gave away a lot about his motives," Mei confirmed, which relieved Bruce, "It seemed like Ra's wanted to test how the Batman did against chakra based attacks. According to Zabuza, he was hoping to draw in some of your Justice friends too so that he could she how it fared against their powers. Luckily, he didn't tell anyone who you are. The strangest thing he did has to be spreading the rumors here in the ninja nations about how Naruto was in Gotham. What could the point of that be?"

Bruce went right into his process, trying to figure it out for himself, "He must want to draw attention to Naruto. The Kyuubi can be an incredibly powerful weapon, so it's only natural that'd he want to claim it for himself. That still raises the question of how Ra's knew about the ninja nations in the first place. Then again, I remember him mentioning all the exotic places he'd been to when I trained with him, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if the ninja nations was one of them. I know Ra's, and while I think that him testing how chakra does against us is part of it, it seems more likely to me that he wants to discover how extract the Kyuubi from Naruto and then use it himself. Why else would he draw attention to Naruto and not me? He wants someone to come to Gotham and try to take the Kyuubi from Naruto so that he'll know how to do it."

That sounded like pretty good logic to Mei, "Hm, that does make a lot of sense. There's very few people who actually know how to seal away and then control a tailed beast, and the people that can do it don't usually tell others how. Wow, you figured that whole thing out insanely fast."

"True, but there's one thing bothering me about it," Bruce said, thinking about his time training with the League of Assassins, "Ra's always goes for the same first move; try to convince his prey to join the league. He'd only do something like this after he'd already tried that. So, why hasn't he tried that with Naruto yet?"

Mei knew where he was going with this, "You're worried that he already has and Naruto doesn't even know it yet, aren't you?"

With how sneaky Ra's could be, that was definitely something Bruce feared, "When Ra's tried to get me to join, he used how much I cared for his daughter Talia against me. He thought that it could be his way of controlling me."

"That's right, you told me about the whole thing with you and Talia," Mei recalled, a little uncomfortable talking about Bruce's ex, "You were in love with her and everything, but you had to call it off when you found out she actually bought her father's crap about the world being too dark to save. She wanted you to take her fathers place and pretty much end the world together. Talk about a crazy bitch…"

Bruce didn't totally believe that, "I don't know, she never seem as dedicated to the cause as Ra's did. Talia wanted to change the world like I did, but she she was willing to kill thousands of innocent people to do it. There was no way I could be with a person like that."

Killing was something Mei wasn't a total stranger to herself, "Bruce, I've told that I've killed people myself, plenty of them. It's not something I'm proud of, but it happened nonetheless. Why has that never been an issue for us?"

"It was an issue, at least a little bit at first," Bruce admitted, referring to when they'd first met, "It's why it took me a year or two to ask you out after we first met. I knew that those you killed were only those that you absolutely had to kill in war, and that your war, no matter how horrible, was one that was necessary. Eventually, I came to the same conclusion with you that I came to with Commissioner Gordon. Both of you have taken lives, but you only did it if there was no other option, and you'd never harm an innocent person because you're both good people at heart. That's why I refuse to kill anyone, even the Joker. Deep down, I'm not truly certain that I am a good enough person. I think that if I crossed that line, there's a real chance I wouldn't be able to stop myself. There's no telling how far I could end up going, so I need those limits."

Mei grabbed him and kissed him hard before he could keep talking like that. After a moment, the two broke for air, "Don't you dare talk about yourself like that. Bruce, you are a damn good person, one of the best I've ever met. You've given an entire city hope, and don't you forget that."

It was moments like this that made Bruce know he needed this woman in his life, "Thank you Mei, hearing you see that means more than you can imagine. You know, one of these days I really am going to have to take you into the field. We'll have to get you a name and a costume, but that shouldn't be a problem."

"A name huh? I'll have to think about that," Mei said, before she heard Bruce's communicator go off, "You going to answer it?"

It was only supposed to go off if the gang back in Gotham absolutely had to call him, so he quickly clicked it on, "Hello? Oh, hey Dick. Is something wrong? Well, it wouldn't be the first time someone put a bounty on my head. Wait, how much? You've gotta be joking with me. Damn, that's gonna draw in every assassin on the face of the planet. No, there's no need for me to rush home right now. It's going to take a couple of days for the assassins to get there, so I'll come home tomorrow to start getting a game plan ready. Yes, I'll meet up with Selina when I get home too. Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye."

Bruce hung up, prompting Mei to ask, "What was that about? Did I hear something about you having a bounty on your head?"

"I'm afraid so, and it's for more than all of the previous bounty's I've had on me combined," Bruce said, then realized that didn't really give his girlfriend enough information, "It's for 25 million dollars, or about 250 million ryo. I'll go home tomorrow like I planned and get it taken care of. Gotta say though, this has me pretty stressed. Seems like I could use something to relax me."

Mei knew exactly what Bruce had on his mind, "Oh, I think that we can sneak away from the party for a couple of hours. Come on, let's go break in my new bed!"

* * *

A little over a day later, right about when Bruce was heading into Gotham, Black Mask was holding a meeting for some of the higher profile assassins who'd come to try and murder the Batman. Guests included some Gotham regulars, like Bane and the Riddler. Others were foreign assassins, like Lady Shiva and the snake themed, poison wielding woman Copperhead. (Went with the female version) A couple of relatives of unknowns had worked their way in, the electric suit wielding Electrocutioner for example. Lastly, there was the truly big names like the master marksman Deadshot and the super soldier tactical genius that was Deathstroke. They were all in the same position right now, waiting for Black Mask to join them in his office. Luckily, they had the Riddler frustratedly tapping away at his laptop to entertain them.

"Oh come on, that is just not possible," The Riddler screamed at his laptop in frustration, "I've never lost a game of shogi in my life before this, and I just lost three in a row to the same person! One more game! That's all I need to put this guy in place one the mental food chain!"

Deathstroke laughed off in the corner, "Oh yes, that's the guy who's going to kill the Batman. Clearly, he's the most well suited out of all us."

With a scowl on his face, the Riddler closed his laptop and waited with the rest of them, "Throw all the insults you like Wilson. It doesn't change the fact that none of neanderthals have half the brainpower that I do. Just you wait and see. Intelligence will be the dark dolts downfall, not brawn."

"Hey, what in the hell do you think you're-" Black Mask could be heard yelling from the other side of the door before something sent him flying through it. He broke right through the wood and crashed into his desk, "Oh, son of a bitch that hurt…"

A large man walked through the door. he had two large green eyes, a mask over his face, and was wearing all black. There was seal on his mask, designed to translate words spoken from Japanese to English and words heard from English to Japanese. He had an air of control about him, as if he was unafraid of anyone in the room. That was bold thing to feel, considering who all was around him, "Sorry I'm late, I only just got wind about this bounty. The name's Kakuzu, and if any of you other assassins have a brain in your head, you'll exit this room right now before you're carried out in a body bag. Do I make myself clear?"

The Electrocutioner didn't know who this Kakuzu guy was, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be treated like this. He grabbed the man's shoulder and tried to course electricity throughout his body, "Hey jackass, you're not taking my 25 mil from me! Get fried!"

"I'm sorry, are you trying to hurt me with those little sparks son," Kakuzu said, as the electricity did nothing to him, "Try something more like this!"

Kakuzu grabbed the villains arms and coursed quadruple the electricity through him. No one in the room knew how he did it, but they watched the Electrocutioner scream in pain and then fall to the floor, dead as a doornail. Lady Shiva wasn't going to stand for something like that, "Sir, my master did not inform you of this bounty so that you could come here and-"

Like Black Mask, she didn't get the chance to finish. Thick metal wires that looked similar to flesh in a way shot from Kakuzu's hand and wrapped around Shiva's neck. He pulled the woman towards him and wrapped his hands around her neck. One twist of his hands was all he needed to snap her neck, killing her as well. Shiva was no lightweight, so it was a rather impressive display, "You aren't supposed to say anything about your master little girl. I guess now your big mouth won't be a problem for him. Anybody else wanna try something, or do you all get the picture?"

"Look who thinks he's a bad little motherfucker," Copperhead said, her poison at the ready, "I'm gonna melt your insides pandejo!"

She lunged at Kakuzu, who fired more wire from his hands. This time that didn't wrap around their prey, but rather they shot right through Copperhead, filling her full of holes. Blood poured from her mouth as Kakuzu slowly pulled the wires from her body and let her fall to the floor. He'd claimed his third victim tonight, "I'll say this one last time! Everyone, get out before end up like these fools! Stay away from Batman as well! He's mine!"

None of them needed to be told twice. Even Deathstroke could tell this was a person you did not want to screw with. They all exited the room, leaving Kakuzu alone with Black Mask. The mobster was less than happy with his current situation, "Look, buddy, if you want to be the one to kill the Bat, be my guest! You seem more than capable enough to do it. I'll keep everyone out of your way, and you'll get the money as soon as he's dead! I swear!"

"Glad to see that you're being cooperative," Kakuzu said with sinister joy in his voice, "He'll be dead by the end of the day tomorrow, and I'll be here to collect my money. Oh, and by the way, you've got some kind of vermin problem."

Black Masked gave him a confused look before Kakuzu sent his wires up to the ceiling and latched onto something. He pulled it down to the ground, revealing that it was none other than Catwoman, who'd been eavesdropping on the entire affair. He didn't even say anything about her, just walked out of the room and left Black Mask to deal with the dazed feline. Sionis stood up, already upset because this Kakuzu person had trashed his office, and took a gun from his coat, "Kitty cat, you really picked the wrong time to piss me off…"


	22. Plans and Performances

Hello my fantastic readers, another chapter of the Red Fox is officially here. I'm sure that you're all want to see how things are going to play out with Kakuzu and how Catwoman's going to get out of the mess she's in. This is going to be a very fun one to write, as I get to write one hell of a fight! I know it won't actually compare, but with Batman vs Kakuzu, it almost feels like I get to write my own version of Batman vs Superman from the classic comic 'The Dark Knight Returns.' Aw man, this is going to be fun! Thank you for reading and please review, especially telling me what you think of the fight!

Chapter Soundtrack-Ennio Morricone: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (Main Theme)

* * *

Black Mask was not a pleasant person by any stretch of the the imagination. Even on the best of days, he still seemed mildly irritated and ready to rip someone's head off at any moment. Right now, he was angrier than he'd ever been, and only had Catwoman to vent it out on. She was in a very risky situation, with Sinois standing over her with a gun pointed in between her eyes. Things were not looking good, "You know something? I'm actually really glad that you're here. That guy just came in here and took over my office like I was hardly even here. Made me feel real small. Now I've got you here, and I'm going to use to make me feel plenty big. So, here's how we're going to start this thing is going go."

He didn't get so much as another word out. For what must have been the tenth time today, he ended up being cut off, this time by Catwoman's whip. In his rush to get back to being the one in power, he's forgotten to check and see if he had any weapons on her. The gun went flying from his hand, then Catwoman kicked his feet out from under him. Once he was on the ground, she climbed on top of him with her claws bared, "Aw, what happened big man? Did you underestimate the little kitty cat? Yeah, that's what you get for being a giant asshole! I think that it's time you and had a little talk. You seem to know what the Joker's got planned for Batman, and I wanna know exactly what it is. So, start talking!"

"Fuck you, you little c-AHHHHH," Black Mask said, before Catwoman started digging her claws into his shoulder, "Oh god, please stop!"

Catwoman took out her claws, which were now dripping with blood, and mockingly purred at him, "Sorry, you sounded like you were about to say something very stupid. I'm going to wager that the large fellow who knocked me off that ceiling also killed your guards, which is why they didn't coming running when you screamed. That means I've got you all to myself. Now, unless you want me to rip your throat right out, you're going to answer my question. How does the Joker plan to break Batman?"

"How in the hell do you even know about that?" The mobster asked, before deciding it was a stupid question, "I guess that don't really matter at this point. Look, all my guy told me is Joker's got something big planned at the Asylum. Seriously, I don't know what it is, I don't know when it's gonna go down, I just know that it's all for the Bat. That's all I know, so let me go already!"

After thinking for a moment, Catwoman decided she wasn't quite satisfied, "I will, after you do one more thing for me. Cancel the hit on Batman!"

Black Mask found the request hilarious, even in his current situation, "Look sweetheart, I couldn't save your little lover boy even if I wanted to. The money I promised Kakuzu has already been wired to an account that's linked to some random casino in Gotham. Even I don't know which one it Batman's dead, some guy, I don't ask who, gives the killer a poker chip with the casino's name on it. When they bring that chip in, they get the 25 million. The reason I don't ask who is so that people torture the answer out of me, like you're trying to do."

"Smart move," Catwoman admitted, giving Black Mask one more hard punch to the jaw before standing up, "That was for whipping me earlier. You try and do something like that to me again, and I'll show you what real torture feels like. I'm gonna leave now, and you'd better hope you don't see me again. Keep on being a dick Sionis, it suits you."

* * *

Being home again gave Batman both a strange sense of relief and fear. Any time he was away from Gotham he was terrified that was when there'd be a massive attack on his city that he could do nothing about. With how unpredictable the villains were in Gotham, that was an honest possibility. Still, he always left in city in the best hands that he could possibly find. Weather it be someone he trained or a friend of his from the league, there was always someone to keep everything safe. He was home now though, and he was ready to do whatever needed to be done to protect Gotham. Funny thing was though, Gotham wasn't what needed protecting this time.

He was standing on top of the Ace Chemicals building, building A that was, with the Red Fox, Nightwing, and Robin by his side. Standing across from him was Catwoman, ready to fill him in on everything that happened. There was a bearded man standing there that Batman had brought along as well, but she was more or less ignoring him so that she could speak with the hero, "It's about time you talked to me. We should have met up yesterday, but I guess you had something more important to do."

"I was preoccupied," Batman replied coolly, trying not to smile when he thought about his time with Mei, "It didn't matter anyways. You couldn't have told me anything of value then. Now, you actually can."

Catwoman desperately wanted to argue with that, but didn't have any ground to stand on, "You know, sometimes I find you're whole brooding vigilante thing sexy, but today it's just pissing me off. How about we just skip to the part where I tell you about how one of the assassins was so much stronger than the others that he managed to kill three of them like it was nothing?"

She'd mentioned something about that during call just an hour ago, which Batman remembered, "I recall you saying something about wires coming from his hands and that he conducted electricity from thin air. Do you remember what he said his name was?"

"He said that it was Kakuzu. I have no idea if that's an alias or an actual name," Catwoman answered, a little frightened at the memory of it, "I've never seen anyone kill someone so efficiently. It wasn't like the Joker, where he seemed to get some sick joy out of it. All he wanted was to kill them as quickly as he could. This guy's an assassin through and through. Batman, I don't know if can handle this one."

Batman didn't respond to her, instead turning to Asuma and asking in Japanese, "Does the name Kakuzu mean anything to you? I asked Tsunade to bring you here because I thought this guy could be a shinobi. His powers aren't like anything we've got around here."

It looked like Asuma had heard the name before, but didn't seem certain about anything. He took out a small book and began to flip through it, all the way to the back of the book. Catwoman gave Batman an irritated look, "Why did you bring some guy here who doesn't even speak English? We're wasting time! We need to prepare you for whatever this assassin plans on throwing at you!"

"Found him," Asuma interrupted, handing the book to Batman, "Kakuzu, a missing-nin from the hidden Waterfall village. He's an assassin by trade, tried to take on the First Hokage at one point, but got his ass handed to him. From what we know, he went somewhat crazy after he failed against the First and killed a bunch of his comrades. Even worse, he stole the village's most power technique, the Jiongu. It let's him steal up to give other ninjas hearts so that he can live almost forever and gives him whatever nature affinity that heart has. Those wires she described are part of it, it's how he connects the hearts. I'll bet it's just as sick as it sounds. You have to kill all five hearts to take him out. I know you don't do that sort of thing, but I was just letting you know."

Batman gave him a brief thank you, then showed the picture to Catwoman, "My friend here is someone I thought might be able to identify our mysterious foe. Is this the man you saw at Black Mask's place?"

Feeling a little bit silly for yelling at him, she snatched the picture away in a huff. Turns out the Dark Knight was right, "Yeah, that's him. I can tell, because you look happy compared to him. So, he's like a ninja from some other country? Plus, he's got all those crazy powers I saw when he killed those other assassins. Tell me that you're going to call in the league on this one?"

"Normally I would, but there's a small problem. Kakuzu called me out about half an hour ago," Batman said, causing all of his partners to look at him in shock. This was definitely new information to them, "He's got 10 hostages on the Elliot Memorial Hospital roof. If I don't show up in an hour and a half, he kills them. Same goes for if I call someone else in to help me. We all know that's a risk that I can't take."

The Red Fox found himself rather upset with his father, "Why are we only finding out about this now if you've known for half an hour?"

"Because all it would've done is make you worry before I had any facts to go off from," Batman replied, knowing that it was a lame excuse, "There's no need to worry though. It's not the first time I've had impossible odds to go up against. That page tells me everything that I need to know to beat Kakuzu. We'll get back to the Batcave and get the a bulletproof made up. I've already thought of how to capture him, but it's going to take the help of an old friend of ours. Let's just hope he's ready to cooperate."

* * *

Arkham Asylum was a serious house on a serious earth. If you were thrown into its walls, it meant that society had essentially given up on you. The most you'd get is a psychologist visit once a week and some food to make sure you stayed alive. Those visits weren't for the good of the patients either. They were to study the more interesting and twisted minds. Cruel as that may have sounded, there was a good reason for it. Being placed into Arkham Asylum was something that would only happen if you'd done something so heinous that the world never wanted to see you again. Most of these criminals would be put on death row if they could, but they weren't mentally stable enough to stand trial.

All of this is what made it the perfect home for the Joker. It was where he'd spent most of his life, even having the same cell almost every time he returned. There were still blood stains on it from where he'd killed a couple of guards during the last riot. The clown prince of crime found himself hold up in the cell once again, still grinning ear to ear. Even when he was by himself, he never felt alone. After all, there were plenty of voices in his head he could chat with, "Oh, Batman's going to be coming soon! We'll have so much fun! I've got the guest list made up! The party favors are rounded up! All I need to do now is is to get myself all gussied up for my favorite person in the whole wide world!"

"Gussied up? That's not the typical way I hear a person describe the type of things I do," An intelligent voice said, which Joker knew to be master surgeon Hush standing just outside his cell, "Though I suppose it's true in a sense. I must say, this place's security is a little lacks. The only way getting in here could've been an easier is if they'd just let me walk in."

The Joker had broken out enough times to have proven that, "Hehe, buddy, you don't know the half of it. Do you have everything you need to finish your end of the deal?"

The surgeon held up a bundle filled with his tools, "You gave me what I want, now I'll give you what you want. It's one hell of a request though. I'd ask why you're doing it, but I think it'd too much chaos for my brain to handle. Now, let's get this done with so that I get to my own surgery. There's likely going to be a little bit of blood that gets on your bed. Is that going to be alright?"

"Alright? It's going to be a pleasure," Joker said with the most sinister grin Hush had ever seen, "Let's get this wonderful, bloody little show on the road!"

* * *

Little did they know, on the other side of the asylum in the Special Containment cells, the Dark Knight was trying to withstand the frigid air of Mr. Freeze confides. Freeze wasn't allowed to wear his suit while in Arkham, as it'd make him too dangerous, so his cell had to be chilled to near sub zero temperatures. It wasn't a pleasant place for Batman to be, but he was without another option. This was the only place that Mr. Freeze would be able to hear the hero's plan, "And that would be when you step in. It sounds far fetched, I'm aware, but it's no where close to the craziest thing I've ever done. So, what do you think? Are you in?"

Mr. Freeze showed no emotion, returning only a blank stare to the Dark Knight, "Why on earth would I help you stop an assassin? You've stood in my way of me finding a cure for my Nora ever since the day I became this cold hearted monster. I should let you die so that I can finish my work."

"You can't possibly be that naive Victor," Batman responded, honestly a little insulted, "If it wasn't for me, Nora would've been dead a long time ago. Who do you think went to bat for you when the lawyers tried to unplug her? Who do you think convinced Harvey Dent to get you declared mentally unstable so that they wouldn't put you on death row? Who do you think designed this special cell so that your blood wouldn't boil in normal one? Did you think that all happened magically?"

At first Victor didn't say anything, instead glaring at the Batman. He seemed to need to think the entire thing through. These were things he'd forgotten to think about because of how much he was focused on his wife, "How do I know those are actions you've really taken? For all I know, you could simply be twisting around the facts."

Batman returned the glare right back to him, "You're a smart man Victor. You know how the world works, better than most. Is there anyone else who would've done that for you?"

"No, I suppose not," Mr. Freeze admitted, then got to his ultimatum, "Fine, I'll do this for you. However, after this we're even. Do you understand me?"

This was all that Batman needed, "Agreed. I'll have to put a device in your suit that'll disable it on command so that you can't run away. I'm assuming that won't be an issue."

Mr. Freeze knew there'd be some kind of string attached, "Of course, I'm a homicidal mad scientist who can't be allowed to roam with the public. Now, go and fetch me my suit if you'd be so kind. There's a mad man waiting for you."

There was only one thing Batman could say to that, "Isn't there always?"

* * *

"Master Bruce, have you gone absolutely mad?" Alfred screamed as he watched the closest thing he'd ever had to son put on his suit in the Batcave, "You know what this man is capable of! He's got more powers than you can ever dream of! For the love of god, call Superman! Call Wonder Woman! Call anyone!"

Naruto was usually the brave one in situations like this, but even he had hard time dealing with the idea of his father doing this, "Dad, Kakuzu's not like one of our villains. He's got powers that you can't compare to. Would it really be the worst thing if you let someone else handle this?"

As far as Bruce was concerned, that would be the worst thing, "Ten people have their lives on the line. I'm going to risk their lives because I'm afraid."

"There's always someone's life on the line with you, but what about your life? Does it mean nothing to you?" Alfred asked, terrified for the man, "Hold on, if you're so concerned about him killing the hostages, then why are having Naruto and myself help? You said that you won't call in the league because he might kill the hostages."

Bruce had seen that question coming, "When Shikamaru, Asuma, and I made the plan, we took precautions to make sure that he wouldn't be able to know either of you are helping me. He'll think that attacks that you're sending are actually from me. Which reminds me, Alfred, do you have your sniper rifle sighted in and clean?"

The man sighed, walking over and picking up his gun from his days back in the service, "Of course Master Bruce, I always keep it in tip top shape. I've got the special ammunition you've given me as well."

"I'll go and get those suited up and get some extra of those special batarangs. Oh, and by the way, Dick's really pissed off at you for doing this. He said that he's going home because he can't watch you try to kill yourself," Naruto told him, starting to walk away, "Jason and Barbara aren't happy about you leaving them here either."

It wouldn't be the first time someone was upset with Bruce, "They'll get over it. If I didn't think that I could handle this, I wouldn't be letting you out into the field with me. I'm a hero to this city, so I can't turn back now."

He turned to find Alfred looking at him, near on the verge of tears, "These aren't the actions of a hero sir. They're the actions of a young man with a trust fund and too much anger. I'll help you stop this man, but I'm not sure I can keep watching you do this. If things get too bad, I implore you, turn back!"

"I'm not a complete fool Alfred, I know when I'm out matched," Bruce assured him, putting on his cowl, "Now, get in the Batwing. We're going to run out of time if we don't get to hospital soon. Let's show Kakuzu that he's not nearly as powerful as he believes."

* * *

Ten people found themselves bound and gagged atop the Elliot memorial hospital, watching their mysterious captor pace around them. He gave them what was his idea of comforting words as he walked, "I'm sure that you all think of me as cruel and heartless for kidnapping you, and I want you to know that I am sorry about the inconvenience I've caused you by doing this. However, you will not be harmed, I can assure you. You see, the Batman will be here soon enough, and then I'll have no more use for you. You'll be free to go one I've finished my work. That is, unless I find out that this hero has called in help. Then I'll detonate those charges I've taped to your bodies. Still, I hope that it won't come to that."

Kakuzu stopped talking when the sound of something began to cut through the air. He looked up to see what looked like a large black bullet coming right for him. It landed a few feet from Kakuzu, allowing the assassin to see that it had a human shape. There was no question as to who it was, "Batman, so you've come to meet your timely end. You're a fool for coming here, but I do admire you for being able to build up such a high bounty. Because I'm going to be getting such a large payday from you, I won't just make you stand there and let me kill you. No, I'm going to give you a chance to fight. Think that you can handle that?"

"What I think is that you're going to very surprised Kakuzu," Batman said as he opened his cloak to show the special suit he was wearing just for the occasion. He had on a thin layer of mechanical armor that increased his strength and reduced the damage he took. On his hands he wore two electrified gauntlets that were far stronger than the ones the Electrocutioner had worn. There were a few other surprises Batman had planned as well. It was quite an impressive piece of equipment really, "You've already underestimated me, and that was mistake number one. You'll make several more before the night's over. Each one will bring me another step closer to taking you down."

The confidence with which he said that made Kakuzu laugh, "You know, I should find it insulting that you actually think you can beat me, but it's really kind of funny. I'll go easy on you to start with, nothing but hand to hand combat. Let's go pretty boy!"

An instant later, Batman was right in front of the assassin with his fist pulled back. Kakuzu smiled under his mask and blocked the hit, the two quickly beginning to exchange blows. It was hard to even see their fists as the two exchanged blows. This came to stop when when Batman ducked under Kakuzu's latest attack and grabbed his arm, throwing the man over his shoulder. Tendril like metal slithered from the assassin's hand and around the hero's arm. He pulled himself to the Batman slammed him into the ground by his neck. It seemed like a rather poor start to this battle, "Is this the most I can expect from the great savior of Gotham city? These people made you sound like god for crying out loud. Oh well. I guess that suit was all just for show."

"I'm afraid not," Batman choked out, as the eye holes of his vizor changed to strange orange color, "Mistake number two: Thinking I'm down when I haven't even gotten started!"

A sharp pain shot through Kakuzu's body as he felt something go right through him. It was the Dark Knight's gauntlet, which was turned up to its full electrified blast. That, along with his enhanced strength it gave Batman, allowed him to punch right through Kakuzu's chest and grabbed the man's earth heart. The assassin was at a complete loss for words, "But...but you don't kill people. Your profile explicitly said that!"

Batman smirked at him and crushed the heart in his hand. It was an unsavory thing to have to do, but Kakuzu couldn't be allowed to use it again, "That's true, I don't kill people. We both know ripping out your earth heart wouldn't kill you though, don't we? The visor's a new tool of mine, let's me differentiate which kinds of chakra I'm looking at. I knew that I'd need it in order to tell which heart to strike first. Earth is weak to lightning based attacks, correct?"

"How do you know that?" Kakuzu asked as he mustered up enough strength to throw the man to the other side of the roof. His body quickly began to sow itself back together, "Where did you learn how to make a visor like that? Who in the hell told you about my five hearts?"

It was clear that Batman had caught the ninja off guard, even more so than he thought he would. Once back on his feet, Batman responded, "I'm the kind of person who does his research, let's just leave it at that. Still think that it's a good idea to take me on one on one?"

Kakuzu was starting to wonder if this fight was going to be even more fun that he originally thought, "Well would you look at that. This Bat's got a whole lot of fight in him! Pity I'll have to beat it out of him."

With that, Kakuzu suddenly ripped off his shirt to reveal several hundred stitches all over his body. Scars lined his chest like branches on a tree. On his back there four masks sown into his skin, each representing one of his remaining hearts. A disturbing cracking was heard as one of the masks began to shake. It broke free of Kakuzu's body with a bundle of wires behind it, which soon took the shape of a human being on all fours. The substance also created two thin, fly like wings, which the creature used to propel itself into the air. In his head Batman compared it to when Clayface created smaller versions of himself. This was a thought that didn't last long, as the mask let out a blood curdling cry that could be heard across the city, "Screeeeeeeeeee!"

"Alfred, get a lock on that thing," Batman whispered into the microphone on his mask quietly, wary of tipping off Kakuzu, "It's the wind heart, so it's all yours."

There was another cry from the creature as it flapped its wings once again, this time to kick up a gust of wing so large that sent the hero flying off from the roof. As he started to fall, the masked creature flew in above him and crashed into his stomach. The two of them tumbled down onto the pavement together, with Batman breaking his attackers fall and the both of them leaving a large crater. Even with his suit, the extra weight caused Batman to slam down hard enough to leave more than a couple of bruises. The creature jumped off from him, allowing the Dark Knight to stand up and hold his side. He groaned to himself, "Oh, that's probably a broken rib. I better give Alfred some cover before this ends up killing me."

As Kakuzu was jumping down to help his seperated heart, he saw Batman grabbed several tiny pellets from his belt and throw them onto the ground. They erupted in a large cloud of smoke just as the assassin landed. It was clear Batman was up to something, "The mask doesn't have eyes, so why use smoke to try and blind it? Does he not know that they see through vibrations in the air? No, he knew too much about me to overlook that. Which means the smoke isn't a diversion. That could only mean it's some kind of attack."

"Now Alfred," Batman commanded as quietly as he could, "Shoot into the smoke!"

From a rooftop about half a mile away, Alfred heard his orders. Once he was certain the hero was free of the smoke, he fired off three shots into the dark cloud. The bullets left the chamber going over 1500 miles per hour, eager to set off a chain reactions with the smoke. Neither the smoke nor the bullets were the typical variety, both being specially designed by Batman years ago. Laced inside the smoke was a highly flammable substance that burned quickly at an incredible temperature, and the bullets were oxidized in a chemical that would set off the hellish cloud. In a nutshell, the smoke covering the wind mask would soon be turned into an extremely powerful, concentrated explosion. Since wind chakra was weak against flame, this would be the worst possible place for the heart to be.

The bullets made contact with the smoke, causing it to turn into a massive ball of fire. Alfred muttered the same phrase he used to say to himself back in MI6 when a shot connected, "Right on the mark sir. He won't be getting back up anytime soon."

"Nice shooting Alfred," Batman replied as the cloud of flame cleared. Once the mask was visible again, both fighters could see that it was heavily burned and cracked. The wires it had been made from were frayed, broken, and all around destroyed. A moment later the mask fell to pieces and the wires slumped into a lifeless bundle. It was obvious what that mean for the assassin, "You've got three hearts remaining. Would you like to surrender now or end losing them too?"

Kakuzu was starting to find this fight more irritating than fun. The only good thing was that he didn't seem to suspect someone else had set the smoke off, "That was a nice attack there, I'll give you that much. Still, you'd have to be delusional to think that you could actually beat me! I'm gonna show you just how much you're worth without those damn tricks of yours!"

Faster than Batman could've ever reacted, the assassin launched a flurry of wires and wrapped them around the hero's armor. An electrical current flowed through them and into the armor, which typically wouldn't be a problem with the failsafes Batman had installed inside for electric issues. However, due to the chakra that coursed with the electricity, the circuits of the suit were fried. Kakuzu walked up just as his opponent fell to his hands and knees. He grabbed Batman by the neck once more and raised him up in the air, slowly cutting off his air supply. It made it nearly impossible for the vigilante to speak, "Taking out my weapons...smart...but I've still got a couple...of aces up my sleeve…"

"So resilient," Kakuzu observed, dropping Batman to the ground, "It almost makes me want to rethink what I'm about to do. You seem like you'd be capable partner for me in the Akatsuki. One that I wouldn't feel the need to kill anyways. Still, I'm not giving up 250 million ryo."

Kakuzu grabbed Batman's cape and threw him into a nearby wall, cracking it heavily. The assassin jumped in front of hero and began punching him in the stomach repeatedly. Batman could only gasp as the hits kept coming, breaking more of his rips. Then Kakuzu took one large swing and smacked him in the mouth. The Dark Knight hit the sidewalk and spat out a fair amount of blood. As he tried to stand back up, Batman felt a scorching feeling on his back. It was a stream of fire Kakuzu had spewed from his mouth. An excruciating scream came from Batman's lips as the flames struck him, "Gaaaaah!"

A dark chuckle came from the assassin as he watched his prey nearly pass out. He was certain that this would be the end of the legendary Batman, "You put a good fight, especially considering you were up against me. It's safe to say that you can die with some real honor. That's not something that everyone is so lucky to have."

"I'm not going to be dying at all," Batman spat out as he tried to stand up, amazingly still trying to fight, "As long as there is still breath in my body, I will fight for this city. Gotham is not going to be thrown to the wolves."

A heavy kick was delivered to his gut by Kakuzu before he could finish standing up. The horrible cracking sound was heard once again as the lightning mask left his body. Batman could tell that was which mask it was because of what Kakuzu said once it was free, "That's a hero for you. One part brave, three part fool. Usually I'd make this quick and painless, but the bounty was put up under the condition that I make you suffer. Because I'm a man of my word though, I'll leave to go and release those hostages as I promised. In the mean time, you're going to be very painfully shocked by my friend here to the point that the suit may very well begin to burn into your body. When I get back, I'll finish up this little mess of ours."

Batman watched him leave as the lightning mask, which looked like some kind of deformed biped, walked towards him. He'd had a plan ready to take out any of the three remaining masks, but the lightning one required his son's help. The Dark Knight managed to grabbed a sharpened disk from his pocket. Throwing it straight into the air, Batman muttered to himself "Let's hope the Red Fox has been shadowing me like he was supposed to."

"Looks like dad's ready to go," The Red Fox mused as he saw the disk come into his line of sight. He'd been shadowing his father since the fight began, watching from a safe distance so that Kakuzu wouldn't sense him. He had a very specific part to play at this juncture, "I sure as hell hope this works."

Putting his hand to his mouth, the Red Fox released a powerful gust of wind chakra towards the disk. The projectile turned a greenish color and seemed to absorb the chakra. An instant later, the disk broke open and two dozen smaller disks popped out of it, each one with a layer of wind chakra covering it. Between the range they covered and the speed with which they were falling, there was no time for the lightning heart to get out of the way. They sliced through him like he was butter, as lightning chakra was powerless against wind. Batman grinned when one of them hit the heart directly and destroyed the mask, "That's my boy. Three down, two to go."

As the wires fell apart worthlessly, Kakuzu started to cry out in pain. He felt it every time one of his hearts were hurt, even if they weren't connected to his body. The vigilante was still smiling when Kakuzu got back to him with pure rate in his eyes. This was a man looking for answers, which he intended to get as he flipped Batman over and put a foot on his chest, "How are you doing this? Those disks were chakra based, I'm sure of that! You're not supposed to have any special powers, but you've managed to take out three of my hearts! Who in the hell are you?"

"Who am I?" The hero repeated, reaching up and grabbing Kakuzu's collar, pulling him down to his level, "I am vengeance! I am the night! I am the Batman!"

Batman pressed a small switch on his suit causing a series of clicks to be heard. Kakuzu looked down to see that switch, which must have been manual as he'd taken out the suit's electrical capabilities, had opened compartments with must have been at least fifty small metal spear like objects. They all shot out at once and attached themselves to the assassin, much to his dismay, "You sneaky little motherfucker…"

The objects started to beep, letting Kakuzu know it was time to book it the hell out of there. He split himself from his fire mask, leaving whatever Batman had shot into him with it. All of the spear heads started to beep and then burst simultaneously. They'd all contained a highly corrosive acid that quickly began to eat away at the wires. There wasn't even a chance for the fire heart to fully form it's body before the acid reached it's heart and began to eat away at the muscle. A small whimper came from the creature as it died like its siblings had. Batman stood up, albeit with great difficulty, and looked to the man who had the one remaining heart, "I tried to warn you Kakuzu. I was more than willing to let you walk away. You should've taken the chance when I gave it to you."

"What I should've done is killed you right up on that roof," Kakuzu said as stream of water began to flow from a nearby fire hydrant and towards him, "Luckily, the water heart is all I'm going to need to kill you. In the state you're in, one good water based attack is all it's going to take. Any last words from the great Dark Knight?"

There was only one thing for him to reply with, "Freeze, now!"

Kakuzu didn't get a chance to ask what was going on before a blast from Mr. Freeze's ray gun struck him. With the all the water he'd been gather up for his attack, the blast immediately froze the assassin solid. Since he had no other hearts to use to try and break himself free, Kakuzu was totally incapacitated. Mr. Freeze, who'd been standing only fifty feet away when he'd made the shot, walked over to greet the Batman, "Even with the many times as you've urked me in the past, I still must concede, you fought a great battle. Somehow, even out matched as you were, you still managed to come out victorious. Though you do look like a light breeze would blow you over right this second."

"I'll be just fine," Batman said, spitting out one last little bit of blood, "I can get home on my own, but I'm going to need you to stay here with Kakuzu. They should be sending a truck to pick the both you up momentarily. Make sure this guy stays on ice, even after you get him back to Arkham. He's too dangerous to be kept any other way."

That was something Mr. Freeze could easily take care of, "Should be simple enough if you place his cell next to mine. I'd recommend you get yourself home. You don't look like you'll last much longer in your current state."

Batman nodded, holding on to his several broken ribs, "Already planning on it. Thank you for your assistance today. If you'll excuse me, I've got some injuries to take care of."

* * *

"Holy shit Bruce, I don't think that I've ever seen you this bad," Tsunade said, as she used her chakra to heal the burns on the man's back, "Shizune, how many ribs did he end up breaking?"

Shizune, who was busy looking over the man's abdomen was still counting, replied "We've got a grand total 6 broken ribs. You managed to break half of them in one fight."

Everyone except for Naruto and Alfred were sitting in the living room, watching the two women torture Bruce. He flinched as Tsunade took enough another piece of burnt skin. Barbara was probably enjoying it a little more than she should've been, "Oh, I guess that's what you get when you take on a dangerous psychopath against the advice of every single person that you trust, huh?"

"Hey, I'm alive, aren't I," Bruce said before jumping a bit when Shizune moved his rib back into place, "Ow, son of a bitch that hurts!"

Jason couldn't let that one slide, "You just got the shit beaten out of you by a Justice League level villain. Something tells me the rips not that bad in comparison."

As the women laughed at that joke, Naruto walked into the room holding a piece of paper in his hand. He looked like something was bothering him, and Bruce knew it, "Hey bud, what's wrong? You should be on top of the world right now. We took out an S-ranked ninja, just me, you, and Alfred! Speaking of, where is he? I haven't seen him once since we've gotten home."

"Alfred's gone dad," Naruto mutter, putting the room in a state of complete silence. He looked down at the piece of paper and continued on, "I was gonna go to his room to say nice shot and everything, but he wasn't there. Most of his clothes were packed and he left this note. Look at this."

Bruce took the paper and started to read through it. What he found was something made his heart sink down into his stomach. The paper read:

Dear Master Bruce,

It is with a very heavy heart that I write you this letter. I'm sure that you know I've loved you like a son from the moment your mother brought you to Wayne Manor and handed you off for me to hold. After years of watching death upon death in MI6, it was a honor to watch such a fine young like yourself grow. Of course, it wasn't long before we lost your parents to this brutal city, leaving me to raise you on my own. I swore on your parents grave that I would keep you safe and happy, and I feel that I've done my best to live up to my word. That was until this Batman business started. For nearly ten years now, I've watched you do everything in your power to save the city that your parents loved so dearly, and I'm proud of you for doing something so amazing. However, as things grew more dangerous and as characters like the Joker or Bane were thrown into the mix, I began to worry. A fear grew in me as I watched you throw yourself in exceedingly more risky situations. No matter how much I protest, you simply choose to do whatever you like. There's no doubt in my mind that your journey as the Batman is going to be what ends you one day, and there's no shame in that. It was a privilege to be part of such a worthwhile legacy. However, I love you too much to keep sitting in that cave, wondering if you'll come home or if I'll have to destroy all evidence before the police arrive to tell me you're dead. That's why I'm leaving tonight, and I don't whether or not I'm coming back. I need time to think, to decided if this something I can force myself to keep doing. You have your path you have to walk, and I have mine. I love you Master Bruce, and I always will. Tell the others how much they mean to me as well. Hopefully we'll see one another again some day.

Sincerely,

Alfred Pennyworth.

Bruce read the last few lines with tears in his eyes. Alfred was the one person who'd always been there for him. In way, he'd been the one who raised Bruce. How could he possibly go on without him? He didn't even know what to say to this. For the first time since the death of his parents, Bruce felt completely and totally...empty.


	23. True Faces

Hello everyone, awesome to have you back for another chapter of the Red Fox. The last chapter ended on a bit of shock with Alfred leaving to think about things for awhile. That leaves Bruce to try piece things together just as a villain that's been a long time coming finally makes his move. No, it's not the Joker, that starts next chapter. Most of you have likely already guessed who it is, but I'll leave it as a surprise for those who haven't. There'll be some very important relationship revelations for both Bruce and Naruto as well. Wow, that's a lot of cool stuff for just one chapter. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack: Alan Jackson-Here in the Real World

* * *

Selina felt like an awkward teenager waiting to get picked up for her first date. She he had just knocked on the door of Wayne manor and was now waiting for someone to answer. After secretly watching Bruce's fight with Kakuzu from a far, Selina found herself very worried about his health. Yes, she knew that Bruce Wayne was in fact the Batman. It was something she'd learned years ago when she was breaking into his house into order to try to steal some of the infamous Wayne fortune. When she'd tried to bust into what she thought was a safe hidden behind a grandfather clock, she found herself smack dab in the middle of the Batcave. For any other villain, this would've been information to use in the most sinister of ways, but for Catwoman, it was information she kept to herself. Why had she stayed silent when she easily could've used this information for his own gain? That was something even Selina didn't have the answer to.

"Dammit Bats, what the hell is it that you do to me?" Selina muttered as she waited for someone to open the door, "I'm a brilliant, world class thief. I shouldn't be concerning myself with the fool who's been doing everything in his power to stop me for nearly a decade!"

A red haired woman finally opening the door broke Selina's train of thought. The woman was Mei, though she didn't seem to know who she was standing in front of, "Hello Miss. Is there something that I can help you with?"

Selina took one look at this beautiful woman standing in Bruce's house and instantly didn't like her, "Yeah, I'm here to see Wayne. Could you do me a favor and go get him?"

"Is Bruce expecting you?" Mei asked, a little confused as to why the woman didn't identify herself, "If he is, I think he'll have to reschedule. He got some very bad news yesterday and isn't up to having visitors right now. Could I get your name by the way?"

This girl was on first name bases with Bruce, which wasn't a good sign for Selina, "He'll want to see me I'm sure. Just tell him that Ms. Kyle is out here waiting for him."

Mei had heard that name before, "Kyle? As in Selina Kyle, the Catwoman!"

"Well damn, you found me out," Selina replied sarcastically, "Now, why don't you go and find Bruce for me before I claw those pretty little eye right out of your skull?"

Clearly this woman had no clue how powerful Mei was, "Where you're from, you might be the toughest bitch around, but I assure you, you've never fought anyone with powers even close to what I can do. Either give me a good reason that you're here or leave! I don't really care which!"

Selina had never been spoken to like that by another woman before. It honestly had her taking a few steps back, "I'm not here to get a bunch of blood on my claws. Please, just tell Bruce that I'm here. I promise you that he'll want to see me."

"Fine, give me a moment to go get him," Mei said through her teeth, "If I come back and find that you trying to break into here, you're going to live to regret it."

The door was closed in Selina's face, who found herself wondering who this woman was. She was attractive and seemed to have genuine concern in her heart for Bruce, which made it a distinct possibility that she was sleeping with him. That thought really got to Selina, again for reasons she wasn't entirely sure of. Bruce finally answered the door, seeming shocked to find her there, "Ms. Kyle, it really is you. The last time I saw you was the annual mayor's ball when you robbed us all blind. What in the hell are you doing here?"

This was exactly what Selina had expected him to do. She checked to make sure Mei wasn't behind him and then asked, "Playing dumb, huh? I don't blame you. Wouldn't want people to know that one of your villains is also an occasional fuck buddy, now would you?"

"Ms. Kyle, I have no idea what you're talking about," Bruce tried to defend himself, before Selina pushed him into the entryway of his house.

She'd already grown tired of this game, "Don't do this to me Bats. We both know I figured out who you were a long time ago. For god's sake, we've seen each other naked plenty of times. I've got all of your birthmarks on file in my head. If I was going to use the information I've got to hurt you, I would've done it years ago. All I wanna do is talk to you."

Mei cleared her throat to let the two of them know she was there. She had one very specific question to ask, "The two of you have slept together?"

"Yes, we have, though I had no idea she knew who I was," Bruce said, dropping the charade and shocking Selina, "I was going to tell you about it, but I was worried that,"

His girlfriend didn't need him to finish, "You were worried that I was going to think that she was sleeping with you in order to manipulate you."

Bruce gave a brief nod, "More or less, yes. That's isn't the case however. Selina is a good person who's made some admittedly poor decisions. She's saved my life on more than one occasion and has help me saved Gotham as well. Still, I treat her like anyone else for the crimes she's committed. With that said, I need you to know I stopped seeing her the moment we started dating. I promise you that Mei. You know I love you too much to do that to you."

"So, that's why you haven't come to see me in so long. And you, Mei, know about his night time activities?" Silena asked the woman standing across from her. Mei tried to think of an excuse, only for Selina to continue speaking, "Guess I don't have a shot at him anymore than, he never told me when we were together. I had to find it out by accident."

Now Mei was starting to get a clearer image of this relationship, "It would've been difficult to tell you, seeing as you're on two different sides of the law."

Selina had no argument for that. She found herself fighting back tears, as she was now realizing that she'd missed her chance with a man she loved, "He did what he had to do, I'm sure. Bruce, I only came by to make sure you were alright, and it looks like you're fine. I've made enough of a fool of myself enough for today, so I think I'll head home now. Oh, and Mei?"

"Yes?" Mei asked, identify both sadness and the desire to rip her face of in the woman's eyes, "What is it?"

A strange mixture of a growl and whimper came from Selina, "Take good care of him."

She quickly exited the room before she began crying. As soon as she was gone, Bruce could practically feel that he was in the dog house, "I'm in trouble for not telling you about the two of us, aren't I?"

"You have no idea," Mei replied, knowing that there was about to be a pretty big fight between the two of them. This was going to be an interesting one.

* * *

Losing someone he'd grown close to was a difficult thing for Naruto to deal with. After all, most of his early life was spent alone, making him latch on to anyone he really cared about. Alfred was basically like family to Naruto, so when he found that letter and discovered that he might never see his old friend again, the blonde was heartbroken. The first day after he found out was spent moping around the house, without even a villain to distract him from his troubles. Tsunade hated seeing her cousin so bummed out, so she decided to make him go out and do something to cheer himself up. Naruto could only think of one thing to do with himself, and that was to go and visit his girlfriend Cheshire.

He'd spent the past fifteen minutes telling her all about her his problems on her bed, of course altering it a bit to in order to keep the Batman parts out. Naruto finished with the phrase, "And then he was gone. We haven't seen hide or tail of Alfred since. I know that I'm rambling on here, sorry. It's just been kind of a rough day."

"No, not at all," Cheshire comforted him, rubbing his back a little bit, "I know this must be really hard for you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Naruto couldn't really think of anything, "I don't know, venting has been a huge help already. Thanks for asking though."

He looked back over at her and saw her eyes had seductive look to them, "Really, are you sure that you can't think of anything?"

"Oh," Naruto said, realizing what she had in mind. Cheshire grabbed his face and pulled him in for a deep kiss, which the boy gladly returned, "If I'd known this is what you wanted, I would've finished my story twice as fast."

The two began to roll around on Cheshire's bed with her ending up on top. Things quickly began to get more heated when Naruto started to reach for his girlfriend's ample behind without realizing it. He gave it a slight squeeze which got a moan for Cheshire, "My, getting frisky aren't we?"

Naruto thought that he'd done something wrong, "Sorry, I was getting really into it and,"

"And I love it," Cheshire finished for him, seeing this as he chance to finally full on seduce him. She reached down and took off her t-shirt, leaving her in tank top so tight and revealing it made Naruto sweat, "I think I'll get into it too."

She pinned him down onto the bed and began to kiss him again, ravaging his mouth with her tongue. Naruto felt like he'd died and gone to heaven. Cheshire started to grind their crotches together, and she was wearing nothing but a thin pair of shorts. Crazy as it may have seemed, Naruto was starting to get a little worried at that point. He broke the kiss and told her, "Cheshire, wait."

Cheshire took of the tank top, leaving her only in a thin, green, lacy bra. She grabbed his hands and put them on her breasts, "What is it lover boy?"

"Ohhhh, shit," Naruto groaned, unable to stop himself from giving the fleshy orbs a squeeze, "Don't get me wrong, I love this, but don't you think we're going a little too far here? You're only 14 and I'm only 13."

She already knew that wouldn't be ready to go all the way after only a couple months, as Hugo Strange had profiled him long enough to tell her that. This was just to get the boy's engine's running a little bit. Cheshire ran her finger in little circles around his chest, "It's okay babe, we're only having a little fun. It probably shouldn't have to be the girl who says this, but we won't go too far or anything. Just lay back and enjoy. Can you do that."

Naruto nodded slowly as Cheshire slid his hand under the fabric of her bra. She groaned once again as he played with her nipple for a moment. Then he tackled her onto the bed, licking her neck, "If that's what you want, then fine. We can have all of the fun you want. This is exactly what I needed."

* * *

"Mei, I promise you, you have nothing to worry about," Bruce pleaded, trying to get his girlfriend to believe him, "I'm not going to lie to you, I enjoyed the time Selina and I spent together, but it was over a year ago. You're the only woman in my life now."

That was something Mei already knew, "I believe that Bruce, but the fact that you didn't tell me about her makes me think that there's still some feelings there. What were you doing hooking up with a villain in the first place? Aren't you supposed to be the good guy?"

Bruce would have a hard time explaining that, "I am the good guy, but that doesn't mean Catwoman's the bad guy. She's more like misguided. In her mind, what she's doing is right because Gotham's wealthiest people need to be taken down a peg. It's a poor excuse for sleeping with her, I know."

"A very poor excuse," Mei agreed, adding in for good measure, "And it seems you're defending her too. You aren't making things better for yourself here."

It was obvious that Bruce's point wasn't getting across, "I know, I know. You want the truth? I didn't want to tell you because there is still a little bit of feeling there, but it's nothing more than an old spark. Honestly, I feel bad because it seems that our relationship meant more to her than it did to me."

Mei only got more ammunition from that, "Am I going to find out that it's the same case with you and I? Does this whole thing mean more to me than you?"

"Of course not," Bruce said, walking up and pulling her in close. She seemed ready to struggle, but his words stopped her, "Mei, for the first time in my life, it feel like I've finally found the person I'm supposed to be with. After what happened with me and Talia, I thought that I'd never feel like that ever. Go to my desk and go in the locked drawer. The combination is 0626."

Though she looked skeptical, Mei did as she was asked and walked to his office. Bruce could hear her pressing the buttons on the lock with a click going off to let her know she'd put in the right one. Mei opened the drawer, gasping when she saw a small velvet box in there, "Bruce...is this what I think it is?"

She walked back into the room still holding the box, Bruce got down on one knee when she grew near, "Mei, I love you so much that it honestly scares me. I love you more than I ever loved Selina or Talia. Ever since we've started dating, I've been terrified I'd say something that would make me lose you. That's the only reason I didn't tell you about Selina. Please, don't let some stupid mistake I made ruin this."

"This is really happening," Mei said, tears of joy beginning to run down her cheek, "I can't believe this is really happening."

Bruce watched her open the box to show off the dazzling diamond ring, "I bought that a month ago, but I've been waiting for the right moment to give it to you. Mei Terumi, will marry me?"

"Of course I will you big idiot," Mei said, wrapping her arms around Bruce. She tried to wipe some of the tears from her eyes as her new finance slipped the ring on her finger, "I'm just as scared in this thing as you are. You should've talked to me about it. What am I saying? Who the hell cares about it? We're getting married!"

Picking up his bride to be, Bruce spun her around in his arms with joy, "This is incredible. Ah, I can't wait to tell everyone about. Naruto, Jason, Barbara, Alfred...oh…"

Mei knew that he stopped because he remember one of his most important family members wasn't here to share in this moment, "Don't worry Bruce, we'll find Alfred. We'll find him and we'll drag him back her if we have to. He'll be there to see us get married. Now, I know this isn't a great time, but I really need to get back to the Mist so I can tell Ao about this. The Mizukage getting married is kind of a big deal there. I promise, I'll back as soon as I can though. I love you so much Bruce."

"It's okay darling, I understand," Bruce replied, sharing a brief kiss with her. The two broke their embrace, which gave the Mei a chance to be on her way, "Hopefully Ao approves of of the marriage. He's more than a little protective of you after all."

That was an understatement, but Mei still felt confident they'd be okay, "Oh please, he's been harping me to get married for years. Besides, he approved of you wholeheartedly at the party. See you in a little bit Bruce."

He gave her a little wave as she made her exit, then decided to head into the livingroom. Tsunade and Shizune had gone off shopping, Jason of course decided to go with them, taking any chance he could to be close to his crush. Barbara was spending with her father, as the commissioner had somehow managed to get some time off, and Naruto was still over at Cheshire's. That left Bruce sink into his livingroom couch by himself, "This has got to go down as one of the best days of my life. Pity I don't have anyone to share it with."

"Oh Bruce, you're not alone," Said an intellectual voice as Bruce felt the barrel of a gun being pointed to his neck, "An old friend is here to help celebrate your upcoming nuptials."

At any other time, Bruce would've simply spun around and disarmed whoever this man was. However, this person had somehow snuck up behind him without Batman of all people realizing it. It was more than likely he could pull than trigger faster than Bruce get the gun away, "Who are and what do you want?"

"First, I want you to stand up and get a good look at me," The man said, which Bruce quickly did. He slowly turned around to find that he almost looking in a mirror. This gunman looked exactly like Bruce, "Do you like it? I model it to look exactly like you. There's still a few stitches to be seen, but overall I think it's a gorgeous piece of work. These little knicks can be explained away easily enough. Superheros typically have scars, don't they?"

This guy had somehow made an exact copy of Bruce's face and knew about the Batman. There was only one person this could be, "I take it that it's Hush I'm speaking to, also known as the Identity Thief? Never would've guessed this was the reason you were killing people was so you can create a mask from their skin, let alone one that mimics me."

Hush chuckled at his ignorance, "Yes, it may seem like a great length to go to, but it was more than worth it for some good old fashion revenge. Have you figured it out yet? Have I stumped the greatest detective?"

"No, I know exactly who you are," Bruce said, looking the man directly in the eye, "I suspected it the moment I saw how talented a surgeon this killer really was. Tommy Elliott, I never wanted to believe that it was you doing these horrible things. Not after everything that you and I went through together."

Thomas 'Tommy' Elliot had been one of Bruce's closest friends growing up. The Wayne's had done everything they could for Tommy, as his father was a rich, abusive drunk and his mother was too submissive to do anything about it. They tried to do everything they could to protect the boy, with Bruce even becoming his best friend. It was actually Tommy who'd taught Bruce to think like his opennet when the two would play board games like stratego and shogi. That was until there was a horrible car accident that killed his father and nearly killed his mother. Someone had cut the brakes on their car, though the police never found out who it was. Bruce's father had been the one who'd tried to save both of the victims. In the end there was nothing he could to for Tommy's father, and that's what Bruce assumed this was all about.

This was Tommy's vengeance for not saving his father, "Do you have any idea what Thomas Wayne did to my life? He took everything from me!"

"I'm sorry Tommy, but my father did everything he could to save your parents," Bruce pleaded, knowing how hard it was to lose a parent at such a young age, "He was able to save your mother though. Doesn't that count for something?"

Hush continued to look into his friend's eye, only now his tone was turning darker, "You still don't get it, do you? Think about what really happened Bruce, and think hard. Get into your opponent's head, just like I taught you. Do you remember how I felt about my parents?"

At first Bruce didn't understand, but it quickly started to click. Tommy's parents were horrible to him made his life a living hell. He'd tried to run away to Wayne's multiple times. All he'd ever wanted in life was to get away from his parents. Why would he be angry at their death? That's when it hit Bruce, "You don't want revenge because your father died. You want revenge because your mother lived. All those years ago, it was you who cut the car's brake line."

"To quote Aristotle, 'Happiness is depends upon ourselves.' I was going to make my own happiness by inheriting my parents millions," Hush explained, using an oddly happy quote to describe such a dark action, "That was the plan, until Thomas Wayne ruined everything. Of course he got what was coming to him a year or so later. You're parents died, giving you what I always wanted. You never asked for it, I know, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with. Then you had to go and start this Batman business. The luckiest man in Gotham had turned himself into a martyr. That was straw that broke the camel's back."

Bruce was trying to think of way out of this while Hush monologued, "I didn't care about the money Tommy. All I wanted was to make sure that no one else went through what I did. It was my way of trying to bring justice back to this city."

That made Hush laugh almost as hysterically as the Joker, "Justice? My god Bruce, you think that you're giving this city justice? All you're doing is creating more criminals for you to fight. No, a bullet in these villains heads, that'd be justice. Don't worry, I'll correct that when I take over as the Batman for you. I'm going to take your life, the one I always wanted, and make it my own."

"So, you intend to take over in every aspect of my life?" Bruce asked, though completely unsurprised by this, "Do you really think you have what it takes to be me?"

Hush took a brief look in mirror, smiling at his work, "I think I've already proven that I do. We can both agree that I know you better than you know yourself. That's why I'm the one person you won't be able to beat. I'm the only mind you'll never be able to probe, because I'm the one who taught you how do it in the first place. By they, if you press that distress signal in your hand, I will have to kill you right here and now."

Amazingly, the man was right, Bruce had indeed been sliding his distress switch down his sleeve, "Well done Tommy, you've still got it. Almost everything you said was true. However, you got one thing wrong."

"Oh really Bruce? Do tell," Hush said, as he reached in the pocket of the trenchcoat he was wearing and pulled out a strange device and set it on an end table, next to a glass. There was an blue glowing impression of hand on it, "Tell me while you put your hands on this wonderful little tool here. It'll take your fingerprints and map them so that I can burn them onto mine. I'll have to avoid DNA tests of course, but the fingerprints should be enough to gain control of the Wayne foundation."

Bruce put his hand on the device without any hesitance, "What you got wrong is quite simple. There is only one person's head I can never truly get into, but it's not you. You see, I can get into your head, as easily as I could many other foes. When you taught me how think like my opennet, you gave me a glimpse into your mind. That glimpse is all I needed. I didn't want to admit the kind of person that you've become. Now that I have though, I know what needs to be done. Believe me Tommy, you aren't going to win. Not now, not ever."

The device made a few more clicks as Hush rolled his eyes, "You were never able to beat me when we children Bruce. I doubt you've gotten any better now."

"We'll see," Bruce muttered, a plan already forming in his head, "This isn't like us playing board games when we were kids. There's no set movement for the pieces. The only limit is the human mind."

* * *

Naruto gave a soft groan as he awoke from an unexpected sleep. He was no longer in Cheshire's room, which is where he could last remember being after the heated make out session with his girlfriend. It was a dark room that he now found himself in now, one lit only by the glow of candles. There were other people in the room that he could sense when he sat up from the bed he'd been placed on. The boy was beginning to think he was in the company of Kurama, "Hello? Who's there? Please tell me where I am, or I'm gonna have to try and figure it out on my own."

A soft hand rubbed on his neck and he turned to find Cheshire next to him, "It's okay Naruto, I'm here. I hope you don't mind, I brought you to see a friend of mine."

"You did what?" Naruto asked, unable to believe she'd done this without his permission, "Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds? When did I even fall asleep?"

Cheshire looked a little ashamed when he said that, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait any longer. Things with the Joker are just getting too close for me to take any risks. After what you and I did before, I was finally sure that we felt the same way about each other. We might even be in love. I think that you're ready to meet my master."

The more she spoke, the less sense the that she made, "You have a master? What in the hell does the Joker have to do with this? Wait, did you say love? Cheshire, you're really starting to scare me here."

"Don't be afraid my child," Another new voice said, which caused Naruto to jerk his head around and see a man who'd been known for ending entire civilizations, "I'm the great head of the demon, Ra's Al Ghul. You should be honored that I requested an audience with you at all."

Naruto started to try and back away on the bed. He looked at Cheshire accusingly, "This guy's your master! Do you have any idea who he is? The man's got a god complex and he's caused the death of thousands of people! He's Ra's Al Ghul, the leader of the most dangerous cult known to man!"

"The League of Assassins in not a cult," Cheshire defended, not having her leader slandered like that, "We're the ones who are going to save humanity! Don't act as though you're so much better because you run around rooftops breaking criminal's bones, Mr. Red Fox!"

It seemed as though Ra's didn't approve of her saying that, "Don't let your emotions get the better of you Cheshire. We need to slowly integrate him into the idea of all this. Now Naruto, I'm sure you're aware of everything that went down between your father and I. That of course, means I know exactly who you are. I've been watching you Naruto, with your budding potential, and I know that you have the potential to be something. It is for that reason that I integrated Cheshire into your life. There was no doubt in mind the two of you would make a connection."

Cheshire started to rub up on him once again, "And made a connection we have. Thank you Master Ra's, for allowing me to bring him here. I want to be with Naruto, I want us to become something. You do care for me, don't you sweetheart?"

"Yes, I do," Naruto said, but found anger bubbling up inside of him, "But do you think that means I'm going to ignore what's going on here? You knew who I was this whole time, you've been working for someone you know is my enemy, and you built a relationship with me based on a lie!"

The girl was going to speak to try and defend herself, but her master stopped her, "Now Cheshire, don't pressure him. He has every right to be angry with us. My methods are unethical, I'll admit, but they are for the greater good in the end. This world is too dark to be saved Naruto, and your friend Alfred knew that. That's why he couldn't bring himself to watch Bruce fight for a pointless cause."

Naruto had never been the kind of person to buy into that line of thinking, "Holy crap, you really are insane. You actually want, no, need to believe that the world is an awful place. How can you get by from day to day when you believe that? I choose to believe that most people in this world are good at heart. Gotham has it's rough moments, sure, but I know it's on it's way to redemption. Heck, even with the Kyuubi, I don't think that he was born an angry monster. Something must have turned him into that. If you think that I'm going to become another weapon for your twisted idea of the greater good, you're a fool. Don't bother trying to convince me otherwise!"

"Babe, wait," Cheshire begged, grabbing Naruto's arm as he tried to get up, "I know that you know how bad the world can be. You've experienced it first hand. Don't you want to stop it from happening ever again?"

The boy ripped his arm away from her, "What I want is a girlfriend who hasn't been lying to me from the moment we met. You know exactly who I am, but I don't feel like I know a damn thing about you anymore. Where's the exit? I'm getting out here!"

Ra's didn't seem upset by the boy's choice, "Enter the hallway and it's the third door on the left. Keep going straight from there. You'll see things our way soon enough I'm sure."

"The hell I will," Naruto muttered, starting to walk away. He stopped before he got very far though, as he didn't like the way Ra's had said that last part. It was like he knew something Naruto didn't, "Cheshire, you said something about the Joker earlier, something that sounded bad. Then you said something about how you think you might love me. If that's true, please tell me what you meant about that clown. For my own safety and my family's."

It was easy to see how much Cheshire wanted to tell him, but her master was having none of it, "Cheshire, he's made his decision. Naruto wants no part of working with us, so he doesn't get to ask for our help now. Stay silent!"

Naruto looked pleadingly at the girl. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she shook her head, picking her side. He gave Cheshire one last glance and scoffed as he left, "In case it wasn't clear enough yet, we're done. Don't expect a kiss goodbye."

* * *

"It's almost time Bruce. The end of your old life and beginning of my new one," Hush said, watching as his childhood buddy got his second hand mapped, "I think my favorite part will be taking your family for myself. The best moment will be lying down that pretty fiance of yours, little miss Mei. I'll bet she's hellcat between the sheets."

Bruce knew that Hush was trying to push his buttons, but he wasn't going to let that happen, "Like I said Tommy, that isn't going to be a chance you'll get. You're going to Arkham, where I'll build a special cell that you'll never be able to break out of."

The fact that this guy still thought he had a chance baffled Hush, "Let's assume that any of that is true. How, pray tell, do you intend to keep me from telling everyone about your nocturnal exploits?"

"You'd never do that," Bruce said confidently, "Seeing me suffer isn't enough for you. That's why I know you won't really kill me when we're done here either. What you want is for me to watch you live out my life. You think I need to go through what you did, watching someone else have everything that you've ever wanted. This revenge you desire needs to be perfect. If I capture you, you'll bide your time until you can get another shot at your revenge. You'll only kill me if you absolutely have to."

Hush found himself impressed by how much Bruce had figured out in such a short amount of time, "Hm, perhaps I've trained you better than I thought. I know we learned to fight from different people, but clearly our minds are still like brothers. My word, I'm going to enjoy watching you go through what I have."

The beeping finally ended, so Bruce took his hand off the device. With one question, he was going to change the tides of this battle, "Looks like the time for talking is over. Before we start this, let me ask you something. Do you know what the real difference is between you and me?"

"I don't what This' you're referring to, but I'll play along," Hush agreed, raising his level of alert a touch, "What's the real difference between you and I?"

Bruce put both his hands on the table, taking a deep breath as he did, "In my darkest hour, when I stared down into that abyss that was my own soul, I was strong enough to keep my eyes wide open. You...you blinked!"

In the split second it took Hush to understand what Bruce had said, the hero went into action. He threw the fingerprint mapping device off the table, being careful to leave it right within Hush's reach. This electronic was key to his plan and likely very delicate, which caused the villain to catch it out of pure instinct. His gun was still trained on his old friend, but the action was still enough to reduce his reaction time. Bruce grabbed Hush's arm and moved the gun away from his head, which cause the surgeon to pull the trigger. The gun was now pointed at Bruce's shoulder, which caused the bullet to go right through the hero. It was painful as hell, but it gave Bruce enough time to spin around and knock the weapon from Hush's hand. As far as the villain was concerned, this was a futile action, "So you've disarmed me? Well done old chum, but at what cost? You can't possibly think that you're going to beat me with your shoulder in that state."

"You still don't get it," Bruce said, grabbing the class from the table and breaking the top off from it, "Unlike you, I can take the pain! I take my set backs and use them to make me stronger. Allow me to demonstrate."

With the broken glass in hand, he charged at Hush, slashing carefully at the man's face. He was intentionally missing, but Hush didn't know that. There was too much fear running through his body at the thought of his greatest work being destroyed, "No, not my face! I've worked on it for so long! You can't ruin it now!"

Bruce knew what his old friends greatest weakness was, "It's just like when we were kids. You can't stand it when a single aspect of your plan go awry. You rely too much on you think you know. Me, I may know how important is to plan, but I'm also willing to adjust. I'm ready for anything, where as you simply think you know everything. You lack the ability to admit you're wrong. Do you remember how I started to beat at those games we used to play Tommy?"

"You could never beat me," Hush screamed, as he scrambled to protect his face, "I'm smarter than you, better than you!

Bruce could see that his eyes were focused firmly on the glass, which was right where he wanted them, "I let you think that you were going to win, up until the last moment. Then, right when you think that you've got me…"

With how distracted he was, Hush never saw his old friends fist coming right for him. It struck his temple, knocking the villain unconscious in an instant. As predicted, Bruce had won, "I strike you down. How's that for getting in your head? Ah, it did hurt my shoulder though."

"I should think so, with how much blood is pouring out of it," Tsunade said, as she entered the living room with Jason and Shizune behind her, "Care to explain to us why there's a copy of you lying on ground?"

Bruce was glad to see his medic was back to help treat his wound, "It's a very long story, so let's leave at 'he's an old buddy of mine.' How do you know he's the copy anyways?"

That was a question Shizune wanted to answer, "Most people wouldn't be able to tell, but medics like us can figure out by the muscle definition and bone structure who's who."

"You can do that?" Jason asked in amazement, "Holy crap that's awesome! I wanna learn how to do those kinda things!"

Shizune rather liked the idea of teaching the boy a little about being a medic, "You may not have chakra, but I think we could still teach you a few things. Another time though. First, I need to work over your father's shoulder. Anything else that you need Bruce?"

"Maybe, assuming the either of you can either erase or scramble his memory a little bit," Bruce said, referring to Hush, "He knows who am I and it'd be best if he was a little confused on it all. Tommy's got a strong mind and would likely be able to reverse it eventually, but it'd be a good thing to buy some more time before he pops up again. It won't be pleasant, but it would likely be best to remove the skins he's added on to himself as well. We can't deliver a man who looks like Bruce Wayne to Arkham."

Tsunade could take care of all of that, "We won't be able to do it all exactly, but you'll get everything you need. Now, let's see about that injury. It went through bone, so it might be worse than a typical gunshot wound."

As the two women began to look at his shoulder, another member of the family walked into the house. He didn't announce himself, forcing everyone to look over their shoulders and see Naruto standing there. The boy didn't have the usual pep in his eyes. In fact, they looked almost broken inside. There was only a few words he could get to leave his lips, "Dad...we've got a problem."


	24. That Wicked Grin Pt 1

At long last, the Joker's big plan has finally arrived. Welcome back to the Red Fox everyone, and we've got a big one today. Sorry it's a little late in the day, I had a crazy week. After building this up for nearly ten chapters, I can finally show how the Clown Prince of Crime intends to break the Batman and his family. Things are going to have a rather dark start here, and we'll even have some new ninjas coming right as it all goes down as well. You've waited a long time for this, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Dean Martin: Ain't That a Kick in the Head

* * *

"Now this has got to be the perfect ending to a perfect day," Commissioner Gordon said to his daughter, smiling at her from his side of the couch, "We finally got to have a day just for the two of us. We got to see a good movie, went out for a lovely dinner, and now we get to relax with a nice bit of reading. I can't remember the last time I had day off this good."

Barbara giggled at her father's enthusiasm while she flipped through the pages of her magazine, "It was a lot of fun daddy. I'm glad we got to do it. When you retire someday, we can have days like this all the time. Maybe my brother will be back from his big trip by then and we'll have the whole family together."

The thought of his son, James 'Jim' Gordon Jr. made the commissioner smile. He hadn't seen him since the boy turned 18 and decided to go out and travel the country a bit to figure out what he wanted to do. It was going to be great whenever he came back, "I bet your mother would've loved to have seen that. Don't worry Barb, I'll quit the force one day. You're gonna need to get me some grandkids to play with so I don't get bored though."

"Don't worry dad, I've got some feelers out," His daughter assured him, referring to her dating pool, "I know that I'll find the right guy someday. It's only a matter of time. Too bad me and Dick couldn't work it out. You actually approved of him."

There was a knock at the door, which Barbara got up to answer as her father replied, "He was a good kid, but I'm sure you'll find someone else. I wonder who's coming to see us in the middle of the night like this."

Barbara was wondering the same thing, so she opened up the front door to greet whoever was waiting for her. An instant after it was opened, Gordon heard sound that would rock the foundation of his world. A gunshot went off, making Jim's ears ring. His head shot around in time to see Barbara fly backwards from getting hit by a bullet that went right through her spine. She fell back into the glass coffee table in the middle of the room, shattering it into hundreds of tiny pieces. Right away the girl could tell something was wrong, as she was unable to move other than a few twitches.

Her father shot off from the couch to try and help her, but two large men grabbed him before he could do anything. Gordon tried to scream for help, but he couldn't make himself say the words. His horror had overtaken his other functions. It didn't matter how hard he struggled, there was simply no way for the commissioner to break free. During this fight was when he noticed the man with the gun, a man who had haunted his nightmares for ages and would continue to do so for years to come.

The Joker was standing in front of him, only this time in a hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, a sunhat, and with a camera around his neck. It looked like the man was planning to go on vacation, but that wasn't the most distinctive thing about his look. No, he had a much more horrifying feature to show off. His face had been carefully removed and crudely strapped back on with two belts, sort of like a makeshift mask. One could clearly see the muscles beneath his skin and his twisted smile was now showing through a mouth hole. There was no doubt that the Joker loved the fear he was putting into Jim's heart

"Oh Jimbo old boy, you look frightened. Is it the new look? I assure you, there is a reason, but you'll have to wait till later to find out what it is," Joker said, turning his gaze to the broken Barbara, "Look at what a mess I've made of your daughter as well. That wasn't intentional, but I'd be lying if I said didn't find it funny. You don't see it yet, but you'll find it just as funny as I do someday. I'll be sure to take some pictures so that you can look back and laugh with me. Goons, take him out to the car while I work! We've got our first party guest for the night!"

* * *

Tight nit did not begin to describe the family that Naruto surrounded himself with. From Bruce to Tsunade, he had half a dozen people who would lay down their life for him in a second. So, when they found out what Cheshire had done to him, it was only natural that they'd want to find the girl and ring her pretty little neck. At the moment they were all fuming in the living room, having taken care of Hush a few minutes ago.

"That dirty, lying bitch," Jason spat without realizing it. Everyone in the room looked at him after he'd cursed, "Hehe, sorry."

Bruce was too upset to be angry at that, "No, you're right. What she's done is unforgivable, and I'm not going to stand for it. Ra's has gone too far this time! Toying with my emotions is one thing, but this is my son! Dammit, why does he have to be after you now?"

There was one very simple reason why, and Tsunade knew it all too well, "It's that damn fox in his gut. I've seen the Kyuubi in action, and it's got power you can't even imagine. No wonder this nutbag want's it so bad. Thinking about when grandfather used to control that thing still makes me shiver."

"Wait, the First Hokage knew how to control the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, briefly shaken out of his sadden state by the amazing feat. He'd heard about Tsunade's grandfather doing some amazing things when he was the leader of the hidden Leaf, but this was news to him, "How'd he do that?"

Tsunade wasn't entirely sure herself, but she had been able to find out a few details, "It had something to do with his bloodline, Wood Release, which you all know allowed him to create entire forests with chakra alone, another reason I wish it had been passed on to me. That's really the only thing we know for certain, other than fact he had a special necklace that would help suppress a tailed beast's chakra."

Bruce had never heard her mention that, "And where would that necklace be now?"

"Right around my neck of course," Tsunade said, pulling up a small green diamond on a string that had been hidden under her clothes, "I inherited it when my father died. It likely going to end up going with me to my grave, because I don't have any more family to give it to."

That wasn't entirely true, as Jason was about to point out, "What about Naruto? He's your cousin, right? You could give to him and then it stays inside the family."

There was a much darker story behind that piece of jewelry than Tsunade was leading on, which Shizune tried to warn the boy of, "Jason, I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that. I don't wanna go too far into it, but something bad happened involving that necklace, and it's the kinda thing that makes it very hard for Tsunade to think of ever giving it away again."

"No, he's right," Tsunade blurted out, shocking Shizune. She started to take off her necklace and walked over to her cousin, "Naruto needs to have this. Back when I lived in the hidden Leaf, I gave this necklace to my little brother Nawaki when he became a genin as his reward. It returned to shortly thereafter, covered in blood. The only thing that got me through that time was meeting my lover Dan, after which I gave him the necklace as a sort of good luck charm. You already know he died as well, putting me into a state of dark depression for years. After that, I thought that this necklace was curse, and I swore to never give it away again. Until tonight."

Naruto watched as she leaned down next to him, wrapping the strings around his neck, "I don't understand. Why are you giving me this?"

The woman laughed and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, "Because of what happened with Cheshire. I know you Naruto, and you're doubting yourself right now. You think that this whole thing with her was your fault. You're doubting yourself as both a hero and a person because of what she did to you. I'm giving you this to you to prove that you have nothing to worry about. There's nothing that this necklace or anything else that can do to you that scares me. You've got something special to do in this world Naruto, I just know it. Let this be a reminder to you everyday of how much faith we all have in you."

"Tsunade...I...I," Naruto started to stutter, before throwing his arms around her, "Thank you!"

Bruce watched the two of them and realized that now was as good a time as ever to tell them, "I was going to wait until Barbara was here to announce this, but I think I'll just say it here and now. Today, I asked Mei to marry me today, and she said yes!"

Everyone started cheering instantly, gathering around to celebrate. Jason was the first to speak, "Dude, that's awesome! Good for you man!"

"I thought you didn't trust her," Bruce pointed out, a sly smile on his face.

Jason shrugged and gave him a quick hug, "Eh, I don't really trust anybody. She totally kicks ass though, so I can live with her."

"So that's why you like me so much," Shizune joked, "It's because I 'Totally kick ass.'"

While the boy was trying to hide his blush, Naruto decided to remind his father of something, "I thought you told me the other day that you had to wait to propose to her because you had to inform the Justice League about it."

Bruce had already covered that angle, "Which I will do tonight, seeing as how that's when the meeting is. There's no way that they won't approve of her, and I'm only part time anyways. It'll all work out find."

"Um, I think the meeting might have to wait," Tsunade said, pointing to the tv that had been on mute for the past hour, "Look who's made his way onto the news again."

Everyone brought their attention to the tv screen to find what appeared to be the Joker on the screen. His usual purple suit was visible, was but his face covered by a shadow. His cackle is what still made him easily identifiable, "So Batman, here it is! You're finally getting an invitation to my big shindig! Don't worry, this is an invitation for the rest of your family as well. I want you, Red Fox, Robin, even Batgirl if you can get her. I've even gotten the first guest for you already. Camera man, please show Batsy the accommodations we've set up for Commissioner Gordon?"

The screen panned to shot of Gordon, who was stripped down to his underwear and strapped into an ancient looking bumper car. It was on some kind of track that appeared to be on a course headed right under Arkham Asylum. Once everything had been shown, the camera went back to the Joker, "And that's just the beginning! Come on down to the asylum if you want to see more! I'll be waiting Batsy!"

"Oh great, the Joker's finally making his move," Naruto grumbled, not ready to deal with this, "Just when I thought today was starting to look up. We're gonna go and save him, right?"

Bruce knew that they would have to, but that wasn't what was on his mind right now, "It must have taken Joker at least an hour to get Jim to the asylum. He's supposed to be spending the day with Barbara, so she should've called me to let me know something was wrong. There must be something keeping her from contacting me."

That was Bruce's way of saying that the girl was in trouble, and Tsunade knew it, "Shizune and I will head to her place to make sure she's alright. You three get the Asylum and make sure that the clown doesn't blow up half the city or something. Oh shit, I almost forgot. We're supposed to have a group of genin coming in with their sensei today. Kakashi and his time are supposed to be arriving in a few minutes. What do you want me to do about them?"

"Get a message to them saying to meet us at the Asylum. We're going to need all the help that we can get tonight," Bruce replied, walking towards the nearest opening to the Batcave, "I'm going to try and message the League as well. No idea if they'll get here in time, but it's worth a shot. Naruto, Jason, you guy's up for this?"

Naruto seemed a little more enthused about the idea now, "You know what, I am ready. If there's one thing that'll cheer me up today, it's kicking a bunch of clown ass!"

There was an attitude Jason could get behind, "Now we're talking! Come on guys, let's crack some skulls in the nuthouse!"

* * *

"I told you to let me go you dammit," Gordon screamed, thrashing in the bumper car, "I'm gonna kill you for what did to Barbara!"

Joker silenced him the smack from the cane he was holding, "Oh calm down Jimbo, I'm going to let you go in a moment. I'm letting you go right down the rabbit hole into the dark depths of your mind. I'm making you take a trip down memory lane!"

The sound of lights clicking on could be heard, and Jim could see that they were coming from the cave he was about to enter. A series of projectors were amplifying a series of pictures, ones that tore into the mind of Gordon and left him cowering in fear, "No...Oh god, please no!"

"Ah memories, so treacherous. One moment you're lost in a carnival of delight, with poignant childhood aromas, the flashing neon of puberty, all that sentimental candy floss," Joker began to say, switching on the ride and sending Gordon down the track, "The next, it leads you somewhere you don't want to go. Somewhere dark and cold, filled with damp, ambiguous shapes you'd hoped were forgotten."

Clicks went off as the track took Jim into the tunnel. The pictures projected on the cave walls were the ones Joker had taken of Barbara while she'd been lying on the ground, crippled and bleeding. He'd posed her in various ways, simply to taunt the man even more. Gordon was forced to listen as Joker continued his speech, "Memories really are nasty, repulsive little brutes. Like children I suppose, haha! But can we live without them? Memories are what our reason is based upon. If we can't face them, we deny reason itself! Although, why not? We aren't contractually tied down to rationality! There is no sanity clause!"

Jim felt his entire body shaking as the pictures began to flash in front of him. Seeing these images felt like they'd be the end of him. It only got worse when he listened to the Joker's sinister voice, "So when you find yourself locked onto an unpleasant train of thought, heading for the places in your past where the screaming is unbearable, remember there's always madness. Madness is the emergency exit...you can just step outside, and close the door on those dreadful things that happened. You can lock them away...forever."

"No, Joker, no," Gordon screamed, as the clown closed the door on the track and let the light of pictures take him, "Please, nooooooo!"

* * *

The commissioner wouldn't be alone in the house of horrors for long. Just outside the gates of the asylum, the Red Fox and the the rest of the team was preparing to enter Arkham, along with some guests who'd arrived only a few moments ago. Kakashi, who seemed to have mellowed out since his visit five years ago, had brought his team to Gotham. A couple of them were people that Naruto remembered, a girl named Sakura and a boy named Sasuke, but one of them was a young man named Sai who the blonde had never met.

Sakura Haruno was a girl that Naruto had a crush back when he was in the hidden Leaf, as she'd been one of the few people who was nice to him. At least until her mother told her stay away from the boy for reasons she didn't understand. She had pink hair and always wore a red dress that went down to her knees. Only one thing was holding her back from being a great ninja, and that was her obsession with Sasuke. Sasuke was a boy with mid length black hair who always wore a blue shirt and black shorts. He was a member of the famous Uchiha Clan, meaning that he had the bloodline known as the Sharingan. The Sharingan was bloodline that affected the user's eyes and allowed them track a person's movements and even copy their jutsu's if they got good enough. Obviously, this made it a force to be reckoned with. Only two people left in the world had this ability, as Sasuke's older brother Itachi had slaughter the entire clan for reasons no one was certain of. The only thing the boy lived for now was the thought of getting revenge on his brother. Last there was Sai, who no one really knew much about. His teammates had seen him use ink based attacks before, but that was where their knowledge of him ended. Sai was far too quiet for anyone to get any info out of him. As for his attire, it consisted of short black hair and a matching pair of black shorts and pants. They all looked confused, completely uncertain of what expect as they gazed upon the grim walls of Arkham Asylum.

"Do we really have to go in there?" Sakura asked, having heard about this place from her best friend Ino, "My friend said that her dad had to go in their once to study some of the crazy people. She told me that place is full of freaks and monsters that would kill you without a second thought."

The Red Fox had a hard time arguing against that, "Sounds like Ino described it pretty well. There are some dangerous people in there, but don't worry, we know how to beat them all. We've fought these guys so many times, we can recite their weaknesses on demand."

Dangerous villains didn't scare Sasuke in the least, "Tch, these guys don't even have chakra. Without chakra, there isn't a single person in there who can take me!"

"Excuse me, Sasuke is it?" Batman asked, to which the onyx haired boy nodded, "Don't underestimate these people for a second. They won't hold back because your a child or because they have some sense of remorse. Most of them would kill for the pure pleasure of it. It's already clear to me that you don't understand that, so I'm going to be putting the Red Fox in charge of you and the other genin."

Both Sasuke and Sakura looked shocked by prospect of someone their age being in charge of them, while Sai seemed totally fine with it, "Whatever you feel is best sir. It does seem that he knows these foes better than we do."

Kakashi was glad to see that one of his students understood how to operate in someone else's territory, "Well said Sai. The three of you should go and introduce yourself to the Red Fox and Robin. I want you all operating like a team so that you can be safe when you go in there."

"Fine," Sasuke spat, walking over to the boy, "But we all know that I'm stronger than whoever this guy is!"

Everyone who knew the Red Fox highly doubted that. Batman decided to have some words with Kakashi, all of which had of course been in Japanese, "Your student seems very desperate to prove that he's the strongest person here. Does that have anything to do with the revenge he's been seeking to get on his brother?"

Kakashi could see the hero was just as observant as he'd remembered, "He's still got a lot of hate flowing through him over that incident four years ago. Who can blame him? He saw his entire family murdered by the person that he trusted most in the world. I can't think of anything much more damaging than that."

"Very true, which is exactly why you need to keep an eye on him," Batman warned, looking over at the boy briefly, "Revenge can be a dark, all consuming black hole if you let it. Believe me, I'd know."

That was advice the shinobi would take to heart, "We've been trying to get through to him, but it's about as difficult as you'd imagine. By the way, before we go into the asylum, I have to ask if you really have called in everyone could for this? Not to judge, but this seems like a small team for the type of mission you've got going here."

Batman was nervous about that himself, "I was hoping to have some comrades of mine from the Justice League come in and help us, but they're busy fighting off a villain known as Despero. As much as I hate to say it, it's more important that they stop him. They'll come here once they're finished, but we're on our own for now. On the bright side, once they've checked up on our friend Batgirl, Tsunade and Shizune will be coming here as well. In the meantime, it's just us. Let's get in there and see what the Joker has waiting for us."

"Good idea," Kakashi agreed, calling to his team, "Yo, we're going in! Batman and I are going to try and contain the situation, as it appears the mastermind behind all this turned loose every madman in that place. You three are going to head in undetected and look for the Commissioner. Do as the Red Fox says, and this should all go smoothly. Leave the Joker to us."

Sasuke had heard the villain's name multiple times tonight, as they'd told them the translated version of it, and he found it ridiculous, "Are we really supposed to be afraid of the guy called the Joker? What could possibly be so threatening about a man who dresses like a clown?"

All three of the heroes stared at the boy as if he were an idiot. The Red Fox looked him in the eye and said in a dead serious tone, "The Joker is the most dangerous person in all of Gotham. He's survived the impossible, killed enough people to fill a dozen graveyards, and went toe to toe with people who could kill you in less than minute. We're talking about the very incarnation of chaos here. This isn't some clown, he's a monster the likes of which the world has never seen. Does that explain how he can be so threatening?"

"Tch, if you say so," Sasuke said, scoffing like he had before, "Let's get into that asylum before this wacko starts ranting again."

Red Fox took a little offense to being called a wacko, but went with it nonetheless. He'd do anything to get his kid to shut up at this point. The team of ninjas put in their masks and then everyone jumped up above gate of the asylum. They began to make there way to their points of entry. Robin had a question for the Red Fox as they ran together, "I know I can be a dick, but I'm never that bad, right? I'm not up there with that Mr. Stick-up-his-ass."

The nickname he'd given Sasuke earned a chuckle from the Red Fox, "Nope, not even close. Now focus. We can't let the Joker do too much damage to Jim. He's been good to us and he means the world to Barbara, so this is the least we can do for him."

* * *

_There once was a man who had only one simple dream in life: To make people laugh. His name is unknown, but most people just call him Jack. Jack was an engineer who worked at Ace Chemicals to support his sweet pregnant wife __Jeannie__. It was a simple enough life, but it didn't make Jack happy at all. There was no way he could get the sweet sound of laughter at a chemical plant. Scary as it was for him to do, Jack decided to quit his job so that he could make people roar with laughter, just as he always dreamed of. He went out into the world and became a stand up comedian. At last, he had the perfect job!_

Problem was, his dream job didn't pay nearly enough. No one laughed at his jokes, no matter how hard he tried. Jack was failing at the one thing in the world that he felt would make him happy. To make matters worse, he couldn't support his upcoming family either. So he did something crazy, and agreed to help a pair of criminals break into Ace Chemicals to steal some equipment. If nothing else, Jack would get some money from the deal to help support Jeannie. She was one of the last things he still had in this world. Until he lost her as well that is.

_Less than a week later, while Jack was off planning the heist, Jeannie died in some kind of household accident. No one ever agreed on what the accident was, but it was most definitely gruesome. Jack was left heartbroken, and even tried to back out of the Ace Chemical job after that. The two criminals wouldn't let him though, forcing him to go on with the plan or face death. So, a few days later, Jack came to the Ace Chemical plant to meet the criminals, who had a disguise already made up for him. It was a Red Hood, set up like a long fishbowl that he was barely able to see through. What he didn't know was, this was meant to make him seem like the leader of the group in case any cops showed up._

_They broke into the plant and quickly made their way up onto the walkway in order to get the more valuable equipment. Below them was a dangerous vat of chemicals that even Jack didn't know what to make of. Before anyone could even ask that question, a dark figure broke through the glass of the roof and descend upon them. It was the Batman, who the two criminals quickly tired to run from, leaving Jack behind. Jack tried to get the helmet off to explain what was happening, but it was so hard to see that he ended up tripping over the railing and falling into the mysterious liquid below. _

_With a splash, Jack found himself drenched in the bubbling chemicals and swirling down a pipe that lead to the outskirts of the city. He nearly drowned in those hellish moments leading down, but by some miracle he survived. When he finally crawled out of the sewer he'd been washed into, he quickly found a store window to look at his reflection in. The chemicals, whatever they had been, dyed his hair neon green, bleached his skin a ghostly white, and turned his lips blood red. Most would be horrified by this realization, but not him. His mind had been opened on that night, turning him into something dark and sinister. At last, he was going to make people laugh, whether or not they wanted to. There was only one other image in his head, and that was of the person who'd help create him. Soon, he'd show the Batman that they were destined for one another. That's why he'd fallen in that bag that night, it was destiny. His destiny to become the greatest punchline Gotham had ever seen. Whoever had gone into those chemicals was gone, and someone brilliant had come out. That was the night he was born...the Joker!_

* * *

"Oh come on, off all the places we could've gotten stuck going into, we got the freaking sewer," Sakura whined, as she and the other four teens trekked through the sludge of Arkham's pipeline, "Oh, this so gross. It almost make me miss the mission back in the land of Waves, and there was a midget with an army of thugs trying to kill us there!"

The rest of them had a difficult time dealing with the foul smell of the place as well, especially the Red Fox, "If you think's it's bad for you, just imagine what it's like with an enhanced sense of smell. Took me forever to learn how to get through places like this without losing my lunch."

Sasuke was pretty sure that was first time the boy had mentioned having an enhanced sense of anything, "So you've got some kind of special powers? Good, that means you'd actually be decent training for me. We start the final round of the Chunin exams a few days after we get back, so I need to get stronger. The whole point of this trip was to train so that I could pass the exam and get one step closer to killing my brother."

"Okay, enough with the exposition already," The Red Fox said with a roll of his eyes, making both Sai and Robin laugh, "Those few sentences told me way more about you than I ever wanted to know. How about we all keep quiet to make sure that no one can sneak up on us. Plenty of villains out there thrive in conditions like this. We need to be ready in case one of them shows up."

It took only a few moments after that for Robin to raise his hand to signal them to stop. It was clear that something had caught his attention, "Hey, Red Fox, you notice anything strange about the walls around here?"

The Red Fox began to survey the hard cement walls of the sewer, noticing a fuzzy green moss covering them. Usually this was something the group would ignore, but there was a crimson tint to them that made the foliage seem much more ominous, "Huh, that looks familiar. I swear that I've seen it before, but I can't remember where. Robin, have any clue what's with this stuff? I mean, do you know when we last sew it?"

"Yeah, because it was the time I almost got my head bitten clean off by a cannibalistic human crocodile," Robin spat, earning him strange looks from Sasuke and Sakura, "I can still smell that nasty breath Jones had in my nightmares."

At this point, only the Red Fox knew what he was talking about, which is why he was the only one growing nervous, "Are you saying that you think there's a good chance we're standing right in the middle of Killer Croc's lair? As in the guy who's like 7 foot high, has skin like leather, and is strong enough to punch through stone like it's clay? That Killer Croc?"

All of the color drained from Sakura's face as he described the man, "That's not a real thing, right? You're just trying to scare the new people coming to Gotham. Well haha, you had your fun!"

"Sakura, do you not remember them describing the bizarre types of foes they have here?" Sai asked, a little surprised by his teammates naiveness, "Besides, it wouldn't all that much different from some of the people in the hidden Leaf and the rest of the Ninja Nations. The missing-nin Kisame Hoshigaki bares a striking resemblance to a shark, the Aburame clan use their bodies almost like hives for their insect partners, and the Inuzuka's have bonded with dogs so much that they've started taking on their traits. Need I say more?"

The pink haired girl had to admit, he had a point, "I guess so. That's doesn't mean I wanna meet whoever this guy they were describing is. He sounds like something out of a horror movie!"

It was rather ironic that she mentioned a horror movie, as just at that moment, a horror movie villain come to life was sneaking up on them. A bubbling came from the water just behind them, causing all of the children to back away. Caly began to rise before them, giving away to the Red Fox who it was, "You, know if he could speak Japanese, I would've swore that Clayface had waited for a line like that to come in on."

"Hey there kiddies! Did you miss me?" Clayface asked in jovial voice as he began to take his usual monstrous form, "Look at that. Red Fox and Robin even brought in some new characters for the sequel. Funny thing about slasher sequels though, the new characters almost never survive!"

As Clayface turned one of his arms into a giant sharpened blade, the heroes began to back away to try and protect their lives. Another loud splash stopped them from going any further, as they all turned around to see Killer Croc bursting out of the water, "Well would you look at that? Some treats before it's even time for dinner. Looks like I'm about to spoil my appetite."

Robin groaned at seeing the humanoid reptile, "Oh come on, like one villain wasn't bad enough already! How the heck are we gonna handle both of these guys?"

"We get smart, that's how we handle it," The Red Fox said, a scenario running through his head in a split second, "Sasuke, you're sensei said you've got a lightening attack up your sleeve. Hit Clayface with that, and leave the rest to Robin, he'll know what to do. Sai, Sakura, you're with me against Killer Croc. I'll fill you in as we go. Let's get wild!"

He finished just in time to hear Killer Croc let out an earth shaking roar. The Red Fox spun around and grabbed two pellets from his belt. Quickly leaving the heroes hand, Croc found the two pellets hitting him directly in the face, exploding into clouds of smoke. It quickly reduced his field of vision to practically nothing. For him, this was nothing but a minor irritant that forced him to take a good wiff of the air around him, "So what if I can't see you? You're scent is all I'll need to track you down and rip you into little bite sized pieces!"

"Sakura, Kakashi said you're the one with the traps, so get something ready before he gets outta that smoke," The Red Fox yelled without care, as he knew the villain wouldn't be able to understand him, "Preferably something that'll trip him up."

The girls first instinct was the to ask the boy when her sensei had told him all this, but she override that urge and grabbed a pre maid trap from her pocket. Sakura was by no means a trap expert, but did find out during the Chunin exams that she was pretty decent with them. All that the trap consisted of was two kunai and a thin, but strong, wire connecting them. She threw the setup in front of the cloud of smoke, right where Croc would be running soon, "It's all set. This had better work, because that guy looked scary as hell."

Killer Croc was about to show them whether or not it would work, as he came sprinting out of the smoke. His feet hit the string and he immediately began to tumble like a falling log. An anger filled as he realized that he'd fallen for such a simple trap. He screamed out as he hit the ground, "You little brat are going to pay for that with your lives!"

"This next parts on you Sai," The Red Fox said, ignoring his opponent's threats, "Hold him down before he gets back up so that I can finish this."

Without hesitation, Sai retrieved one of the scrolls from his back along with a paint brush. He instantly began to paint snakes on the paper, which literally jumped off from the page. The strange creatures were white with black outlines, and still looked hand drawn even though they were three dimensional. They wrapped around Croc before he had the chance to get back on his feet, much to his dismay, "Hey, let go of me! I just want one bite, that's all I'll need to end you!"

The Red Fox grabbed another few pellets from his belt and threw them onto Killer Croc. They exploded, but not into a puff of smoke this time. Rather, a strange foam began bubble and surround Croc by his arms. It formed a ball around him, one that hardened and made it impossible for the villain to move his upper body. He tried to use his impressive strength to break out of it, but the Red Fox wasn't going to let that happen. Grabbing yet another gadget from his belt, Red Fox took his explosive gel dispenser and sprayed his knuckles with a thin layer of it. Now there was only one part left to his plan, "What's the matter Croc? You don't like it when your food fights back?"

"You little shit, I'm gonna kill you," Croc yelled, as his opennet had said that insult in English, "I'll crush your skull in between my teeth!"

With his teeth bared, the massive man began to sprint towards the Red Fox. The moment Croc got to him, Red Fox cocked his fist back smashed his fist into his foes face. A controlled explosion went off right in Killer Croc's face, knocking out one of his teeth and knocking him into the wall behind him. His head left a large indent in the wall as he slid down the wall, out cold. It was simply too tempting for the Red Fox to grab the sharpened tooth from the ground and tossed it to Sakura, "We've got one of these already, so you can this as souvenir. Maybe we'll find something like that for one of your friends too."

Sakura looked at the object with both horror and fascination, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I might actually keep this. It might be cool on a necklace or something. Oh wait, what about Sasuke? How's he doing?"

"Turn around and see," Sai said, as he could still hear people fighting, "It appears the battle raging on."

All three of them spun around to see Sasuke and Robin trying to dodge various strikes from Clayface. Sasuke flipped back to avoid a massive hand crashing down into the ground. As the villain was pulling his hand back, the boy began to do a speedy series of hand seals. His hand came down to side started to conduct a current of electricity through its skin. It made a chirping sound, almost like that of a bird. Once it was ready, Sasuke started running towards Clayface, calling out as he did, "Chidori!"

Chidori was the name of the attack, which Kakashi had taught the boy only a few days earlier. It was the weakest version of the jutsu, but it was still a powerful assassination technique. Clayface tried to smack the boy away before the attack could land, but Sasuke was simply too fast for him. He jumped over the villains enormous arm and plunged his hand into Clayface's body. The electricity went coursing through the man, making it impossible for him to keep his current form. Clayface screamed out in pain as his body began to lose structural integrity, "Gahhhh!"

"Good job Sasuke, now get out of the way so I don't hit you," Robin commanded, knowing that Clayface wouldn't stay incapacitated for long. Once the raven haired boy had pulled his arm out, Robin grabbed a freeze grenade from his belt and threw it at Clayface, "Time to take a final bow Karlo!"

The grenade was thrown perfectly on target, hitting Clayface directly in the chest. It burst and an ice liquid began to freeze his body from the center. He only had time to get one last shot of clay off before it turned his body into solid ice, "If I'm gonna go down, it's gonna be fighting!"

Everyone watched as the glob of clay struck Robin and sent him skidding a crossed the floor, covering him completely. They'd won the fight against these two villains, but the Red Fox was still terrified for his brother, "Robin! Everyone, get him out that stuff before he suffocates!"

"You heard the man, let's move," Sasuke said, quickly making his way to the pile of of clay. He might have been a jerk at times, but the boy still knew when to be worried for the welfare of others.

The entire group reached the pile and began to sift through it, noticing that the clay had oddly began to sink into the ground. When they finally reached the bottom, they didn't find Robin, but rather a large hole that lead to the lower levels of the Arkham sewer system. Water from this layer of the sewer had begun to flow down in it, making it hard for Red Fox to figure out what had happened. Eventually he notice that cement floor haven't been cut, but melted by some kind of acid. It was easy to discern what those facts told him about where Robin had gone, "Someone was watching us fight, just waiting for a chance to find someway to take Robin. Based on theses burn marks, there's only one person it could be...Joker!"

* * *

"Wakey wakey little Robin," A dark voice happily called as Robin slowly opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was getting hit by massive mound of clay in the sewers, but based on the smell, he was no longer there. It looked like he was in the Arkham storage room from what he could tell, and someone was there with him as well. A man with a purple suit and a wicked grin, "Uncle Joker's here bird boy, and he wants to have a little fun with you. What do you say? Do you wanna have some fun with me?"

It was fuzzy, but Robin could see that he had a crowbar in his hand. He knew that couldn't be good. All he could do was tell the clown of his disdain, as he was bound by his hands and feet, "Let me go you sick freak!"

The Joker laughed at him, showing off his newly disfigured face. It made the boy cringe watching his muscles contort as he chuckled, "Hahahaha, I can't let you go now Robin, the party's only just begun. You're being awfully rude for a party guest, you know that? Don't worry though, I'll be happy to teach you some manners. Even if I have to _Beat_ them into you! Hahahahahaha!"


	25. That Wicked Grin Pt 2

Hello there everyone, are you ready for me to pick off from my cliffhanger past chapter? I realize it was a little cruel to do that to you, but it felt necessary for the sake of the story. I'm sure there's a lot of you wondering whether certain characters are going to live or die, but that, along with what Barbara's fate is going to be, is something you'll have to find out by reading the chapter. The Joker's plan has only just begun, so it's time to dive back in and see what else he has in store for our heroes. Thanks so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Stealers Wheel: Stuck in the Middle With You

* * *

Most people's time on this earth was spent trying to discover their purpose. They try to find a reason for everything thing that they do and everything they want to be. Psychiatrists are paid hundreds of dollars an hour to try and sort out the madness a person finds in their life. The Joker may have been the only person who not only hated reasoning, but embraced the madness in this world. It was because of this madness that the clown currently found himself dancing around a beaten and bloodied Robin, gleefully making the boy suffer for his own amusement. With a crowbar in his hand, the Joker beat the boy again and again, splattering blood all across the pavement as he did. Each grunt the boy gave off only egged the Joker on, "Haha, what's the matter boy blunder? Aren't you enjoying your quality time spent with Uncle J? How about we play a game? I'll hit you in a couple of body parts with this lovely little crowbar, and you'll tell me which one hurts more. Here, I'll start!"

Robin cried out in pain as the Joker struck him in the back with the metal bar. He got only a moment to focus on the pain before the bar came back and hit him in the side, breaking one of his ribs. The Joker chuckled and twirled his weapon around in his hand, "So kiddo, which one was worse? That first one sounded pretty bad, but I think I felt something break on that second one. If it's a toss up, I'll be more than happy to hit you again so that you can figure it out."

"Fuck...you," Robin rasped out, spitting blood onto the Joker's shoes, "I'm not...afraid of you!"

That response should've irritated the pale man, but he actually found it amusing, "Of course not, who could ever be afraid of such a nice man like me? Just look at my beautiful smile!"

The Joker leaned down and showed off his face, which was hardly being held on by the belts he'd used. It made the boy want to puke being so close to it, "Why?...Even for you...that's just sick."

"It's to prove a point to my beloved Batman of course," The Joker said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Don't worry if you don't get it, I'm sure that he will. You know, assuming you survive that is."

It looked like the beating was going to continue, so Robin braced himself for what was about to come, "I'll get through this...I've had worse...times than this."

The clown smacked the boy across the face with the crowbar, fracturing his jaw. For the Joker, beating someone so close to the Batman within an inch of their life was like Christmas, "I can't deny, watching you squirm while I pound the ever living tar out of you is fun. If only I had time to enjoy it a little more. Oh well, at least this means that I finally get to tend to the guest of honor! Excuse me Robin, but I've got work to do. In the meantime, Harley, bring it down!"

"Coming right up Mr. J," Harley called, jumping down from the balcony above them with much acrobatic grace. She landed with a small explosive in her hand, one that she seemed very hesitant about, "Do you really want us to use this thing on him? Sure it's small, but it packs a real punch. I don't think they'll be anything left of the kid if I strap this to his body."

For the first time since he became Robin, Jason started to wonder if he was going to make it out of this thing alive. The Joker notice that the boy was starting to have some fear in his eyes, so he grabbed the explosive and went with it, "There won't' be even an ounce of the boy left Harley, that's the point. I don't want Batsy to even be able to find him. Let's set this to go off in about 20 minutes. Those goodie goodies are gonna have to rush if they wanna save him in time. Oh, this is going to be a real blast! Hahahahahah!"

"Worst pun ever," Robin said with some strain, doing his best to keep acting tough, "It doesn't matter...they're gonna come for me...and when they do they'll kick your ass!"

The Joker spun around and smacked him in the head with the crowbar, knocking him unconscious this time, "Would you shut up? I'm trying to have a moment here! Besides, you shouldn't be trying to talk. Sounds like you've got a collapsed lung there. Haha, wonder how that happened?"

With his last joke complete, the Joker tossed the explosive onto Robin's chest and beckoned to Harley, "Alright, time to go babe. Bat's should be arriving at main event any moment now."

"Sure thing puddin," Harley said, glancing back at Jason as she walked off. She had begun to feel that this was going too far, even for her lover, "It ain't right doing you like this kid. I wish there was something I could do…"

* * *

Batman and Kakashi did their best to bob and weave through the hoards of loose Arkham inmates as they made their way to what everyone in the Asylum had dubbed, 'The Pit.' It was called that because it was only spot in Arkham where the most dangerous criminals were allowed to have some time to stretch their legs and get some kind of contact with other people. No one wanted to give the villains such a luxury but they had to for legal purposes. The room was shaped like a hexagon and was nothing but wall to wall concrete. This was easily the most heavily guarded area in the Asylum, for obvious reasons, which was why a failsafe for the security system had been placed in the Pit's control tower. It was almost certain that this would be the last place in the Asylum that criminals would be able to take over, so it was the most logical place to put it.

That was where the men needed to be, but the rioting inmates made it near impossible to get there. Batman knew if he could get the security system running again, the GCPD would be able to come in and get a handle on the situation. Until then, he and Kakashi would fight through various maniacs trying to kill them, no matter how many came at them.

The Dark Knight apologized to the shinobi as he ducked under another pipe that was coming for his head, "Sorry about dragging you into this mess. I know you and your team came to Gotham to train, but as you can see, you're help was greatly needed here."

"You wouldn't have asked us here if you didn't have to, I'm sure," Kakashi said, kicking a man with a large hunting knife who'd jumped out in front of him, "This might be pretty good training for them anyways. You're sure that they're going to be safe with your other fighters?"

Batman was certain they'd make it out okay, "They've been trained by me to know not only how to fight, but when it's time to retreat. If things get too dangerous, the Red Fox will see to it that everyone gets out of the Asylum intact. He might have to do it too, with everything the Joker's planned for us tonight."

Mentioning the villain reminded Kakashi that there was a question he'd been itching to ask. He finally remembered it as the two got closer to the door to the pit, "Who is the Joker anyways? Before the messed skin and everything? Something seriously horrible must have happened to turn him into that."

"That's what I always assumed," Batman agreed, sliding under a man who was swinging a rattling chain at him, "We've been able to piece small parts of his past together throughout the years, but the full story has always alluded us. I've had to make peace with the fact that there's a good chance we'll never know who he is."

Kakashi could hardly imagine how frustrating it must have been for the hero not having some kind of reason as to why the Joker was such a monster, "I suppose all you can do is tell yourself it doesn't matter. There's nothing that could've happened to him that would justify the things he's done."

The shinobi had correctly summed up how Batman had comforted himself about his nemesis over the years. He thought about it briefly as the two of them reached the entrance to the pit. Based on the green spray paint that covered the area around it, they weren't the first ones here, "Looks like Joker's going to be waiting for us. Be ready for something strange in there."

"I'm not sure anything can surprise me at this point," Kakashi replied as the two of them began into walk into the room, "But, I'll be ready just in case."

Batman threw his fist back with for one last punch on criminal who'd snuck up behind him and then gave Kakashi a quick nod. They started to walk into the room and immediately noticed that there were a dozen people strapped to the balcony that surrounded the room. As there footsteps echoed on cement walls, Batman noticed that they each had a gun pointed to their head with strings attached to the trigger. It was difficult for the detective to figure out what this was supposed to be, "A hostage situation? All of this build up, and it's just a simple hostage situation? There must be more to it than this, but what?"

A faint buzzing range in their ears as the Joker's voice came over the room's intercom, "So, I see you received the free ticket I sent you. I'm glad. I did so want you to be here. You see, it doesn't matter if you catch me and send me back to the Asylum. Gordon's been driven mad!"

"There he is," Batman growled, turning to Kakashi and asking, "Do you want me to translate what he's saying so that you can understand it?"

Kakashi said yes in the knick of time, as the Joker quickly continued on, "I've proved my point! I've demonstrated that there's no difference between me and everybody else. All it takes is just one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy! That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day."

As more and more of the speech was translated for him, Kakashi began to understand just how insane this clown really was, "I've had to interrogate some psycho's in my day, but this guy beats them all. He's enjoying the fact that he essentially scared a man for life."

"You had a bad day once. Am I right? I know I am," The Joker ranted on, his voice filling with even more of his morbid happiness," You had a bad day, and everything changed! Why else would you dress up as a flying rat? You had a bad day, and it drove you as crazy as everybody else! Only you won't admit it! You have to keep pretending that life makes sense. That there's some point to all this struggling. GOD you make me want to puke! I mean what is it with you? What made you what you are? Girlfriend killed by the mob, maybe? Brother carved up by some mugger? Something like that I bet...something like that...something like that...happened to me, you know? I'm...I'm not exactly sure what it was. Sometimes, I remember it one way, sometimes another...if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice, haha!"

Batman noticed that one of the people on the balcony was Kirk Langstrom, but couldn't identify any of the others. There were both inmates and guards in the mix, a fact the Dark Knight wasn't quite sure what to make of. Between that and the speech, the hero was at a complete loss as to what was going on, "Where are you going with this Joker?"

As if to answer him, the villain came back onto the intercom at that moment, "My point is...my point is, I went crazy. When I saw what a black, awful joke the world was, I went crazy as a coot! I admit it! So why can't you? You're not unintelligent, you must see the reality of the situation? Do you know how many times we've come close to World War III over a flock of geese on a computer screen? Do you even know what triggered the last world war? An argument with Germany over how many telegraph poles they owed their war debt creditors. Telegraph poles! Haha! It's all a joke! Anything anybody ever valued or struggled for, it's all just a monstrous, demented gag. So why can't you see the funny side? Why aren't you laughing?"

"Because I've heard it before, and it wasn't funny the first time," Batman screamed, unsure whether or not the man could hear him, "Jim's going to be fine, you and I both know that! He's never going to be the same after what you've done for him, but he'll pull through. I'm not going to let you break him like all the others!"

Joker must have been able to hear, because he yelled right back into the intercom, "No! He's going to go crazy, you're going to lose everyone that you love, and I'm finally going to break you! By the end of this night, my blood will be on your hands!"

"No, it won't," Batman yelled back, still desperate to end this rivalry once and for all, "Do you understand? I don't want to hurt you. I don't want either of us to end up killing the other...but we're both running out of alternatives...and we both know it. Maybe it all hinges on tonight. Maybe this is our last chance to sort this bloody mess out. If you don't take it, then we're locked onto a suicide course. Both of us, to the death. It doesn't have to end like that. I don't know what it was that bent your life out of shape, but who knows? Maybe I've been there too. Maybe I can help. We could work together. I could rehabilitate you. You needn't be out there on the edge any more. You needn't be alone. We don't have to kill each other. What do you say?"

There was a pause hanging in the room, as if the Joker was thinking over what the man had said. Kakashi hadn't been able to understand what they'd been saying, as Batman had stopped translating, but the pure intensity of the words had him impressed. A few more tension filled moments later, the Joker finally responded, "I'm sorry, but no. Let's face it Bats, there's no getting off this track of ours. We're both too far gone. Don't cry though, because tonight's the night that we've both dreamed about. At last, we're going to see who makes it out of the greatest rivalry the world has ever seen alive! Here we go!"

The strings on each of the of the triggers, firing something off into each of the chained balcony victim's necks. Batman finally translated what had been said to Kakashi. It was fascinating to the shinobi the relationship these two shared, "It's like the Joker actually does think of you as a friend. I've never seen a pair of enemies who have a relationship like this. By the way, what did he those strings do to all these people?"

"I'm not sure," Batman said, watching as all of the victims began to jerk their bodies all around, "But it's highly unlikely that it's anything we're going to like."

All of them broke from their restraints at once, their bodies pulsing and starting to grow. It was a horrible sight that the Joker came over the intercom to explain, "What you're seeing is the effects of the new drug that I got from those little bulbs on Ivy's plants a few weeks ago. I used that and little sample of Bane's blood to create a new miracle chemical. I've named it Titan, and it has all the effects of Venom, but you don't have to take it constantly to stay all beefy. Of course that's because you die roughly 10 minute or 15 minutes after taking it. Talk about an unwanted side effect, haha! Well, most of them will die, I don't know about the good Doctor Lamgstrom because I added a special ingredient to his brew. Either way, that means when all these guys keel over, you'll be too tired to put up a fight against me. Then I'll come down and I'll give you a choice. First you'll take a look at my beautiful new face and explain the point I'm trying to make with it. After that, I'll give you the chance to do what you probably should've done a long time ago...kill me! How's this going to go Dark Knight? Even with all the horrible things I've done tonight, some of which you don't know about yet, will you still let me live? Can you stick to your self righteous guns even when I'm giving you a free shot at me? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out! Get ready boys and girls, it's time for a rumble in The Pit! Hahahahahaha!"

Screechs filled the hero's ears from all around the room, making Kakashi and Batman focus back on the people who'd gotten the injections. All of them had grown into almost 9 foot tall monsters, with foaming mouths, massive muscles, and disproportional limbs. Langstrom looked the worst of them all, having reverted back to his Man-Bat form, only this time nearly twice as large. His fangs and claws looked longer as well, making the creature all the more intimidating. This was going to be a fight for their lives, and Batman knew it, "We're surrounded on all sides by opponents who greatly outmatch us, but I think we can manage between the two of us. Keep them all alive if you can. I know they're likely going to die either way, but I don't any blood on your hands right now."

"Don't worry, I've got plenty of attacks that are non lethal to use on these guys," Kakashi said, looking around at the monstrous creatures that had once been men, "Although I don't that was really gonna be an issue with these guys anyways. I'm wondering if we've got anything that'll be hurt them. Oh well, you ready?"

Batman grabbed three batarangs in each hand and gave the most fitting answer he could, "I'm always ready. I wouldn't have survived this long if I wasn't. Alright you big ugly freaks, which one of you wants to go first?"

* * *

The Red Fox and company were moving as fast as their legs could possibly carry them. They'd all jumped down into the hole in the sewers that had been left in the sewer and started to track Robin as best that they could. There was no telling what the Joker was doing to him, which made them even more desperate to find the boy. However, there wasn't much to go off from as to where he was. Usually they could use the tracker that each hero had connect to their suit, but Jason's must have been removed as it was giving off no signal. It had started out easily enough, as the Joker had disturbed the moss that lined the pipes he ran through. All the heroes had done was follow trail the clown had left until it lead back to Arkham. That was when they hit a snag regarding where to go next.

"There are five different ways we could go right now," Sai pointed out, as he and the rest of the group stood in heart of the Asylum. Eight or nine escaped prisoners had been there as well, but the ninjas made quick work of them. Each path lead a different wing in the Asylum, and it would likely take them hours to check an entire wing for Robin. There was simply no way for them to know which way to go, "There's no way for else to tell which route to take. Red Fox, you know this Joker character even better than the rest of us. Do you know where he would he be mostly likely to take your friend?"

The Red Fox didn't know, as he'd never been able to get into the Joker's head, "No, I don't' have a clue. It'd have to be somewhere that meant something to him I guess. This Asylum has been like home to him for ages, so that could be just about anywhere. Shit, there's gotta be someway to figure it out."

"My my little Fox, is something wrong?" Came a raspy whisper, this one completely in English, "You were having quite the temper tantrum in that language of yours. You'll have to forgive me for not being able to identify it, I was never any good with Asian dialects."

There was no need for the Red Fox to run around. He knew exactly who it was, "Scarecrow, again you went and tracked me down. I'm starting to think you might be stalking me."

That made the dark figure chuckle a bit, "I can see how you might think that. You know it's funny, the Joker is Batman's worst enemy, but I like to think that we've become each other's nemesis. Don't' you agree?"

"Believe it or not, I actually do," Red Fox growled, not in the mood to deal with the deranged psychiatrist, "You better not be looking for a fight tonight, because we don't have time to get in a into it with you right now."

Scarecrow had no interest in a brawl at the moment, "Fear not little Fox, I'm merely enjoying the mayhem of the night. It did trouble me a bit to find out that you eventually broke free of my toxin's hold, but I'll simply use it as motivation to continue my research. If my chemicals could do that to someone with will as strong as yours, who knows what a little more work might make it capable of."

The hero cut his rambling off there, "Yeah, you like fear, I get it. All I want to know is if you've seen the Joker come through here or not."

"Funny you should mention it, he came running out of the storage wing of the facilities about five minutes ago," Scarecrow recalled, which made the Red Fox immediately turn towards that direction, "Usually I would keep this information to myself, but I find this setup he's created incredibly fascinating. I'm headed to the security booth to watch this entire thing play out from there."

The Red Fox was already running away by the time the villain finished speaking, "Thanks for the info Crane!"

For Scarecrow, it was no trouble at all, "As I stated before, I'm only furthering my own interests. I do wonder who those children with him were. How many of those thing does the Dark Knight have lying around anyways?"

* * *

"Come on, come on, hurry up," Robin repeated to himself, thinking about his friends that he prayed would be arriving soon. There was less than five minutes left on the explosives timer, "Please, stop counting!"

His words meant nothing to the timer. It cruelly continued to tick down, digging more fear down into the boy's heart. The more that Robin thought about it, the less likely it seemed that anyone was going to find him. There was almost no way for them to track him down, as the Joker had dug out the tracker in his suit, and there was well over a hundred crazies in this place slowing down any progress that might be made in finding him. He could've sworn that he felt someone with him once or twice, but he knew that was only wishful thinking.

Jason almost found this all too much to bare. After years of struggling and trying to find a family he could call his own, he'd finally found one who accepted him with open arms. Not only that, they'd been helping him grow as a person. Everything that he'd ever wanted in life was finally his, but now it was about to slip through his fingers. It was such a cruel twist of fate, even the usually stern boy couldn't help but let tears roll down his cheeks, "I don't wanna die...I don't wanna die…"

* * *

"Dammit, move people, move," The Red Fox screamed as he and his team ran through the hallway of the storage wing as rapidly as they could. They'd just finished searching the room where all of the Joker's recovered weapons were stored. There was no sign of Robin there, so the Red Fox lead them to the next most logical place, "He might have put him where the Asylum keeps all of the batarangs and whatnot that Batman's had to leave here over the years. The Joker might have thought it was funny to throw him in there or something. Come on, it's only a hundred feet ahead."

Sai was beginning to question if them going after Robin alone was such a good idea, "Red Fox, didn't that Batman person say the Joker is the most dangerous thing in this Asylum? If so, are you sure we should be trying to take him on by ourselves?"

The hero was sure alright, but only because he had to be, "The Joker is definitely the most dangerous person in this Asylum, which is exactly why we can't leave Robin alone with him for too long. All we have to do is hold him off until someone can get my friend loose. It's not like we can't handle that."

"Yeah, but what if," Sakura started to ask, before a door on the left side of the hallway they were in blew off from it's hinges and they felt a shaking in their feet. The girl could feel beneath her feet that the ground was shifting, "What's happening?"

The Red Fox knew what it was, and he was going to have to act quickly if he was going to keep it from killing them, "Get out of here, now! This whole place is gonna come down!"

None of the ninjas needed to be told twice. They turned around and began sprinting away as the cement behind them began cracking. The group could here tumbling rocks falling and something loud splashing into the water. Sasuke yelled as they picked up the pace, "What's going on? Why is everything falling apart."

"They put an addition on this wing a few years ago," The Red Fox screamed, praying they'd all make it in time, "A lot of people thought it was a mistake because they were doing it right on the ledge of large body of water. Some people didn't think the ground was stable enough. I think I'm starting to agree with them!"

As the last bits of the rock began crumbling, the entire group made one last leap straight foreword in the hopes that they'd make it far enough to stay safe. They rolled across the ground a couple of times and then came skidding to a halt. The Red Fox pulled his head up to see if they'd be alright. There was only a large hole left where the rest of the wing had been, through which a clear view of Gotham's skyline could be seen. Slowly the boy stood up, staring into the empty void that was left behind. Sakura stood up as well, soon realizing what this series of events must have meant, "Red Fox, you're friend, is he…"

"Dead," The Red Fox mumbled, no emotion in his voice, "Even if the explosion didn't kill him, the fall into the water would have. It's so deep in that area, we probably wouldn't even be able to find the body…"

Everyone in the room stared at him, unsure of what the boy would do. For nearly a minute he just stood there, as if he couldn't even comprehend what he'd seen. At last, he fell to the ground on his knees and started screaming. Not a scream of anger, but one that sounded more empty. It was nearly a depressing moan really. Tears formed in the boy's eyes, starting to roll down his cheeks. No one wanted to touch the boy, for fear of what he might do. When he finally stopped, no one said a word until a voice called out from the distance, "Hello? Is somewhere there? A hole just got blown in the ceiling of this place, someone talk to me!"

The Red Fox shook himself into focus and realized that it was Jim Gordon calling them. He ran a little ways forward towards the ledge and saw the explosion had blown off a small section of the roof of a cave. It was difficult, but you could see the commissioner strapped to a bumper car through the opening. Taking a deep breath, the Red Fox straightened himself back up then turned to the others, "That voice you were hearing is Commissioner Gordon. We need to go down and rescue him, and after that, we go find the Joker. He is going to fucking pay for this!"

"Perhaps you should calm down before choosing a further course of action," Sai began to say, before the Red Fox swatted his hand away.

There were still tears in his eyes, but the anger was visible in them as well as he spat, "He killed my brother! There's a whole lot of things that he may have gotten away, but I'm not going to let this be one of them! The Joker's blood bath ends tonight!"

The Red Fox's eye had turned a crimson color by this point, and there was a slight red glow that surrounded him. None of them knew what this side of him was, but it scared them. Even Sasuke found himself frighten by the anger radiating off from him. They watched as the Red Fox jumped from the ledge and into the cave below. Sasuke turned to his friends and said, "If he wants his vengeance, I'm gonna help him get it. I'd like to see if he'll find it as satisfied as hope I will. You guys in?"

"I suppose I will, if only to make sure you don't do anything foolish," Sai said, following his teammate down into the cave and calling behind him, "Sakura, you coming?"

The pink haired girl had every intention of doing so, as she did not want to find herself wandering a place like this alone. Sakura jumped down with the rest of them into the darkness below. She had no idea how this little adventure was going to end for her, but she was liking the direction it was taking less and less.

* * *

Nine of them were dead. Out of the dozen people that Joker had injected, nine of them were dead, leaving only three were alive. One of them was the newly revived Man-Bat, the other two were normal Titans, and the rest of them had already passed on. . Kakashi was taking on the two regular Titans himself while Batman focused on the more animalistic creature. Man-Bat's fangs were bared his claws were out and ready. Much of his fur was tattered from the fight, giving him a very beaten up look but the monster was still ready for a fight. With a screech, Man-Bat started to charge at Batman for what must have been the tenth time, ready gnaw the flesh right from his bones, "Graaahhhhhhhh!"

"You wanna go another round big fella," Batman asked, already knowing the answer, "Fine, the let's make it our last!"

Batman pulled two tasers from his belt and started rushing towards Man-Bat right back. The creature dove at him and the Dark Knight jumped over him before the attack landed. He pressed the two devices to Man-Bat's neck, right where some the fur had been ripped off, and turned them onto full blast. Electricity shot through him, getting down deep into it's body. It was caused the creature to begin spazzing and smack his head into the wall. It slumped unconscious onto the ground, allowing Batman to jump off and take a breath, "That Titan made him far more powerful than he was last time. I don't think he'll die like the rest of them because of the genetic alterations to his body, but it's unlikely he'll ever be human again. Kakashi, how are doing with those two?"

The shinobi was standing in between the two remaining Titan, who were both running at him the intent to kill. Kakashi didn't answer Batman, opting instead to wait where he was standing. At the very last second, right when they were about to tackle the man, Kakashi leapt out of the way and let the two of them collide. It shook nearly the entire room when the two fell to the ground. They didn't move for a few moments, so Kakashi walked over and checked their pulse. Neither had one to be found, "Damn, we lost them too. Looks like the giant bat is the only one that's gonna survive this. God, and what a way to go too! That bastard needs to pay for all this."

"Leave him to me Kakashi," Batman told him sternly, understanding the man's anger completely, "We can't kill him. If we do that, we let him win. The last thing I'm ever going to do is give the Joker that kind of satisfaction, even if it is in last moments."

Kakashi didn't like it, but he'd suck it up and deal with it for now. The sound of footsteps stopped the man from saying anything else, as both he and Batman turned to see the Joker jumping down from the balcony and into the pit. He grinned at the Dark Knight, finally showing him his new mutilated face, "What do you think Bat's? I did it just for you! Can you guess why? Oh please tell me that you can! It would be so embarrassing to go through all this effort only to find out you don't even get the joke."

It appeared that the moment the entire night had been building up to was finally here, "Step back Kakashi. There's a prisoner I need to escort back to his cell!"

"Seriously, what is with you and speaking Japanese these days?" Joker asked as he watched the ninja back away from the two of them, "You see, this is the problem! I feel like I don't know anything about you anymore. It used to be just you and me, against the world! Now, well now you've got the Red Fox, Robin, Batgirl, the guy who used to be Robin but is now some other bird thingy, the Justice League, and these Japanese weirdos too! Tell that you still love my Batsy? I miss you ever so much!"

Batman was fighting the urge to strangle the Joker right then and there, "It doesn't matter what I say, you still don't seem to get it. We're not the same Joker! I don't look at this like a joke or game! I'm out there trying to save people's lives! Yet, no matter how many times I throw you in here, you always break out and find a way to massacre even more people. What to do you call that?"

"A running gag?" Joker offered up, but was met only with a furious glare, "Lighten up Bats! Would it make you feel better if explained the whole cutting off my face and using it for a mask thing? It's simple really! I did to prove what you've been fighting so hard to get away from for years now: you and I are like two peas in a pod! You strip away my face, the purple suit, all of it, but I'm still me under those things. The same thing goes for you. No matter what rouse you might put on for the outside world, you're always going to be the Batman at heart. That face you walk around with during the day, that's your real mask! It's only when you put on that suit that you become who you really are. That's what makes us different from the rest of your team or the other nutbags in this Asylum. I'm chaos, you're order, and nothing is ever going to change that! We were made for eachother Bats. We're the two perfectly balanced half of a perfectly imbalanced world! Can't you see how beautiful that is?"

There was no beauty in this relationship as far as Batman was concerned, "You really wanna know what I see when I look in front of me? I see someone who's destined to torture me for the rest of my life so that I can always be reminded of how close Gotham is to the edge. You're what this world could be if people like me and Commissioner Gordon didn't exist. Before I came along, this city was a corrupted memory how what used to be the kind of place that gave people hope. Then the Batman arrived, and it was starting to look things had a chance of training. Right when I started to have real hope for this city was when you arrived, destroying everything that you touched for the pure pleasure of it. You latched onto me like some kind of virus, one that was there so that'd I'd always remember: no matter how much I do for this city or who I take down, there'll always be something worse to come. That's why I've never killed you. I know this city will just spit out something worse after you're gone, and quite frankly, you're sicking enough as it is. So no, I don't see the beauty in this situation. All I see is what could happen if I ever stopped fighting you!"

The Joker had started to giggle half way through the story, and he'd burst out laughing by the end of it. He grabbed a gun off from his hip and pointed it directly at Batman's face, "Oh, what a load of malarkey! I think you actually believed some of it too, haha! It does looked like we've reached an impasse though. We've finally hit the point of no return! Either the hero taints his hard earned legacy, or the clown losses his very purpose in life. The only question is...which one is it going to be?"

"It's going to be you Joker," A young voice rang out, causing everyone to look at the entrance of the pit. The Red Fox was standing there, radiating the Kyuubi's chakra off from him. His voice was darker and more feral than it ever had been before, "I'm going to rip your heart right out of your chest, because that's what you did to me! I'm going to put through every single torture your victims have had to suffer through because of you! I'm ending this, here and now! BELIEVE IT!"


	26. That Wicked Grin Pt 3

Ladies and gentlemen, the final chapter of this three part event is officially here. Sorry I didn't post last week, there was simply too much on my plate that has to be dealt with for me to have any time to really write. I'm certain that I've been pissing all of you off a fair amount with the frequent cliffhangers, but don't worry, you won't get any of those in this chapter. Also, we'll be seeing how Barbara is going to manage after this all said and done as well. Of course we're going to open up with the Joker and Naruto's big confrontation, and believe me, it's going to get intense! Why tell you about it when I could just show you? Thanks for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack-Johnny Cash: I Hung My Head

* * *

"Why? Why did you do it?" The Red Fox asked as the entire room watched him hold the Joker up in the air by the throat. Moments after he'd burst into the room, the boy had grabbed the clown's neck, nearly cutting off his air supply, "He'd done nothing to you!"

Batman tried to calm his son down, running over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder, "Put him down! What did he do Red Fox? Is it Gordon? Is he okay?"

Rather than putting him down, the Red Fox pulled his arm back and threw the Joker into the concrete wall a few feet away. He turned to his father with the Kyuubi's chakra flaring and watery eyes, "It's not Gordon! It's Robin...he killed Robin!"

"No," Batman whispered, barely able to make himself speak, "Oh god no. How? When? Where?"

The Joker laughed as he shakily started to stand up, "So, you failed to reach the boy in time, eh Foxy?The bomb went off the boy wonder is worm food for all eternity. That is hilarious! Hahaha!"

Those words got the Red Fox right back up in the villain's face, slamming him back into the wall behind him, "How can you laugh at this? He was just a kid! For god's sake, he'd never even had a first kiss! You're a mad dog Joker, and you deserve to be put down!"

"Oh, do I know?" The clown said, his grinning growing wider by the second, "Well then, they're going to have to put you down someday too!"

A small click went off and the Red Fox felt a sharp prick go into his side. He looked down to see that the Joker had used some kind of injector on him. The hero needed to know right away what had just been forced into his system, "What was that? I'm not laughing, so it can't be your laughing gas. Is it some kind of poison? Are you trying to kill me too?"

The Joker threw the injector off to the side, having now completed the last phase of his plan, "That my boy is the second thing I created from those bulbs I got from Ivy's plants. It's a small bit my own DNA, with a special part of those plants added in that does something that's real fun! The chemical coursing through your veins right now is what's going to make Batman lose his oh so precious sanity!"

"What did you shoot into me Joker?" The Red Fox growled as his grip on the man tightened, "Talk, or I'll break every bone in your body!"

There was no need to intimidate the clown, he was going to explain no matter what happened, "I'll put it to you in the simplest way I can. What I shot into you is a sort of virus, one that affects your DNA. I don't really understand it entirely myself, but the jist of it is that it'll slowly turn off aspects of your own DNA and replace them with mine. After awhile, you'll start to notice changes in your personality. It'll slowly warp your mind to the point where it's just like mine! How do you feel about that Batsy? Is it devastating to think that the person you despise most in the world is what Foxy boy here is about to become?"

Batman was one who got infuriated this time. He pushed the Red Fox out of the way grabbed the Joker himself, "You're going to take that stuff out of his body right now, or I'll,"

"You'll what? Pour on more threats?" The Joker cut him off with a taunt, "Face it, the only thing you can do if you want to end all this. Come on, do it! Kill me!"

"Be careful what you wish for you son of a bitch," A dark voice growled as something ripped the Joker from Batman's hand the threw him onto the ground, "My father may have put up with your nonsense for far too long, but I won't! I was considering killing you when you took out Robin, but now you're trying to make me as crazy as you? I'd sooner cut off my own hands than let that happen!"

Batman soon saw that it was his son who'd been saying all those things, but his voice wasn't his own. It was deep, gruff, and filed with killer intent. The way he was talking and the fact that the red cloud around him was going insane could only mean one thing: Kurama had started to effect this mind. He ran over and threw his arms around his son from behind, trying to stop him from doing anything stupid, "Don't do this Kurama! I don't want him to suffer for something that you're going to do!"

With virtually no effort, the Red Fox threw his father off from him, continuing in his deep twisted voice, "Get off from me! I'm still in control here! I think that you'll be very pleased with my actions once I'm finished. Stay over there father, and let me do my work."

"Batsy, are you gonna explain why your sidekick is trying to act more cold blooded than me?" The Joker asked as he felt the boy's foot step onto his chest, "What's the big idea? There's no way my little gift took you over that fast. Are you trying to scare me or something?"

The next thing the Joker knew, the Red Fox fist was buried in his gut so deep, it almost felt like it was going to go through. Then he brought his foot down to the villain's leg, stomping on it so hard that it snapped in a clean break, causing the Joker to cry out in pain, "No clown, what I'm trying to do is put you through the pain you've put your victims through. I know I won't be able to get it all, because frankly we'd be here all night if I tried to do that. You have no idea how badly I want to kill you right now! If it weren't for the fact that I've learned to restrain my powers, I already would have!"

The Red Fox continued his round of torture, grabbing the Joker's arm and yanking it so hard that it came right out of it's socket. At first the man screamed in agony, but that soon turned into a demented laugh, "Ahhhhhhh, hahahaha! Would you look at that, Batman finally got a sidekick with some backbone. I love it! What are you gonna do next? Pull out my teeth? Cut off my fingers? Rip off my face? Oh, wait…"

"Shut up you sick fuck," The Red Fox spat and punched the Joker directly in the face, "What I'm going to do next is ruin your big night. You spent so much time planning all this, so I can't wait to see your face when you watch your last hope to drive the Batman insane turn to shit!"

Joker didn't understand what the boy was talking about, "You know people say that my jokes are bad, but that one was plain awful. My DNA is already coursing through you. There's nothing you can do that'll,"

A sharp batarang being pulled out of the Red Fox's belt made him stop talking. He watched as the hero stabbed it into his side where the Joker had injected his chemical cocktail and made a deep cut along his abdomen. Blackish ooze began to pour out of the wound, which the red chakra actually seemed to be forcing out, "You were saying clown? Aw, don't you find this funny? Come on, laugh for me!"

"No," The Joker screamed, whipping a knife out of his pocket with his good arm, "You don't get to take this from me!"

The Red Fox didn't have time to get his hands up before the villain began stabbing him in the side. Instinctively, the hero grabbed the Joker's head and tried to push it away, but the clown was fighting hard. Without realizing it, the Red Fox started to apply too much pressure, causing the Joker's neck to turn at an odd angle. A snap came from the madman's neck, one that sounded almost as sickening as the one in his leg had been, and he fell limp to the ground. This was what finally got the Red Fox to shoot back into reality, "Oh no...please tell me I didn't just…"

A faint moaning could be heard, letting them know the Joker was alive, "Hehehe...calm down kid, you just broke my neck a little. It might take a couple of years, but I'll get back on my feet. Haha-ow! Oh, it even hurts to laugh…"

"Oh thank god," The Red Fox said, breathing a huge sigh of relief, "I thought I really lost it for a second there. It's just, he was saying all that stuff about Robin, and then there was that stuff with his DNA taking me over! I was just so,"

Batman walked over to his son and put his arm around him to comfort the boy, "It's okay, I understand. Did you get all of whatever the Joker put into your system out?"

The boy felt like he did, though he was nervous that might have just been wishful thinking, "I'm pretty sure I did. I don't feel it inside me or anything I mean, but it's really hard to tell. Damn, look at how bad I'm bleeding."

"It's quite a bit. We're gonna need to get you medical attention," Batman said, looking at the boy's profusely bleeding side, "The adrenaline should keep you going for a few more minutes, which we'll use to wrap up your wound. The Joker didn't get any good hits on your vital organs, so we got lucky there. Don't worry about everything you did before. You got control of yourself before you did something awful, and that's what's important."

There was no way the Joker was going to let this whole night go to waste, so there was only one thing left for him to do. It was time to throw some true chaos into the situation, "What's important is that I made him lose control. I saw it in your eyes boy, you're a killer, just like me! If there's even an ounce of my DNA left inside of you, it'll make it's way to your brain and turn you into something worse than I ever was!"

The Red Fox was getting tired of constant taunting from the clown, "I told you to shut up! What does it take to make you close your mouth for once?"

"Calm down before you end up passing out from blood loss," Batman scolded his son, trying to keep the boy from losing it, "He's just doing this to get to you like he always does."

The ninjas one the sidelines had begun to wonder what was going on, to the point where Sasuke actually yelled out, "What are you waiting for? Kill him already! Make him pay for killing your brother!"

There was no way the Red Fox was going give in to his baser urges, "We already lost Robin, I'm not going to make this night any worse. He's completely immobilized, so the only one who'd get in trouble for killing him is me. All I wanna do right now is go home and grieve. Killing Joker won't bring my brother back."

"Tch, and here I thought I'd finally met someone who understood," Sasuke scoffed, turning back to his team, "Do whatever you want with him, but you'll wished you'd ended him later. I know it."

The Red Fox shook his head and said to his father in English, "Let's get the Joker into his cell and then go check up on Gordon and his daughter. He did a lot of damage to the both of them tonight."

"I'm not going back to my cell. I already told you how this night is going to end," The Joker did his best to yell though his pain, "One of has to die to end the cycle. It's the only way to bring chaos back into Gotham. Hm...you know, it's kinda funny. Even after everything that I've done and all the people I've hurt, you still couldn't bring yourself to do it. In the end, you had to make me drive your brat to this point. Actually, it's downright hilarious when I think about it, haha! Your little prodigie there has more of a killer instinct than you ever have. Don't worry kiddo, I'll save you spot right next to mine in hell! Haha...hahahaha...hahahahahahahahahaha!"

As the mad laughter echoed through the pit, the Joker began to twist his neck back further, irritating the small break in his neck. Batman tried to run to stop him, but it was too late for that. A loud snap was heard as the clown snapped his neck, severing his spinal cord and killing him instantly. Everyone stood in place silently, simply looking at the now dead body. No sound was heard until a loud female cry called out, "NOOO!"

Harley appeared almost out of nowhere, jumping off from the balcony and onto the ground beside her lover. She picked up his limp form and started to coddle him like you would a small child. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned to the Red Fox, "You did this! I watched you break his neck you little monster! You're going to pay for this in ways you can't even imagine. I'm going to take away what you love, just like you did to me! I hate you! HATE YOU!"

"Quinn, you'd best shut your mouth right now. The Red Fox didn't kill the Joker, he did that to himself," Batman said, walking over to the woman with a hard glare on his face, "Stop trying to blame an innocent boy for something that he didn't do."

There was no chance Harley was letting this go, "Oh he did it! Maybe not with his own hands, but he did it! You took him away from me, and you're gonna regret it!"

Batman was not going to let his son be subjected to any more of this, "I've heard out of you. You can dream about your love if you wanna see him so bad."

"What are you talking about?" Harley asked, before he Dark Knight's fist connected with her face. It knocked her out instantly, letting The Red Fox have a little bit of piece.

After the woman hit the ground, Batman heard another body land on the concert. He turned to see his son unconscious on the ground. Everyone else in the room remained silent, all of them still uncertain of what to do right now. Only Batman moved, running over to check on his son, "I can't tell if it was the blood loss or the shock that made him pass out. Dammit, we need to get him medical attention, now!"

They had a split second to focus on that before the ceiling began to shake as something burst through it. It was a man dressed all in blue wearing a red cape, which was of course the legendary Superman. All of the ninjas watch in awe as he floated in the air and tried to get a grasp on what was happening, "Sorry we're late, Despero took longer than we thought. The others should be here soon, so what do you need us to...Jesus, what in the hell happened here? Is that the Joker? Is he dead?"

"Clark, I wouldn't have any idea where to start telling you about what all happened tonight," Batman said, fighting to keep his voice from cracking, "Please, just help me get him to the Batcave. I don't wanna lose anybody else tonight."

* * *

In side by side beds in the Batcave's medical wing, Naruto and Barbara found themselves lying in hospital beds wondering what the future held for them. Only a curtain separated them, one they could talk right through if they'd been in the mood. Naturally, no such thing was going to occur.

In a moment of pure rage, Naruto had almost lost control of himself and let Kurama's chakra get him into some major problems. If he'd killed the Joker back at the Asylum, there was no telling what kind of repercussions that would have had for both him and the rest of the team. They weren't supposed to take a life, that was part of the deal. It was why they had such a good relationship with both the public and the police. With even the little bit that had gone down as it was, there was still more than likely going to be some issues raised. That was just the issues Naruto had to deal with. There was an entirely other set of problems facing Barbara, once that were going change the way she would look at her life forever.

"I don't understand, I thought you said you'd made sure I was able to walk," Barbara questioned Tsunade from her hospital bed, "There was a lot of nerve damage with my spine and all, but you fixed it. Why wouldn't I be able to be Batgirl anymore?"

The only other people in the room with her were Tsunade and Shizune, as she'd wanted to know exactly what the damage to her body would be before she faced anyone else. Barbara thought she might need time to compose herself, and she was about to find out she was right, "We were able to keep your ability to walk intact, that's true, but there was no way for us to eliminate the residual pain you're undoubtedly going to feel. Any strenuous activity that you might do is only going to make it worse. Quite frankly Barbara, you'd more than likely end up dead if you tried to continue being Batgirl. I'm truly sorry, but there's nothing more we can do for you."

Those words were enough to cut Barbara deep, though she did her best not to show it. Batgirl had been a part of her life for a long time now, and while she'd always intended on giving it up one day, she'd wanted it to be on her own terms. Now, she didn't really know what was to become of her, "I see...will the pain ever go away? Is there physical therapy I can do to at least reduce it somewhat?"

"There's plenty of things we'll try, but nothing that'll fix the problem completely," Tsunade replied honestly, "Bruce wants to have a quick a word with you, then drop you off at the hospital where your father can visit you. He's been stuck getting physical and psychiatric tests of his own, so he won't even get the chance to know you were here. Everythings going to be fine."

Barbara knew that wasn't true, "I don't think things are going to be 'fine' for a very long time Tsunade, but thank you for trying to comfort me. Please, send him in."

The blonde haired healer gave a small nod, then opened the curtain that was separating Barbara from the visitor waiting outside. Bruce was already in view by the time the girl looked up, a great amount of worry clear on his face, "Thank god you're alive. After what happened with your father, I was so worried the Joker had just decided to kill you. Are you alright?"

"As alright as I can be I guess," Barbara said, though she didn't sound all that convincing, "What about Jason? Is he really dead?"

Bruce flinched at the very mention of the boy's name, "We haven't been able to find a body, but I'm not going to use that to try and kid myself. He's gone Barb...He's gone and it's all my fault. I couldn't protect him, I couldn't protect you, and I couldn't protect Naruto. How in god's name did I ever become the hero of Gotham city?"

The curtain on the other side of Barbara shot open, revealing an angry looking Naruto, "Don't say that about yourself dad. None of this was your fault. If it was anybody's fault, it was the Joker's. He's the one who set this whole thing up."

"The boy's got a point there Bruce," Barbara agreed, feeling that the clown was the one who really deserved the credit for all the pain they'd been through, "Is it bad that I honestly don't feel even the slightest bit bad about him being dead? I'm kind of relieved that I'll never have to see that twisted grin plastered on his face ever again."

There was no one who understood that better than Bruce, "Don't worry, it's not just you. If there's one good thing that came out of tonight, it's the fact that I get to know the Joker can never torture Gotham again. Naruto, now that you're up, how are you feeling? I know the night must have been rough for you."

"No offense dad, but I watched my brother die a few hours ago," Naruto pointed out, his tone sounding almost dead, "Is Kakashi and the rest of his team still here? I don't know if I'll be in any shape to work out with them tomorrow."

Bruce had already taken care of that, "Kakashi said that his students were exhausted after last night, so he's giving them a day to rest. Naruto, do you think you can keep it together or should we should send them home. With Tsunade's help and the Kyuubi's chakra, you should be healed up by tomorrow, but you might still need some time to deal with Jason's passing."

Training actually didn't sound like a half bad idea to Naruto, "If they wanna work with me tomorrow, then I'm all for it. It'll keep my mind off Jason for at least a couple of hours. Are we gonna have a funeral for him?"

Now that the boy brought it up, that had indeed been one of the many things on Bruce's mind, "Of course we will, I'm just not sure when yet. I have to think of a way that Jason died that we can realse to the press. After that, I'll start getting all of the details themselves straighten out. This whole thing's going to be a real mess."

"Then perhaps you should let me handle it Master Bruce," An English voice said, making everyone jerk their head in the direction it had come from instantly, "I hope you don't mind, but I still had keys to the manor, so I let myself in."

Bruce could hardly contain his joy at seeing his butler Alfred had returned home, "Alfred, you're back. I thought you said that you needed some time to go off and think about whether or not you could keep helping me with the cause."

The older man walked up to Bruce and smiled, hugging him like father would, "I haven't even been gone a week Master Bruce, and yet all of this has happened. There was simply no way I could let you go through a time like without lending a hand. I'm so sorry to hear about Master Todd sir. You did everything you could to save him I'm sure."

"You know about Jason already?" Naruto asked, uncertain of how that was possible, "How'd you hear about that? I don't think it's even been on the news yet."

Alfred pulled away from Bruce so that he could address the boy, "Ah, young Master Naruto, it's wonderful to see you again as well. I kept very close tabs on you during my short little trip through the camera's in your vizors. The moment I saw what kind of situation you were in, I rushed back here in order to make sure that all of you were safe. The only things I know about for sure are the activities that took place while you were in your suits, so you'll have to fill me on anything else I missed later. Right now, I'm just glad that you're all alive. Oh, Miss Gordon, I haven't asked you how you're holding up yet. How rude of me."

The butler's obsession with being polite was enough to make the injured girl giggle, "It's alright Alfred, I'm doing a whole lot better know that you're here. You had no idea how much all of us missed you while we were gonna. So what was it that made you come back? Was it this mess with the Joker or was it something else?"

"The Joker was certainly part of it, but it's a touch more complex than that," Alfred admitted, walking over back over to Bruce, "After I'd heard the crazed clown had at last passed on, I made sure to get back to the mansion post haste. For the longest time, the Joker was one of the only consistent things in Master Bruce's life. Horrible as it may sound, it's the truth. No matter what happened in Gotham, the Joker was always there. I wanted to come home to remind him that monster was not the only person who will always be there for him. I'm here to stay this time Master Bruce, and that's a promise. I do hope you can forgive me for leaving like I did."

There was not an ounce of anger over this in the man's body, "I should be the one apologizing Alfred. For far too long, I ignored the amount of stress I was putting you under by being the Batman. I'm sorry for that, I'll try to be more considerate of it from now on. Now if you'll all excuse me, though it may not be the best time, I have a meeting to get to."

Naruto could only think of one meeting his father would need to be going to, "So, the League still wanted to meet with you after everything that happened, huh?"

"Especially after everything that happened," Bruce replied, "Not to mention I told them about my plan to get married. That reminds me, I need to go and pick up Mei so that she can meet the rest of them as well. Again, it's not an opportune time to leave, I know, but I've put this up long enough. Both of you get plenty of rest, and Barbara, tell your dad I said to stay strong. Well, tell him Bruce said to stay strong. You know what I mean."

With that said, Bruce walked began to leave the cave, allowing Alfred to turn to the others, "Now, there is a guest who has stopped by for the night, and he and I ran into Tsunade on the way down here. Once he found out Miss Gordon needed to be driven to the hospital, he volunteered to do it instantly. I do believe both of you know Master Grayson."

Naruto perked right up at hearing that his brother was visiting, "Dick's here? Really?"

"You know it bro," Came the young man's voice as he popped out from behind Alfred. He grabbed his brother's hand and pulled him into a brief hug, "Hey man, heard you had a rough day. I've got other Titans holding down the fort in Jump City. No way was I gonna let the two of you do this without coming down to help out a bit."

Barbara was glad to see her old flame once again as well, "Hey Dick, so you're gonna be the one driving me back to see my dad? Hehe, kinda feels like back when we were dating, huh?"

The similarities were there, Dick had to admit, "Maybe, but this time I don't have to worry about your dad threatening me to make sure that we don't fool around too much. I think he would've killed me if I told him some of the things we did when we were alone."

"That's a distinct possibility," Barbara agreed, looking down at a wheelchair that sat beside her bed, "I guess we'd better go. Tsunade told me to use that wheelchair for at least the first few days, just to be safe. I can get in it myself in it, you just go and start the car."

Dick didn't mind putting her in the chair if he needed to, "Let me put you in there Barb. We don't want you to hurt yourself or anything."

This was when the girl become a little more forceful, "I told you, I can do it myself! Please, go start the car so that we can leave already."

"I...I um...sure," Dick replied, not sure what he'd said to make the girl so upset, "There's a switch on wall that turns the stairs into a ramp, but you probably already knew that. I'll be right back."

He walked away like a dog with his tail between his legs. Naruto watched Barbara climb out of bed, unable to not notice the embarrassment present on her face, "Why'd you yell at him like that? So you have to use a wheelchair for a few days, it's not a big deal."

Barbara admired the boy's optimism as she wheeled herself way away from Naruto and Alfred, "It's not just the wheelchair buddy. After what the Joker's done to me, my life's never gonna be the same. I was the Batgirl, someone people looked up to and saw a strong symbol of Justice. Do you know how many times I used to hear little girls I say that they looked up to me? They felt like they could be heroes too because of what I was doing. Now there won't' be a Batgirl, and the only thing people will see me as is another victim of the Joker. It's just so hard…"

"Miss Gordon, it's going to be okay," Alfred said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder as she began to cry, "You don't need to be Batgirl for people to know how strong of a person you are. No matter what, you're one of Gotham's greatest heroes."

The girl gave the man a little smile, but didn't actually respond. She just wheeled away to meet Dick at the car. Naruto was starting wonder if any of them would be the same after everything the Joker had done to them, "You know, I had some pretty bad days back in the hidden Leaf, but I think this one tops them all. Hey Alfred, can I ask you something?"

Alfred was always glad to answer a question for the boy, "Naturally Master Naruto, what's on your mind?"

"What do you think happens to us after we die?" Naruto asked, startling the butler quite a bit, "I've heard a bunch of different stuff when I was in the hidden Leaf, but I never asked about it much. I'm just wondering, you know, with Jason…"

There was no need for the boy to explain to himself, "I understand why you're asking Master Naruto. Well, that's a complicated question. There are lots of different beliefs on that, most of which are based on a person's religion. Though Master Bruce's mother was an Episcopal and his father was a Catholic, chose to be non denominational himself, much like me."

Naruto clearly didn't understand what any of that meant, "That doesn't really answer my question Alfred. Are those all different religions or something?"

"Those three are all slightly different forms of the same religion, Christianity," Alfred explained, "There are many others, like Buddhism, Islamism, Judaism, just to name a few. Some people choose not to have a religion at all, and those people are what's known as an Atheist."

That still left Naruto with some questions, "So, since dad believes the Christianity one, does that mean it's what I'm supposed to believe too? And what does that mean about when people die?"

Alfred could see that he was only confusing the boy more, "No Naruto, you don't have to be a Christian. You can choose to believe whatever you like. Why don't we shelve this conversation until Master Bruce get's home, hm? We can discuss this matter with him and then go from there."

"This is all sounding pretty complicated, so that's probably a good idea," Naruto said, feeling his abdomen a little bit, "I'm feeling kinda hungry. Think I'm good to get up and go get a little food?"

Based on what Tsunade had told him, that would be just fine, "Our resident healer said that all you need to do is make sure you don't aggravate the wound too much. You should be more than alright to head upstairs so that I can make you some ramen."

Naruto nearly shot right out of his bed, "Ramen? That's all you had to say! I haven't had your ramen in over a week. I'm gonna eat as many bowls as you'll make me!"

"Then I'll make you as many bowls as we have noodles," Alfred said, carefully watching the boy as he left his bed and went up stairs, "It really is wonderful to be home."

* * *

Less than half hour later, orbiting high above earth's atmosphere in the headquarters known as the Watchtower, the Justice League was preparing for a meeting regarding the recent events with the Batman. Almost everyone had gathered up in the main hall, except for the guest of honor, Bruce Wayne, who had stopped in the training hall with his bride to be Mei. As for why they were there, that was something the woman had no idea about, "Bruce, why are we in here? We're already late, so we should probably head to the meeting."

"In a second sweetheart," Bruce said, standing in front of robotic sparring partner, "I just need to do one thing before we go."

With a great burst of speed, Bruce did a small jump and kicked in his head, knocking it to the ground. He jumped on top of it and began to beat it relentlessly, crushing it beneath the weight of his fists with a series of angry grunts. Mei was taken very aback by the action, as it had been so unexpected. She began to look closer and could see that Bruce's eyes were watering as well. This action was clearly meant to try and vent out Bruce's frustration over everything that'd happened that night. He'd lost his son, which was something that most people couldn't even imagine. The man needed some way to deal with his pain, and Mei intended to help him.

She threw her arms around him, trying to stop his rampage on the robot. Once he felt her skin against his, he began to slow down. Bruce could hear Mei all but yelling into his ear, "Bruce, stop! You don't have to do this. It's okay, I'm here. Please, just talk to me."

Bruce could hardly even speak he was panting so hard. A few brief tears rolled down his cheeks, though his face still seemed to one of anger, "I'm sorry Mei. I needed to get some of this out before we got in there. I know the next hour is going to filled with my friends probing into every aspect of what has turned out to be one of the worst nights of my life. Then of course they'll be sitting, picking at you because you agreed to spend the rest of your life with me. It feels like I'm hurting everyone I care about today."

"Look at me Bruce," Mei demanded, which quickly made the man comply. Her eyes were filled with the utmost certainty, "You're hurting right now, and you have every right to be. The things you went through tonight were horrible, and it's equally as horrible that you're going to have to go in there and relive them, but it will be okay. You're strong enough to get through this, and even if you're weren't, I'll be there with you the whole time. Whenever things start to hurt, you just squeeze my hand. I know you Bruce, and I know what a great hero you are. I'm not going to let the Joker take that away from you."

It was moments like this that made it so clear to Bruce why he'd chosen to marry this girl, "Thank you, just for being here. I don't know if I could do this without you. Come on, let's get to the meeting hall before the others start to worry."

"It's a little late for that," Said a feminine voice, making them both turn around to see Superman and Wonder Woman behind them, "I must say Bruce, you did quite a number on a very expensive robot. Given the circumstances though, I'm sure we can let it slide."

Bruce took a deep breath and stood up tall, trying to act his normal self, "Clark, Diana, it's good to see both of you. Is everyone here for the meeting today?"

The next one to speak was Superman, who kept a cool head as always, "All of the core members, yes. That means the two of us, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter. We're still trying to convince Aquaman to go core, but he's still reluctant due to his involvement with Atlantis. I'm guessing this lovely woman beside you is your new fiance?"

"That's right," Mei said, reaching out to shake both of their hands, "I'm Mei Terumi, the Mizukage of the hidden Mist Village. Has Bruce told you what the means yet?"

Wonder Woman nodded, "Oh yes, he was very proud of your achievement. It was one of the things that he stressed about when he sent us his report on you a few weeks ago. Of course, we didn't know you were going to be marrying him then."

It was easy enough for Bruce to hear the shock in her voice when Wonder Woman said that last part, "I know I've always said that I'm opposed to the idea of marrying while I'm still the Batman, and I'm sure this shocks Diana even more given the brief time that she and I dated, but I'd really like to explain myself. The problem is, I'm not sure I can. There's no way I can put into words what this woman has done to me. She could wipe the floor with me, and yet, somehow, I feel stronger when I stand next to her. Even when we don't see eye to eye, I can't imagine life without her. None of this is making sense, is it?"

"Believe it or not Bruce, it makes perfect sense," Wonder Woman assured him, an approving smile on her face, "You can't explain why you love someone. Sure, you can list off the things you love about them, but you can never make someone understand that feeling if they haven't felt it themself. Mei Terumi, you must be one hell of a woman to finally make Bruce feel this way. We didn't think it was even possible for a long time.

The red haired woman smiled back gratefully, "Thank you, I think I bagged a pretty good prize with him too. Does that mean I'll have your support for approving our marriage?"

"I'm sure you'll have everyone's support," Superman pointed out, "We all know if Bruce has his mind set on something, you can't really stop him from doing it. Although, I'm not sure even that'll help him when he tries to explain why he hid the Red Fox's full power from us. That's what some of the other members feel he did anyways."

Bruce hadn't hidden anything, "I told you all when Naruto first joined our team that I was uncertain of his power level. Frankly, the things the boy's been able to do is starting to even impress me. The other day I was running some tests, and Naruto's chakra, especially that of it that has been influenced by the Kyuubi, has an effect on Clark that might be even stronger than magic is on him. I could easily see Naruto surpassing Clark's power level one day."

That was enough get Superman's eyes wide, "You're kidding me? Bruce, you're going to have a really hard time convincing certain people that you should be training that kind of power. You have my support, but not everyone else will be so certain."

"I already lost one son tonight, so they'll have to pry the other from my cold dead hands," Bruce told them with gravel in his voice, "And that's assuming they can kill me at all."

Wonder Woman wanted to stay off the topic of Jason for now, as it would be hard enough to talk about it when the time came, "How about we head towards the meeting hall and have this conversation there? Things will move much smoother that way."

All of them silently nodded and walked out of the training room. Mei soon did her best to break the uncomfortable silence, "You know, I've been trying to think up a name I could use when I wanted to run around the rooftops of Gotham with Bruce. I was considering something like The Phoenix…"


	27. Great Battles Pt 1

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another exciting chapter of the Red Fox. My busy schedule is almost back on track now, so updates should beas frequent as usual. They say you can't go home, but in this chapter, Naruto's going to try. That's right people, he's going home for the all too exciting Chunin Exams! I know you all probably don't know this, but we're roughly halfway through the fanfic know, and that feels crazy to me. Granted, I started this fanfic 7 or 8 months ago, but still, it's a crazy thought to me. I love how into this fanfic many of you have gotten, and I can't thank you enough for all the positive feedback I've gotten. Things like this are what give me faith I can make it as a writer. **IMPORTANT- **I have busy week next week, and likely will be unable to post. Thank you all for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Matchbox 20: Real World

* * *

The meeting with the Justice League raged on for hours upon hours, debating back and forth heavily on what all the events at the Asylum had meant. Everyone had been pleased to hear the Joker was dead, though Naruto's involvement in that had displeased more than a few people. Bruce's explanation about the Kyuubi almost made them more nervous, but things calmed down a bit when they were reminded of the fact that most of them had nearly killed a person as well. Naruto had just been unlucky enough to do it to the Joker, who was so crazy he actually finished the job himself. Mentioning the Kyuubi did bring up another major issue however.

Naruto had the potential to become the most powerful hero the world had ever seen, there was no arguing against that. Yet, that also meant he had the potential to become the most powerful villain the world had ever seen too. The boy's future was being balanced on a razor's edge, and many people would pay dearly if he were to fall. Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern had been the most reluctant to the idea of this boy staying in Gotham, but the others members trusted Bruce enough to convince them that Naruto could stay. The only matter they'd had to sort out was Mei Terumi.

For nearly an hour, every member of the Justice League grilled the woman with the most important questions they could think of. Well, all of them except for the Flash that is, whose questions proved to be the mostly bizarre. Wally West always was the most comical member of the group, and his need to ask the woman about her taste in movies only served to prove that further.

"You're kidding me," Said Barbara, as she sat in the kitchen with the entire gang at Wayne Manor the night after the meeting, "He actually asked Mei whether or not she'd seen the original Star Wars trilogy? That was his question?"

Mei confirmed it for her, "Yes he did. He said that whether or not I liked it was an important factor in my mental health. When I told him I'd never seen them, he made me promise that I'd put aside a day to watch them with him. That guy is quite a card."

There was few people who knew that better than Shizune, "I know, I went on a couple of dates with him. He's a nice guy, but definitely a little bit crazy. Too bad our schedules couldn't work out. Walley was the closest thing I found to a decent guy out here."

"Not that I'm not interested in Shizune's love life, which I promise you I am," Tsunade said, giving the woman a sideways glance, "But I kinda wanna get to the part where they were willing to let Naruto stay here."

Bruce had almost forgotten to get to the point he'd gotten so caught up in his story, "Right, they were fine with me continuing to train him, as long as I start to keep them more in the loop about his progress. Admittedly, I should have been doing this from the start, but better late than never. That reminds me, Naruto, you start training with Kakashi's team tomorrow morning, right?"

It took a second for the boy to realize he was being spoken to, as there seemed to be something on his mind, "Huh? Oh, yeah, we're gonna be doing a lot of ninjutsu stuff tomorrow. A little teamwork stuff too. I think Alfred said a few minutes ago that he was going to go upstairs and tell them dinner's almost ready. Honestly, I wasn't listening to him really closely."

"You okay Naruto?" Barbara asked, beginning to worry about her surrogate little brother, "You haven't been able to focus on anything since breakfast this morning. Is there something on your mind?"

Naruto had been tapping his fingers nervously up into this point, making it seem as though he was indeed thinking heavily on something, "Something weird happened last night. It was after Dick left to head back to Jump City because that Deathstroke guy was attacking. I kinda had someone stop by my room for a visit...It was Cheshire."

Everyone in the room felt their breath hitch. The idea that girl who'd played with Naruto's heart like it was a violin was nod back was a disturbing one to everyone. Bruce refused to let his shock get to him, immediately getting to key issue of the matter, "What happened? I want every last detail. How she got in here, what she said to you, all of it. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah dad, I get ya," Naruto said, still in a quiet voice, "I would've told you before, but I'm not really sure what the whole thing meant myself. It all started when I woke up from a nightmare…"

_Flashback_

_Naruto shot awake in his bed for the fifth time in a single night, sweaty and panting, like he had been the previous times. He'd been doing his best to sleep that night, as his family said it would do him some good, but to no avail. His dreams had been taunted throughout the night with visions of Jason laying at the bottom of lake surrounding Arkham Island. Jason would cry and cry for his brother to come and save him, and Naruto kept trying to jump in the water and swim after him. However, imitating real life, the water proved to be too deep and Naruto couldn't save his brother. All he could do was listen to the boy's agonizing screams until his mind just couldn't take it and he woke himself up. At this point, the child was ready to give up trying to sleep all together, "Fuck this. I'm gonna go down to the training room and run a few laps. Maybe I'll do some bench presses after that, I don't know. Anything's gotta be better than this."_

_A tapping on the glass door that lead to the balcony outside his room made him put those thoughts on hold. He took a batarang off from the table beside him and got up from his bed, starting to walk towards the door slowly. Naruto tentatively put his hand on the handle and pulled the door open. His jaw dropped and he let go of the batarang when he was who it was, "What the...Cheshire?"_

_"Hey there handsome," The girl said in a small voice before grabbing him by the shirt, "I missed those cute little whiskers of yours."_

_Cheshire pulled him close to her and crashed her lips into his. Naruto tried to push her off as he felt her hands reaching for his waist. It took a little force, but the boy managed to get the girl away from his lips and onto his bed, "What the hell are you doing? How did you get in here?"_

_The girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes, struggling to find the right words to say, "Don't worry about all that. I miss you Naruto. I've been spending every second with the League thinking about how I betrayed you, and I want to make it right. Please, I'll do whatever you want, just give me a chance to redeem myself."_

_"Did you really think that you could come in here and fuck the problem away?" Naruto asked in a bitter voice, "There's nothing your body can do that'll make me forget that you had the chance to help me save my brother and you didn't do a damn thing! If you'd said something, my family would've known what to expect when we went into the Asylum and everything would've been fine. You said you loved me you lying bitch!"_

_Cheshire shot up from the bed and tried to get close to him again, "But I do love you Naruto. I was never sure of what the Joker was going to do, I only knew the little tidbits that the League told me. It's not like I knew exactly what was going to happen."_

_That answer wasn't good enough for Naruto, "Could any of the info you had have helped me keep Jason safe?"_

_"I...I um...I…" Cheshire stuttered, before whimpering out, "Yes, I knew the Joker had something special just for Jason. Master Ra's told me not to tell you to make sure that you could see the darker side of the world."_

_Naruto scoffed, walking over to the woman and grabbing her by the throat, "You wanted me to see the darker side of the world? Hmph, if only you'd been honest and stuck with me. I could've told you that I know the darker side of the world better than you can imagine. In my childhood, I was beaten, shunned, thrown out of stores, and anything else you can think of for something completely out of my control. Do you have any idea the kind of power I've got buried deep down inside of me?"_

_The girl began to struggle as he walked back outside, his grip on her neck getting tighter. She could see his eyes had changed from their normal piercing blue to a deep red, "He said that there was something special about you, but he refused to tell me what. Please, put me down!"_

_"Really, you're gonna tell me what to do now? You must be joking," Naruto growled, getting closer and closer to the balcony, "You've ripped my heart out of my chest in more ways than one. No, you're going to answer some questions from me this time. First, how did you get in here?"_

_Cheshire could see that this was the time to do what he asked, "Master Ra's gave some tips for how to circumvent your security system. I told him that I was coming here to bring back to the League."_

_"Should've known," The blonde said through his teeth, "Now, do you ever intend to come back here and try to hook up with me again, or are you gonna leave me alone to grieve in peace?"_

_This was when it started to become clear to Cheshire that there was no way she was going to win him back, "I'll leave you be, I promise. You won't ever see me face again unless you try and go up against the League."_

_Naruto decided that would be good enough, at least for now, "Well, I guess that'll work. So, there's just one last question left for you. Is it true that cats always land on their feet? For you sake Miss Cheshire Cat, I hope they do. Have fun!"_

_The boy let go of the girl's neck, dropping her off from the balcony. This may have seemed cruel at first glance, but Naruto knew the girl well enough to be confident she'd get her feeting. As she fell, Cheshire grabbed a knife from her pocket and threw it at the wall closest to her. There was a wire attached to it that connected back the girls waste. It hit the wall and jerked, catching the her before she hit the ground. Cheshire dropped down from the wall, looking up at Naruto as she did so. She found it hard to believe that she'd driven the boy to this point. As much she wanted to lie to herself and say she it wasn't her fault, she new better. Cheshire knew the reality of what she'd done. Naruto was never going to be the same, and her actions were the reason why. All she could make herself do was turn around and run into the darkness of the night. Enough damage had been done already, there was no need to bring him any more pain._

_Flashback end_

"Well, that must have been a rough night," Tsunade said, then realized something else, "Wait, does that mean that you didn't go to sleep at all last night?"

Naruto couldn't have gotten any sleep even if he'd wanted to, "Like I said, I was having a lot of nightmares. I didn't want to go to sleep when I knew that I was just going to end up hearing Jason's voice again."

Before Shizune got the chance to scold him, Bruce cut in, "Give it a little time. It'll get easier to sleep after a few nights, and in a week or so you'll be back to sleeping like normal. The nightmares will appear less and less until eventually you don't have them at all. Trust me, I would know."

"Thanks dad," Naruto said, glad that someone else understood. From the look on Barbara's face, she having the same issues. He got no chance to ask her about them, as he heard footsteps coming towards him and could see Alfred walking his way with Kakashi's team behind him, "Hey guys, come sit down. We were just about to start eating. We wanted to make something you guys don't really get in the hidden Leaf, so Alfred made cheeseburgers and chili cheese fries. Trust me, you guys are gonna love it."

Sakura looked over at the table to see the plates had already been set and the meals already dished out. The food looked a touch sloopy to her, but it did smell very good, "Thanks, I guess that it couldn't hurt to try it. Where the chop sticks?"

"Oh, you don't use chopsticks for food like this," Naruto explained as they all sat down, "You just eat it with your fingers. There are napkins next to you, so wipe of your hands if they get too messy Go ahead, did in."

Most of them seemed to nervous to actually take a bite, that was except for Sai. He picked one of the fires right up, the cheese stringing along as he grabbed it, and put it into his mouth. Sai began chewing, almost acting as though he was part of an experiment, and let the flavor flow into his mouth. It wasn't long before he broke into a smile, "Wow, that's very tasty. Thank you Alfred, I think I'll thoroughly enjoy this meal."

After hearing a review like that, all of the others started eating too. All of them loved the food just as much as Sai did. Alfred beamed with pride as they enjoyed their food with gusto, "Nice to see that I can still cook just as well I did back during my days in the service. You could use it too, as I'm sure you'll all be working very hard with Master Naruto tomorrow."

"I'm planning on showing them what I can really do. They aren't gonna believe how strong I've gotten," Naruto said, taking a big bite out of his cheeseburger, "Didn't you guys say that you were training for the chunin exams this week?"

Sasuke suddenly got very excited, "That's right, and it's where I'm finally gonna prove that I'm strong enough to finally get revenge for my parents."

"Revenge won't give you what you're looking for," Bruce blurted out, causing everyone to turn and look at him, "I learned that a long time ago. The best thing you could do with your anger would be to let it go. Otherwise, you'll end up looking at yourself in the mirror one day and you won't even be able to recognize the person staring back at you."

None of the ninjas were sure what Bruce was talking about. Sasuke stared down The man with the best death glare he could manage, "What would you know about it? Did you see your parents cut down in front of you? Were you so close that you could feel the blood the spraying on your skin?"

Bruce didn't break eye contact, continuing in a firm voice, "Yes, I was. I watched them gunned down in front of me in an alleyway by a criminal who wanted nothing more than the valuables they had on them. They died standing right beside me. After that, Alfred was the one who raised me. For a long time, I was like you. All I wanted was to get revenge on the person who killed my parents. Years went by, and the anger inside of me grew. It got to the point where I went his parole hearing with a gun in my hand, ready to kill him. I got lucky, and someone was there to stop me from going through it. A few years later, he got into a fight in prison. Got himself beaten to by a crime boss named Falcone and his thugs when he offered to sell the mob out for a deal. Do you know what I felt when I found out he was dead?"

"Relief?" Sasuke asked, a dark look still on his face, "Happiness that the bastard got what was coming to him?"

Bruce shook his head, "I felt nothing. His death didn't bring me any peace. All of that hatred was still bottled up inside me. It took a long time for me to do it, but the only thing that ever made me feel any better was letting that anger go. That's when I finally moved on with my life, and tried to do something good with it. Only once I started doing that did I finally feel that relief you were talking about."

That long speech was enough to get Sasuke to shut up and think for a moment. He'd spent so long chasing after his brother Itachi for slaughtering his clan that it was all he knew at this point. His life was a lonely one, as he'd pushed anyone who he thought couldn't help him away. The path he'd cut out for himself was difficult, with him having to spend virtually all his time training. After doing all that to himself, he was about to give up because of the words of some random man who knew almost nothing about him, "You may have seen you parents get killed, but I saw my whole clan killed by the person I trusted most in the world. There's nothing you could have gone through that would compare to that. Besides, you didn't go through with killing him yourself, so for all you know avenging your parents could have solved all your problems. Don't act you get it old man, because you don't."

"Hey, you don't need to talk to my dad like that," Naruto yelled at the boy, "He was only trying to help you!"

Those weren't the type of things Kakashi wanted his student saying either, "Sasuke, we are guests in this man's home. It's okay to be upset with him, but don't take that kind of tone with him."

Bruce raised up a hand to stop his the gray haired man and his son from protesting any further, "No, it's alright guys. The boy's right, I can't imagine what he's been through. However, I do know that I owe Jim Gordon, one of the most brave and noble men I have ever met, my life for stopping me for getting my revenge. I couldn't see it back then, but all I would've accomplished by killing that man was ruining my own life. Jim asked me that day why I would be willing to throw away my life for a man who'd taken so much from me already. There's no doubt in my mind even to this day that he was right."

It was a nice story, but it wasn't good enough to convince Sasuke that he was doing anything other than what needed to be done, "And there's no doubt in my mind that my brother needs to taken care of. Can everyone please leave me alone so that I can eat my food in piece?"

"Go right ahead," Bruce replied, having remained calm throughout the entire discussion, "I didn't mean to start anything, I just wanted to help you the way that Jim had helped me."

There so much tension in the room that no one wanted to say anything after that. They all sat in silence until Mei leaned over to Bruce and whispered, "You know, I've been thinking about it, and I was wondering if maybe we should send Naruto back to the hidden Leaf with them so he can go see the chunin exams. He'll be surrounded by his friends, have plenty of people to train with, and it gives the Leaf council to see how far he's progressed. I can't imagine a better place for him to try and get his mind off everything with Jason and the Joker."

Bruce had been thinking about that as well, "That idea crossed my mind a little earlier today. Barbara's legs will be good enough for her to walk too, so she would go along with him and distract herself along with him. Plus, it'd be good for me, because it'd give me a chance to observe who plans to fill in the Joker's shoes as the new king of Gotham. I need to start looking into that as soon as possible, and it's hard enough to do it when dealing with my own pain. There's no way I could do it trying to help them with there's as well. The two of them are strong enough to help each other, I'm sure of that much."

"That all sounds perfect sweetie," Mei told him, giving him a little peck on the lips, "I like it even more because it'd give me a chance to have my first run as the superhero Cinder."

A soft chuckle escaped Bruce's throat, then whisper back to her, "You really like the idea of being a hero, don't you? Hold on, I thought you said your name was going to be Phoenix?"

Mei shrugged, briefly explaining, "Someone suggested it to me and it just sounded better. What do you think? Is that a cool superhero name?"

"Oh yeah, very cool," Bruce said, a comedic tone to his voice. The two of them shared a quiet laugh and then got back to their meals, letting the private conversation end there. Though the time the group spent at that table that night was brief, it did prove to be very revealing. Even with their greatest enemy dead, there was still plenty of things for them on the horizon. Sadly, not all of them would prove to be things they'd enjoy.

* * *

Elsewhere in Gotham City, in the abandoned toy shop that the Joker had been held up in until he was ready to head to Arkham for his big party, a hateful group consisting of eight villains had gathered to discuss how the Clown Prince of Crime's death affected Gotham's vast criminal underworld. The Penguin, the Riddler, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Bane, Two-Face, Black Mask, and the Scarecrow had all come to the neutral location with the same thing on their mind: How could they come to be the new top dog in one of the largest cities on earth?

"Oy, is everybody here?" The Penguin asked, ready to begin the meeting, "I don't see any of the major players missing. Looks to me like we got everybody need."

Harley Quinn was the first to respond, clearly unhappy to be here, "Oh yeah, we got everyone. Everyone who's here to dance on my puddin's grave!"

The woman's best friend, Poison Ivy, did her best to comfort the girl, "Harley sweetie, you know that's not true. All we want is to set the rules for how things are going to go in the coming bloody months. No one's going to disrespect the Joker. Isn't that right everyone?"

"Of course not," Said the raspy voice of Scarecrow, "Love him or hate him, he was a true master of fear. He struck it into the hearts of every person he crossed. There's nothing you can do but respect someone like that."

Harley smiled at the villain and wiped a tear from her eye, "Aw, thanks Crane, he thought you were pretty messed up too."

This was not the way the Penguin wanted the conversation to be going, "Yeah yeah, Joker's gone and there's a whole in Gotham without him. The important thing to remember is, someone needs to fill his shoes. I wanted to give all of you a chance to admit it should be me before I have to send my men out to prove it to you. Let's face it, I was always that Bat's number two enemy anyways."

"And that's just where you're going to stay Cobblepot," Black Mask said firmly, "I've waited too long for the Joker to be gone to let your nasty ass come in and try to take his place. These two-bit criminals needs some new blood, and I'm just the guy to give it to them."

Not if Two-Face had anything to say about it, "Honestly Black Mask, there isn't a villain in here who couldn't end you right now. Hell, we wanna do it just because your bounty idea was such a bust. How about you let someone with a little more vision handle this, eh?"

Bane had plenty of vision for this place, "In case you idiotas have forgotten, I started a revolution within an entire country. Just think of what I could do for Gotham City if you all step out of my way."

"Step out of your way? I hardly think that's going to happen muscle boy," The Riddler shot at the hispanic man, "We need a large brain to run this city, not large muscles. Leave it to me, someone you all know can both take out the Batman and run this town with one hand tied behind my back."

Poison Ivy didn't want to let any of them ruin her plans for Gotham, "Listen to all you arrogant meatsacks, thinking you own this city. Wait until I bring mother nature's wrath upon all of you. There won't be a single man left standing when I'm done."

"You tell em Red," Harley half heartedly cheered for her friend, "Look, this is great and all, but I really need to get back to base so I can work on my Red Fox revenge plan. It's going to be something that'll hit him right where it hurts! He'll see what it's like when your entire world come crashing down around your feet."

This was not the kind of thing that Scarecrow had come here to discuss, "Enough with the formalities. Everyone here knows that we all intend to make a play for the top spot in Gotham City. I suggest that we set ground rules for how this war is going to go."

The very word rules made the Penguin want to gag, "Oh for shit's sake, we're criminals! Are we actually going to limit what we're doing here? I don't know about the rest of you, but I plan on doing whatever the hell I want. If you guys wanna beat me, which you won't, I suggest you do the same."

"Actually, I think that the Espantapájaros has a point," Bane said, surprising the other villains around him, "Most everything should be on the table, but I don't want you trying to send Batman or the polìca after me. We keep this just between us criminals, is that understood?"

All of them, even the Penguin, had to admit, that was a fair rule. If either of those groups got involved for any one of them, it would end up biting all of them right in the ass. So, they all nodded and agreed to leave the good guys out of it, at least for now. The Scarecrow had gotten his wish, "Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to my dwelling so that I can begin my plan of attack. I know the rest of you most likely wish to keep throwing insults around so that you can try and talk your way into the head spot, but me, I'm going to earn it."

Two-Face watched Crane leave, having found a bit more respect for the man than he had before, "You know what, Scarecrow's right. We're not gonna stand here and bargain with you idiots. We'll let our guns do the talking."

"Never thought I'd see day where I found something that rouge psychiatrist said to be true," The Riddler said, agreeing with the other villains, "Let's all head back to our humble abodes, shall we? There's a war that's about to begin."

* * *

The next day, Bruce explained to Naruto and Barbara the plan to send them off to the hidden Leaf. Neither of them seemed to object to the idea, as they followed the logic about it working as a great distraction for them. Commissioner Gordon had wanted to keep his daughter close to him after everything that'd happened, but Barbara had made up some excuse to him about Bruce needing someone to watch Naruto on a trip back to his homeland. It wasn't a lie really, she was still just holding back the information that the boy was from a hidden country instead of Japan. She gave the same speech to her father that Bruce had given to her about needing a distraction, which he eventually bought.

Once that was decided, they spent the next few days training with Team Kakashi, during which Sasuke got extremely frustrated as Naruto kicked his ass nearly every time they fought. The Uchiha had never faced someone his age who could do that to him so easily, making the boy more and more frustrated every time that it happened. Things only got worse for Sasuke when he discovered that Naruto has a move known as the Rasengan, which was just as if not more powerful than the Chidori. Kakashi had been flabbergasted to learn that the boy knew the move at all, as it was one his sensei's most powerful techniques. It was good to see the boy was living up to Minato's legacy. Other than that, the only other real training they did was in teamwork, and that proved to be almost useless with resentment Sasuke kept showing towards Naruto. That was how they continued until the day finally came where the ninjas were going to return home, along two people who were coming along to watch the Chunin exams. This was going to prove itself a very interesting homecoming.

"I really hate going through all those seal things," Barbara said with a shiver as she walked with Naruto through heart of the hidden Leaf village, taking in the feudal Japan look it oozed out of every pour, "It makes me feel like some I'm falling with nothing latched onto my back. Oh well, we're here now, and that's the important part. So, explain to me what exactly the third round of the exams is gonna be like. I know there's gonna be some fighting, but I don't really understand much else about it."

The girl was actually closer than she probably realized, as Naruto was about to explain to her, "Fighting is basically all there is to it. There's a tournament with however many people are left from round two, and they fight until there's a champion."

Barbara nodded, then thought a bit deeper about what this would mean, "How far does a person have to get to be a chunin for sure? Is there some kind of prize for the winner?"

"I'm not really sure if the last man standing gets anything. I think there might be some prize money or something, but I'm not sure on that," Naruto explained, still uncertain of certain details himself, "I do know for sure though that there's no set point you can get to that makes you a chunin. You could win the whole thing and not get promoted and you could lose in the first round and still get bumped up a rank. Winning more fights improves your odds because it shows that you're stronger, but the judges also take how you did on the other tests into account. Does that make sense?"

After a moment, the redhead nodded, "Actually, yes, it does. What are the other parts of the test anyways?"

Naruto looked up into the air as he tried to recall what they were, "The first parts a written test, but I think Sai told me the whole goal of that was actually to prove you knew how to cheat. Then you had to survive in the forest and get this scroll from another Team. Usually you'd go right into round three after that, but there was too many people time so they added in another section to the second round where the genin fought to get their place. Kakashi said ten people made it through. I didn't think to ask him who those ten people were, but I think I heard something about seven of them being from the Leaf and three of them being from the Sand. Those two villages seemed to have the only really good genin this year. That's all I know right now, but don't worry, I've got a buddy we're gonna be talking to who'll fill us in on the rest."

"Really? What friend is that?" Barbara asked, eager to see if any of Naruto's friends had made it in.

A calm Japanese voice came from behind them, one they both recognized in a second, "Ah, Naruto, I've finally found you. Care to go to Ichiraku and talk about the Chunin exams as we discussed before?"

Naruto broke into a grin and spun around to greet his old friend Gaara, "Hey buddy, glad you picked up when I called you yesterday. You still aren't great with the whole phone thing yet."

"I do find it to be an off putting device, I'll admit," Gaara said, referring to the cell phone Naruto had given him so they could talk even when far away, "Barbara, it's nice to see you again as well. May I say to both of you that I was very saddened to hear about your loss."

Both of the hero's faces darkened thinking about what'd happened to Jason, "Yeah, I never thought I'd lose my brother like that. Can we not talk about it? I kinda came here to try and distract myself from that."

Gaara quickly amend his course of action, "My apologies, I should've realized you wouldn't wish to speak about it. Come, let's got to Ichiraku's as we'd planned and discuss the upcoming Chunin Exams. There's been some developments with it that I'm certain you'll be interested in."

All of them agreed and began walking towards the ramen stand. Barbara quickly decided that she'd waited long enough to find out who was going to be competing in the final round, "First things first, I've gotta know who made it all the way. Mainly did any of Naruto's friends manage to get in?"

"Yes, though there's something that I must explain to you before I tell who they were," Gaara replied, making the girl frown a touch, "The end results of the tournament would've been much different if it weren't for something that happened roughly two weeks before the exams began. You see, my father came to me and told me that he had some kind of plan to double cross the hidden Leaf during the chunin exams, and that he intended to use my lack of control of Shukaku to do it."

Naruto was shocked the man would suggest such a thing, "Is he crazy? The hidden Leaf's always been one of the Sand's biggest allies!...Wait a second, your seal was fixed years ago. You can control Shukaku's influence fine now."

The red haired boy was glad to see his friend figured it out just as quickly as he had, "Exactly, and the fact that he didn't know this proved to me that this man couldn't be my father. Only about twenty people know my seal's been repaired, and my father has always been one of them. I played along and soon discovered that my real father had been killed and replaced by the snake that is Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru? You mean that guy who used to be one of the Legendary Sannin," Naruto asked, remembering the conversations he had about him with Tsunade and Jiraiya, "I know that he betrayed the hidden Leaf way back when he was trying to develop techniques that could make him immortal. He was a snake summoner who got so into his summons that his body actually started to alter and become more like a snake's. The crazy bastard even made more alterations to his body that were supposed to help make him immortal. Everything I've ever heard about says that he's basically a scientist who has a complete disregard for human life, and only uses others to forward his own goals."

Barbara visible gagged at the description, "Ugh, sounds almost as bad as some of the psycho's we've got over in Gotham. Probably way more powerful though, if he's up there with Tsunade and that Jiraiya guy."

Based on the tales that had been told about him, he was a dangerous foe indeed, "He was able to kill my father, which makes him Kage level at the very least. We told the Leaf as soon as we discovered it was him and devised a plan where he'd believe that the Sand was going to help his newly formed village, the hidden Sound, destroy the hidden Leaf, though in reality we're going to double cross him when he attempts to attack during the final round of the Chunin exams."

"Woah, he's going to be attacking during the chunin exams?" Naruto asked urgently, realize that this was going to affect them directly, "Don't you think you should've told us that before we came here?"

Gaara seemed to think it was going to be alright, "There's an evacuation plan set up for civilians that you're free to partake in, or you may fight with the Leaf and Sand if you wish. it's entirely your choice. Now, I told you all of this information because it affected who ended up in the final round. You see, we convinced Orochimaru not to enter anyone from the Sound enter the exams, as we felt it would keep the other genin safer, and this resulted in what I'm sure was a very different outcome in who all made it to the end. Heck, If you were there, who knows how things might have changed."

It seemed like an awful lot of things to explain for just that little tidbit, but Naruto accept it nonetheless, "Okay, a lot to take in at once, but I'll roll with it. So, who all is in the finals?"

"Myself, Kankuro, Temari, Sasuke, Sai, Shino, Shikamaru, Kiba, Ino, and boy you don't know by the name of Neji," Gaara listed off, then explained further, "Ino more than likely wouldn't have been able to beat Sakura if it wasn't for the training you did with her, so I'll be willing to bet she'll want to thank you before this is all said and done. I won't get into who the rest of them beat, as you likely don't even know who their opponents were. Neji is actually a fellow member of your village, though I doubt you'd like him because of it. Hinata's his own cousin and he nearly killed her during the preliminary round. He's a real piece of work."

Naruto frowned heavily at the thought of that, "Really? How could you do that to such a sweet girl. I might have to have a chat with that son of a bitch. Sounds like we've got some real interesting fights in store. So, when does it start and who do you have to face first?"

It took Gaara no time at all to remember those details, "It start in two hours and I've got Sasuke as my first opponent. That's why I want to get some food in me so that I can kick that stuck up Uchiha ass of his on a full stomach."

Barbara and Naruto both wanted to pass out on the ground laughing after they heard that. There was no doubt about it now. This visit was going to be an absolute blast.


	28. Great Battles Pt 2

Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for some battles? I can't hear any of you, but hopefully you said yes, because that's what this chapter is going to be focusing on. First of all, I know that some of you were confused about whether or not I'd be posting a chapter last week, and I do apologize for not being more clear about that. Honestly though, you might wanna get used to it, because when wrestling season starts up it'll be much more difficult for me to post weekly. Now I won't be showing you every fight, as I'll be more or less skipping over the fights that actually took place in the anime. That is, with the exception of the Gaara vs Sasuke fight, as I'll be covering that fight a little bit, for reasons I'm sure you can all guess. Those are the the main fights that will be focused on, along with the Sai vs Neji and a tiny bit of Ino vs Kiba. That's just the tip of the iceberg, as you'll soon see. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-The Offspring: You're Gonna Go Far Kid

* * *

"Naruto Uzumaki, as I live and breath," The Third Hokage said to himself as he watched the young boy walking up to him with his red haired friend, "My god, it's hardly even been a year and yet he's grown so much. I can hardley believe that he's nearly a teenage now."

Standing next to Hiruzen was a jonin named Genma, who was going to be the one officiating the final round of the exams. It was a simple job, as he just started the matches and ended them when there was a clear winner. They were both in the Hokage viewing box of massive stadium designed for combat type of events. It was nothing more than a oval about a hundred feet around with patches of dirt and grass all around it. A few trees were scattered about too, making it very easy to maintain. With the how often people would be fighting in and destroying this place, it needed to kept simple. Genma looked out at the stadium, which was packed with almost a thousand people who had come to watch the mayhem, and then turned back to the Hokage, "I don't know if he looks much different, I don't really see him that often. Red head's cute, way too young for me though, by at least fifteen years. That'd be robbing the cradle on a whole new level. Still, a guy can dream. Why are they up here anyways, and not down there with the rest of them? You don't usually invite people up to the Kage box. Did you really miss him the much?"

Hiruzen explained quickly, as Naruto was nearly next to them, "I'll admit, there's a small part of it that's due to me wanting to visit with the boy, but it's also because there's still citizens who feel Naruto is the same as the demon he contains. It's just safer if I have him up here with me and the 'Kazekage.'"

"Hey old man, what's up?" Naruto interrupted, just missing the disdainful tone the Hokage had used to say the supposed Sand leaders title, "I haven't seen you in ages."

The two of them smiled at one another, then Hiruzen wrapped his arms around the boy as if he were his own grandson, "It has indeed been too long. You're looking strong my boy, I can't wait to see just how powerful you've gotten. Ah, Miss Gordon is here as well. Glad to see it."

Barbara shook the man's head and said, "Well, it's good to be here. Don't call Miss Gordon by the way, it makes me feel like an old woman. Barbara sounds a whole lot better if you ask me."

"Take it from an old man my dear, you look nothing like an old woman," Sarutobi said, then noticed the way that Naruto was staring at the 'Kazekage,' "Something wrong Naruto?"

The boy whispered to the man who was basically his grandfather, "The Kazekage's dead, Gaara told me that much, so who's that guy over there in the robes? Is he an actor or something?"

Hiruzen had to keep the boy from overreacting when he said this next part, "It's my old student Orochimaru, the snake who planned this all. Before you say anything, I want you to know that there's no need to worry. I've got everything well in hand and I have plan to assure that everyone in this stadium remains safe. Please, act like everything is progressing normally and watch the upcoming fights with us."

"Hiruzen, who are speaking with over there?" Asked the false Kazekage, becoming a tad bit nervous as they were talking in a very low tone, "Whoever it is, they'd best hurry. Genma just jumped down to begin the first fight of the day."

The two Leaf natives nodded at one another and then Hiruzen turned to face the imposter, "It's Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne, a friend of you children's. You remember him, now don't you?"

Orochimaru had never met Naruto even once before this, but he knew he needed to act as though he'd seen the boy a hundred times, "Ah yes, Naruto. Have you come here to support me children in their battles today?"

"Them and some of my other friends from the hidden Leaf, yeah," Naruto responded, as he and Barbara took their seats next to the Hokage, "Lots of good fighters here, so it should be fun time no matter who wins. My money's on Gaara, but we'll have to wait and see."

Though she was still a little shaky on what was going on, Barbara did know enough that she was able to play along with this whole thing, "It's nice to see that the hidden Leaf and the Hidden Sand had the best showings. So, which two people are fighting first?"

"Neji and Sai are the first two opponents, and their fight is the second most anticipated one of the whole tournament," Hiruzen told them, as they all watched Genma standing in the center of the ring with two black haired boys approaching him, "Most people think that whoever wins this one is going to end up going up against the winner of the Sasuke vs Gaara fight. Of course only time will tell if that's the case or not."

Time would indeed tell. Down in the ring with Genma, Neji was busy giving Sai the most terrifying look that he had, but it proved to be useless against the boy. He merely looked at Neji right back, actually smiling at him "Neji, you seem very tense. I'd suggest that you loosen up if you intend on fighting in a few moments. A stiff body is not your friend in a battle with a fellow ninja."

Genma chuckled at the boy's deadpan, "You know what the funniest part about that comment was? I don't think you even meant it as a joke. All you trying to do was be poliet. For god's sake, I've never seen a kid who,"

"Enough, there's no need to egg him on," Neji spat, earning a dirty look from Genma, "I came here to prove my destiny, not listen to you two babble to one another."

The proctor rolled his eyes at the boy's excuse, "Again with this destiny bullshit. You used that excuse to beat the hell out of your cousin too. Seems to me like you're a stupid kid with some serious anger issues."

Neji started to get much more forceful at that point, "I told you, I did not come here to speak! Start the match already, or I will request another proctor!"

"It's alright Genma, Neji doesn't seem like the kind of person for formalities," Sai said, his polite tone still going, "Please, just begin with the fight so that we may appease his aggression."

It seemed like the more the kid talked, the more Genma was rooting for him, "Stay weird kid, it's good for ya. Alright, so, I'm assuming you all know how this works. You two start fighting, eventually one of you gets knocked out or can't continue, then I declare a winner. Neither of you need any more explanation than that, do you?"

Neither of them spoke up, so Genma raised his hand to signal the match was about to begin, "Alright, then the combatants get set! 3...2...1...FIGHT!"

"Now we end this you buffoon," Neji spat, before lunging at Sai with same Gentle Fist style of attack that Hinata had used, "Prepare to be made a fool of!"

It seemed like Sai had been expecting the move, as he was jumping to side before Neji even began. The attack flew harmlessly past him, allowing the boy to take out his tanto and smack it's hilt into Neji's ribcage. It knocked the wind out of the boy briefly, but the Hyuga still managed to spin around and land a hard kick on his opponent's shin. Sai briefly winced in pain before jumping back to assess his competitors first moves, "Not bad. You're just as fast as they say, though a touch predictable."

Neji couldn't help but take that as an insult, "Predict all you want. All I need is one slip up and I'll have everything I need to take you out. Once your chakra points are shut down, there won't be a thing that you can do!"

"True, but that's more or less implying that you'll be able to hit me," Sai said, jumping back as boy lunged at him once again, "And I can assure you, that would not be an easy feat for you."

The two of them continued to go back and forth like that for a matter of minutes. Neji would attack, Sai would dodge, followed by a counter attack, which Neji would then deflect, and on and on. It was almost like watching one of the fights Batman would have with the Joker. They seemed very evenly matched, but you couldn't help the feeling that one of them was slowly edging out other. Everyone in the crowd watch with hitched breaths, waiting to see who'd slip up first, when they noticed something they first thought was blood splashing on the ground. However, they quickly saw that the color splashing onto the ground wasn't red, but clearly a shade of black. Every time that Sai moved, he let a dab on ink fly free from his hands.

It seemed like a strange tactic to Neji, "Trying to make me slip and fall? Come on Sai, we both know you're better than that. Use your actual skill to fight me, now won't you?"

"That's exactly what I am doing my friend," Sai said, before he started to go through some handsigns, "Weapon Imitating Drawing!"

All of the ink that had been on the ground suddenly shot up, taking a shape of staffs that all jammed into Neji's sides. The boy scowled for a second, trying to hold back the pain. He stood back on his heels and stuck his palms out, beginning to spin on his heals. With all of the chakra he could muster up, he forced chakra to come out of every pour of his body. Neji's hands began to shape it, smoothing it out. A sort of blue dome began to form around him, one that broke the ink staffs, freeing the boy from his pain.

Sai felt a great force emanating from the spinning blue dome, one that picked him up off from his feet and sent him flying towards the other end of the ring. He skidded across the ground, quickly finding his feeting to get back up with an impressed look on his face, "Ah, Heavenly Rotation, one of the most prized Hyuuga techniques. I've heard that when mastered properly, there's almost nothing that can penetrate it. I do believe you've just raised an entirely new set of challenges for me."

"Wouldn't want to make things too easy on you, now would I?" Neji asked, finally willing to make a joke now that he was starting to take the lead in this fight, "Ready to admit defeat? Or do you plan on giving me the pleasure of beating you myself?"

Things had just gotten way too interesting for Sai to give up on this all, "Come now Neji, we're only getting warmed up. I want to see what that new move of yours can really do."

Neji grinned at the challenge, though he had a much different move in mind for this one, "I think that I'd rather use something that I know can take you out in one shot. You've proven to be better than I thought Sai, but I've got a meeting with destiny. It's time, for the Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palm strike!"

"Well shit," the boy muttered, as he knew exactly what was coming his way. The attack Neji intended to use was one that had the ability to shut down every single chakra point in the human body near simultaneously. Doing something like this was beyond dangerous, as roughly half of the people who it was used on ended up dead. It was definitely the kinda thing that could take out Sai on it's own, but the boy had known beforehand that this move could end up being an issue for him. That was why he'd set up a plan for this situation, "It's a good thing I set up a contingency for this."

Cleary Neji hadn't heard the boy, as he still went right on with his attack. His hand shot for the boy's first chakra point, striking with as much force as he could managed. However, he didn't hit a hard chest as he thought he'd would. Instead, his fingers seemed to be sinking into something, like a goo that was protecting Sai. Neji tried to pull his fingers back out, but they were stuck in there like glue, "Dammit! This shirt is made out of ink, isn't it?"

Sai smiled for a brief second and then threw his elbow into Neji's face, causing him to spit out a touch of blood before his opennet explained, "It's covered with a layer of ink, yes. I prepared it before the fight began, as I felt it would come in handy against you. Needless to say, I was proven right. Now, why don't I end this fight, eh?"

"Oh, this is going to end alright," Neji muttered, before pulling out a kunai and cutting his finger free from the ink, "But I'll be the one who finishes it!"

This was once again something that Sai had been expecting, so he'd been preparing a counter attack before Neji had even begun. He swept his leg under the Hyuuga's while he was still bringing his kunai back up, knocking the boy onto his back. Sai followed him down with his first clenched, but Neji managed to roll out of the way before his opponent smashed into the ground below, "Speedy reactions Neji, but it won't be enough."

The boy wasn't listening to Sai's taunts. He was busy trying to kick his feet up in order to use his Heavenly Spin to get Sai the hell away from him. As soon his feet hit the ground, he saw that his enemy had taken out a paintbrush and was scribbling away on scroll in his hands. Two snakes shot off from the paper and towards Neji, binding his arms to his sides. Sai was proving himself to be a far greater opponent than the Hyuuga had ever predicted, "I don't understand this! Fate has deemed that I am to win this tournament! How could you possibly be defeating me?"

"You really don't get it, do you Neji?" Sai asked, before kicking the boy in his face. Next he went with a right hook to his jaw, then a nice uppercut to his chin, "Life is not planned out for us before it's even begun. We have free will, therefore we make whatever life we want for ourselves. A pity that you don't understand that."

Neji opened his mouth to snap at the boy once more, but never got the chance to. Sai smacked the hilt of his tonto into Neji's temple and knocked him out instantly. He fell to the ground unconscious, forcing Genma to call the match, "Neji is unable to continue. Ladies and gentlemen, Sai is the victor!"

The entire stadium erupted in allouse, approving of the first fight of the day. It had proved to be both a very cerebral and very physical fight, satisfying both of the audience's needs. Naruto seemed very pleased Neji had lost his big match, "Serves him right for treating Hinata like he did in the first round. How can you do that to your own family?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple my boy," Hiruzen warned him, knowing the backstory behind this little feud, "The simplest way that I can explain it by telling you that the Hyuuga's have a branch family that's forcibly given a mark when they're young, and this mark lets the main family control them. Neji's father, Hinata's Uncle that is, died because of the burden that comes with that mark. Neji's never forgiven the main family or Hinata for what happened to his father, and I doubt that he ever will."

Barbara could hardly believe the Leaf still had such a barbaric practice going on, "That sounds horrible. Can't you put a stop to it? You are the Hokage after all."

If such an easy solution was available, Hiruzen would've taken it by now, "Many of the main branch members like having the power of the lower branch, so everytime I bring up trying to end the so called 'Caged Bird Seal' they threaten to revolt. I'd rather wait and find a diplomatic solution to this issue. Enough blood has been split in this village over clan wars as it is."

"Hey, Naruto," Came a the sound of feminine voice, breaking Naruto of his current conversation, "My brother said I could find you up here. I just wanted to say hi really quick before my match started."

Naruto turned around and smiled brightly at Temari, who he identified from her voice, giving the girl a small hug, "Glad to hear it. I really don't get to see you guys enough. So, who've you got this round?"

The blonde haired girl gave him a name she knew he'd recognize, "Shikamaru Nara, someone who would've been in your class if you'd stayed in the hidden Leaf."

"Oh yeah, that kid's a freaking genius," Naruto replied, meaning it quite literally, "You're gonna have your work cut out for you with him."

Temari already heard this from her sensei, who done extensive research on the boy for her, "I know, it's gonna be a real battle of the minds out there. By the way, I know you don't wanna talk about it, but my brother told me about some of the stuff you've been going through...I just wanted to say I think that it's really cruel what Cheshire did to you, playing with your heart like that."

There was still a lot of pain stirring in the boy regarding that, but it he had begun to feel a little better, "It was hard for me to believe, but there's no way around. She was a real bitch in disguise. I really just wanna try and move past it, ya know? I don't think I'll be doing anymore dating for a while, I can tell you that much."

"Believe me, I get it," Temari said, putting a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm gonna go down and get ready for my match. You stay strong Naruto. Oh, good to see you too Barbara."

With that, the girl walked away, Naruto watching her the whole time. Barbara leaned over and whispered to him, "Seems like she still has a thing for you. I know you're not ready to jump back in the dating pool yet, but just keep her in mind. You're gonna need to move on at some point."

Naruto nodded, making a mental note of fact that even with his emotions the way they were, he still felt something when Temari was around. Speaking of girls who perked his interest, that was when he noticed an old lavender haired friend of his standing off in the corner, "Hey Hinata, what are you doing standing way over there? Don't you wanna come and see me?"

"I-um...well I...um," Hinata stuttered before taking a deep breath, "I'll be over there in a moment."

It was hard for Barbara not to laugh at how flustered the girl still seemed, "That poor little thing still can't control her stutter around you. Oh, that's just adorable."

Hinata reached them before Naruto could respond. She tapped her fingers together and said in a small voice, "Hello Naruto...I wanted to see if I could watch a few of the m-matches with you. If you don-n't want to, that's okay. I'll just,"

"I'd love for you to watch the next few matches with me," Naruto cut her off, sparing the girl from any more of the awkwardness, "The old man's too busy watching the matches to do any real talking anyways."

That was true, though there was a distinct reason for Hiruzen's lack of conversation, "To be fair, I'm one of the judges. I have to focus on who deserves to be promoted to Chunin when this is all said and done. Keep in mind, I may have the chance to make that decision for you as well. Don't wanna sway my judgement the wrong way, right?"

He and Naruto shared a brief grin, as both knew the old man was only playing, and then Naruto scooched over a bit in his seat, "You'll have to real close to me, because we don't have anymore seats to use. Is that okay?"

"Yes," Hinata said almost instantly, then said a little quieter, "I m-mean, sure, that's f-fine."

The boy let her sit down without mentioning her excitement and they continued to watch the next couple of matches. First up was Temari vs Shikamaru, which did prove to be a fascinating fight to watch. Between the boy's Shadow Possession techniques and the girl's wind power attacks, the fight went very much back and forth. It forced the girl to stay out of the range of his shadows but remain close enough to use her wind the end, Shikamaru had managed to Temari catch in his Shadow Possession after a lengthy series of moves, and it looked like he was going to win the match. Sadly, he ran out of chakra before he had the chance to finish her. Temari moved on to the next round in an anticlimactic end. Then came Kankuro and Shino's match, which might have been an even more intriguing match up. Kankuro's puppets, along with their use of toxins, made a damn near perfect match against Shino's bugs, which were known for being able to consume chakra and maneuver around nearly anything. Two long range fighters with incredibly unique fighting styles was sure to keep the crowds attention. For quite some time, that's exactly what it did, as no one could ever even seem to tell who was winning. Ironically enough, the match ended without a real winner too. Shino ended up being heavily poisoned by Kankuro, who ended up being swarmed by Shino's insects. This forced Genma to call the match, as both could die and neither had the ability to surrender. It was quite a pity too, considering that meant neither of them could move on to the next round.

"Two of the most talented young shinobi in the tournament eliminated so soon. How unfortunate," The First Hokage remarked, but did add, "Still, I think both of them have proven themselves well enough to be considered for promotion."

The false Kazekage agreed, and not just because he was trying to seem normal, "They've certainly shown all of the skills required of a Chunin. I'll be sure to put a vote of confidence in for Kankuro. Reminded me, who's next on the ballot?"

Naruto remembered the order from when Gaara told him, "Kiba and Ino should be up next. Their fighting styles don't really mix well, so I can't wait to see how they go about facing each other."

"Kiba said s-something about having a pl-lan," Hinata recalled, thought the details themselves were rather fuzzy, "He wouldn't say much else, but he seemed to feel pretty confident."

That may have been true, but Naruto wouldn't put it past Ino to pull off something crazy, "Ino's been training a lot more lately, and I didn't really get a chance to see how much more powerful she's gotten the last time she visited. Honestly, I think this one could go either way."

No one could really find any evidence to dispute that. They knew about as much about how this fight would go as Naruto did. Down in the center of the ring, Genma had just finished explaining the rules to Kiba and Ino, "And that's when I call the match. Any questions? No? You guys ready to go then?"

"We ready to go the moment we stepped into the ring! Ain't that right Akamaru?" Kiba asked his canine partner standing next to him, who quickly barked in conformation, "Yeah! Let's get this show on the road!"

Ino got right into her fighting position as well, glad that the waiting was finally over, "I'm with dog breath! Let's get this party started already!"

Seeing as both of them eager and willing, Genma got right to it, "If you say so. The match will begin in 3...2...1...FIGHT!"

"Go Akamaru," Kiba yelled, throwing a smoke pellet onto the ground. Ino quickly jumped back as she heard something rumbeling in the smoke. It quickly cleared, giving the girl a view of two Kiba's right in front of her, "That's right! Man Beast Clones right outta the gate! If you try and use that mind control thing on one of us, the other one will just take you out before you can do a damn thing about it."

The blonde had to admit, she didn't think Kiba would've thought that far ahead, "That's a pretty good plan Kiba, surprised you came up with it. Too bad I made sure way in advance that other stuff to fall back on too! Get a load of this!"

Ino speedily made some hand seals and then put her hand to her lips, "Mud Bomb!" (The only nature affinity I've seen her use is earth, so that's what I went with.)

"Didn't see that one coming," Kibs muttered before he and Akamaru jumped out of the way, "I better end this before I find out she's got any other surprises. Akamaru, it's time for Fang Over Fang!"

With that order, both of them started running for Ino at full speed. They got about halfway to her and then jumped into the air, both forming a small twister of sorts. The crowd watched in awe as the move came just inches away from Ino. It struck her body, but Kiba quickly noticed that there was far too much give to this body. Mud began to splash everywhere as Kiba and Akamaru stopped spinning, landing on the ground covered in the thick substance. Neither had any clue as to what was going on, "When the heck did Ino start using so much mud? Shit, this stuff is thick as all hell. I can barely move with all this crud on me."

Ino, who had actually jumped behind the smoke cloud set off previously, leaving the clone as a distraction, called from behind them, "It's chakra mud, it's supposed to be thick. I picked up a few new tricks in case my mind transfer jutsu struck a snag, and it looks like it was a real good idea too. Now, let's finish this with a Mud Bomb!"

"This is getting to be a real pain in my ass," Kiba muttered, before another high powered ball of mud shot towards him, only this time the mud covering his body made it too difficult to dodge it. It hit Kiba right in the back, sending him crashing into a nearby wall with a loud a grunt emanating from his mouth, "Gahhh!"

With Kiba focusing on simply trying to stand up, Ino turned her attention to the Akamaru clone version of him. She knew that this one was the dog, as it wasn't speaking at all. Even his clone form wouldn't allow him to do that. Ino raised her hands up pointed them directly at the dog, focusing her chakra to use what she felt would be her finishing move, "Alright Kiba, lets she how you feel when you're own dog's the one who finished you! Mind Transfer jutsu!"

The girl's body suddenly went limp as the man beast clone shot up to attention. For a split second it looked at Kiba and grinned triumphantly before disappearing a puff of smoke, leaving a confused looking Akamaru in it's place. Ino was still in control, but had no idea why the man beast clone had changed back. Kiba stood up and started to shake off the mud as he explained, "If you were gonna control somebody, it should've been me. Akamaru's just like a human when it comes to using chakra, which means he has to focus to make it work. You broke his concentration when you took him over, which switched him right back to bring my furry partner in crime. I bet that you figured taking over my buddy there would easier since his mind isn't as developed as a human's. That may be true, but it really backfired on you, didn't it?"

"Hhhmmmmm," The dog whimpered before it's body jerked, which meant that Ino had given Akamaru back his free will. This was confirmed when he released a happy little bark at his owner, "Arf!"

Kiba would have smiled at the dog if he had been looking, but at the moment he was sprinting directly for Ino. Now that he had brushed off the mud and had his bearings about him, he was going finish Ino before she tried to make another crazy move. She had just begun to get back into her battle stance when she heard Kiba yell, "Fang Over Fang!"

There was zero time for the girl to try and prepare any form of counter attack before she found a spinning tornado of doom heading right for her. It hit her head on and carried Ino all the way to the wall, which she was then smashed into. By the time that the attack finally stopped, the girl was covered in small cuts and had a few bruises on her from the impact. For a few seconds she tried to stand up, but her legs could only shake once or twice before she passed out onto the hard ground below her. Her body had taken too much damage at one time for her to stay up. At the point, Genma had to call the surprisingly tight match, "Ino is unable to continue. Kiba is the winner!"

"Hell yeah I am! Woohoo," Kiba screamed as Akamaru jumped into his arms to slobber all over his partners face in celebration, "Inuzuka for the win!"

Everyone in the crowd, particularly the boy's family, started screaming. Many of the early predictions had Kiba winning this fight by a landslide, but Ino had put up one hell of a fight. Even if she had lost, she still made her father and the rest of her clan very proud. Up in the Kage's box, Naruto was giving everyone his take on the fight, "Both of them were trying to play it smart, but I think Ino had Kiba beat a little in that area. Kiba had a hell of a lot more brute strength though, which I think is what let him win in the end. Ino only had one or two attacks that were gonna do her any real good, so when those didn't work, she was pretty much screwed. That's just what I think though, I'm not a fighting expert or anything."

Hiruzen had a pretty similar analysis of the battle, "Well I am, I don't think I could have put it any better myself. I must say, these fights are the best that I can remember them being in years. I'm not sure I can think of a previous year where the fighting was so intense."

"Nor can I," Admitted the false Kazekage, surprised by how powerful these Leaf genin were, "And to think, we haven't even gotten to the most anticipated fight yet. Gaara and Sasuke are up next, which will end the first group of challenges. My, what a perfect way to end a near perfect string of matches."

Though Barbara did think the fight would be an interesting one to watch, she could only see it going one possible way, "I watched Naruto give Sasuke a pretty good beatdown back home, and he's only ever been able to bring Gaara to a stalemate. Based on that, I think Sasuke's about to be in for a world of pain. Honestly, I don't think anyone in this whole tournament has a shot at beating Gaara. He's just too freaking powerful."

Hinata, who had remained silent up into this point, put in her two cents, "Kib-ba's very strong, and so is S-sasuke, but if Naruto can't e-even beat Gaara, then I doub-bt they could either. I'm glad neit-ther of my teammates drew h-him first."

"Yes, my son is indeed very powerful," Said the supposed Kazekage," Let's all hush now so that we can watch the fight. The show is about about to begin."

Indeed, back down in the heart of the arena Ino and Kiba were now replaced with two new competitors, eager to prove that they were the stronger of the two. Gaara stood his ground silently while Sasuke did his best to be intimidating, "Hn, so you're the prodigy from the Hidden Sand? You're really not much to look at. I expect someone a lot more menacing."

Gaara didn't respond for a moment, as he was busy sizing the boy up, "You don't seem to be all that threatening yourself. I hope that doesn't prove to be to be the case...I was hoping for at least one good fight in this tournament."

"You know you kids sure talk a lot before your fights these days," Genma commented, breaking up the tension, "Back when I took this exam, we just beat the shit out of each other and that was it. Simpler times, I tell ya."

The Sand genin took that as their hint to get started, "I suppose that people didn't come here simply to see the two of us talk. Please Genma, finish so that we may begin."

An appreciative nod was earned from the jonin, "Thanks kid. We'll begin in 3...2...1...FIGHT!"

"I'll be sure to make this quick," Sasuke said, activating his Sharingan almost the moment the fight had begun, "This almost worked on you last time, let's see if you can handle it again!"

With speed that was all too familiar to the red haired boy, Sasuke appeared beside Gaara and kicked him in the face hard enough to send him reeling backwards. Almost everyone in stands knew that the speed at which the boy was working could've only come from one place. Back in the Kage box, Hiruzen muttered under his breath, "Rock Lee…"

Naruto heard that an instantly had to know what he was talking about, "Who's Rock Lee?"

"A genin who is unable to use chakra," Hiruzen explained, watching the fight continuing down below. Now that Gaara knew what was coming for him, he started to make adjustments to make sure another hit like that wouldn't happen, "He gave Gaara a run for his money in the previous round. You see, he makes up for the lake of chakra by being a taijutsu master. He can move faster than almost anyone in the village, and hit's hard to boot. Looks like Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy Lee's moves and use them to try and defeat Gaara."

Those moves Hiruzen had mentioned seemed familiar to Barbara, "Naruto, didn't Sasuke try and use that stuff on you during your training matches?"

"Yeah, it almost worked at first," Naruto recollected, as it was one of the few moves Sasuke had been able to use against him, "But I made some adjustments and used some Shadow Clones, so I was still able to beat him. Something tells me Gaara's gonna manage it just fine too. Sounds like he already beat that set of moves once anyways."

Naruto's assumptions were absolutely correct, as back in the stadium, Gaara started to do with Sasuke what he'd done to defeat Lee. Rather than counting solely on his defense, the Sand genin started to go on the offensive as well. When Sasuke would try and use Lee's taijutsu moves, Gaara would use one of the attacks that he recalled worked before to counter anything that came at him. Five minutes later, Sasuke lost the upper hand and was at the mercy of his opponent. Sand Tsunami's and Sand Tendrils began to make a fool out of him, which was something that Sasuke could not allow.

Ten minutes into the fight, he stopped trying to attack, which made Gaara stop as well. It was at this point he noticed strange black tattoo like marks had begun to appear all over Sasuke's body, "Oh dear. So we're already heading down that path are we? I was hoping we could postpone this a bit longer, but it looks like we're about to begin with the fun part of the day."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm going to make you suffer," Sasuke screamed as the marks started to take over him. He put his hand down by his side and began to course lightening through it, running at Gaara once his attack was ready, "Chidori!"

Gaara saw the boy's attack coming and surrounded himself with a wall of sand to defend himself. That was a wall that Sasuke soon reached, plunging his hand inside of it. He was eager to hit the flesh and bone of his opponent. What he found however, when the sand cleared, was that Gaara was nowhere to be seen. In fact, he was nowhere in the stadium at all, which confused both the boy and crowd around them. The False Kazekage was in complete shock, "I don't understand it! Where has that miserable little brat gone! Dammit, he can't do this, not now!"

Hiruzen had stood up this point, as signal for the fight had just been set off, "It's quite simple Orochimaru. Gaara's doing exactly what we told him to do when Sasuke's curse mark was activated. He's going off to give the Sand shinobi the signal that it's time to kick the sound right out of our beloved village!"

"Wh...what?" Asked the costumed snake charmer, turning to his old sensei, "You know about Sasuke and the attack? But how? I made sure that none of the intel would be leaked back to you!"

At this point Orochimaru had ripped off his Kazekage outfit and showed his true, sickly form, which made Hiruzen throw off his robes to show off his battle armor, "Next time you have an attack planned Orochimaru, make sure that you have all of your facts straight before you try to get a village to betray us. Gaara's seal was fixed years ago, which tipped him right off to the fact that you couldn't really be the Kazekage. As for Sasuke, well, your former student Anko can recognize those power promising, demented curse seals you place on people's necks. Face it Orochimaru, you were doomed before this fight even began."

Orochimaru's head was spinning. His entire plan was crumbling down around him. Nearly a year's worth of work turned to ash before his eyes. He couldn't let his revenge slip from his finger's this easily, "Damn you, you old bastard! I've still got an army out there that's going to tear the village you love so much to shreds! If a fight's what you want, then I'll give you the best one you ever had! Come on, let's see if you fools can take on the might of the Hidden Sound!"


	29. Great Battles Pt 3

Welcome my fantastic readers, to what I'm hoping will be another exciting chapter of the Red Fox. First off, I'd like to thank you all for being so understanding about me now posting on a bi-weekly basis. All of you got the fact that you wasn't doing it out of laziness, but rather because I need to manage my schedule right now. No fears though, the fanfic will be finished. On a little side note, if you're looking for some stories to read while you're waiting for mine, go check out the author acw28. He's got some great Naruto Crossovers, including ones with Okami, Mortal Kombat, and X-men. They're all great reads. Anyways, we'll be finishing up with the fighting today, then we'll see who wins the criminal war in Gotham City along with a bachelor party. Once all that's done, it's the big wedding! Yup, this is gonna be fun. Thank you so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Theory Of A Dead Man: Villain

* * *

While a battle of epic proportions was forming in the hidden Leaf, the city of Gotham found itself in an odd state of calm. Everyone had thought that the moment the Joker died, an all out brawl would break out among the toughest criminals in Gotham, one that would decide who would be the most feared person in the city. Yet, even as Batman and the newly dubbed Cinder did research on every villain who was in contention for the spot, they found that none of them had made so much as a single move yet. Not a one bullet had been fired in the name of a war. There was no exchanging of fists yet, no blood spilt, and no dreams crushed. Now was the time when alliances were formed, and not all of them were going to be formed willingly.

Down in the abandoned maintenance tunnels directly below Gotham's Chinatown, Scarecrow had called in two villains to discuss something very important with them. Standing in front of him in the dark, dank tunnels was Poison Ivy and Bane, and he planned on showing them exactly why he was going to be the new king of Gotham City, "Ah, Bane and Ms. Ivy, how nice of you both to join me. I'm glad that you two got my message. I trust that neither of you were followed down here."

"I'm insulted you'd even ask me that," Replied Bane with a scowl on his face, "None of the tontos in this city could find me if I didn't want them too. You're lucky I even came here, don't go and make me leave so soon with your foolish words."

Poison Ivy seemed totally disinterested in what the two of them had to say, "I only came here because Crane claimed that he could assure me victory over the others. You're not pulling my leg, now are you Scarecrow?"

That claim got Bane rather riled up, "Interesting, he made a similar claim to me. What kinda game are you trying to play here? You know I don't like dealing with an engañar."

"Calling me a cheater? That's a bit harsh," Crane fired back, knowing enough spanish to translate the insult, "I never lied to you, I simply chose my words carefully. Believe me, I can assure that the both of you find yourself on the top of the heap when this nasty war is over. All you have to do is side with me. Otherwise, not only will you lose this fight, you won't even come out of it alive."

Bane threw his head back laughing, "And here I thought the Joker was dead and gone, and yet we seem to have a payaso right here in front of us. Do you honestly think that you have what it takes to beat me, let alone everyone other criminal in this city? You're a smart man Crane, I'll give you that, but you have the strength of a conejito. You've given me an enjoyable laugh, so I'll let this little incident go for now. Don't anger me again Espantapájaros, or it will cost you dearly."

The mercenary turned and began to walk away, but a stern growl from Scarecrow stopped him, "Not one more step Bane, or I'll leave you sputtering on the ground with your mind pouring out of your skull."

"You dare to talk to me like that?" Bane asked in a dark voice, looking back to see some kind of detonator in Scarecrow's hand, "What is that? Are you going to try and release your toxin into the air? I'd think that by now you'd know that my mask keeps toxins like that from entering my lungs."

Scarecrow indeed knew that, which was why the lungs weren't his plans of attack, "You won't be breathing anything in. I did a mental evaluation on you Bane, and I was eventually able to profile the type of places you'd like to hide your precious Venom. It took some doing, but I was eventually able to find the place and have a little something special inject into your supply. You're chemical booster is now filled with my fear toxin, and one pulse from this electronic detonator will activate the compound and ruin your once brilliant mind."

There was no way Bane was buying into this, "You're bluffing. My Venom is heavily guarded by my best men. There's no way you could've gotten to it."

"Try me," Scarecrow rasped, his finger on the detonator, "Or have you forgotten that you needed the supply transported last week after a series of 'Incidents' at your old hiding place. There's not many people in Gotham who know what it takes to move chemicals that sensitive. Take a wild guess as to who else they've worked for in the past and who they were willing to take a large sum of money from in exchange for tampering with your compound."

Bane was beginning to think he might have underestimated his foe, but that didn't mean he was going to back down, "Even if you are telling the truth, it doesn't matter. I can get another shipment of Venom sent to Gotham and continue fighting on! Then the first person I crush, will be you!"

That sounded good in theory, but Crane had other ideas, "And if I were to inform our other competitors that you have to, by my estimation, wait at least a week for your greatest asset to be refilled? What would you do then? Do you honestly believe that you could hold out for that long if everyone was coming at you? Even if you could, you're body is addicted to Venom. You need it simply to survive!"

"Seems like he's got you by the balls Bane," Poison Ivy said, as he watched a look of fear beginning to spread on the mercenaries face, "And if he called me down here, that means that he seems to think he's got me in a pretty tight spot too. So, what is it that you think you've got hanging over my head?"

Scarecrow didn't like blackmailing more than one person at a time, as he felt it set up too much of a house of cards scenario. One little breeze and the whole thing would come tumbling down. For Ivy, he had an actual deal prepared, "Nothing my dear, I have an offer I know will definitely satisfy you. Bane, was a different beast altogether. He would've settled for nothing below the top spot if I hadn't stopped him. For the record my hispanic friend, I'm not bluffing about the toxin. Feel free to head back to your bases and have your supply of Venom tested for its composition. You'll find that every word I've spoken has been true."

No response came from the mercenary. He only scowled deeply as he left the two villains to their discussion. Ivy found herself with a very legitimate question, "If you really did set up all of that stuff you mentioned before, why not simply kill him and thin out the competition?"

"Because I'm going to need some muscle in my new operation, and he fits the bill," Scarecrow explained calmly, "I'm certain he'll see that my way is the best. So will you, once you hear the offer I'm putting on the table."

Poison Ivy had a very low opinion of most humans, and Jonathan Crane was no exception, "The only meatsack I'm willing to work with on a regular basis is Harley. You'll need something very impressive to get me on board."

The psychiatrist had profiled Ivy extensively to come up with something that would make sure she'd come to his side, and he discovered that he had something on standby that could assure her cooperation, "Well then, what if I told you that I have the key to moving onto the next step of your research in creating independently thinking plant humanoids? Would that be impressive enough?"

"You can't possibly have something like that," Ivy said, as she'd been trying to create something like this for years with little to no progress, "If I can't do it, then no one can. I've wanted to make something beautiful like me that I can talk to for years, but the most I've been able to do is create plant creature's that I have to control myself. Hmph, maybe someday I'll have something other than a meatsack to talk to, but for now I'm stuck in this cold, concrete world alone."

Scarecrow pulled a set of blueprints out from his coat and handed them to Poison Ivy, "Not necessarily. I've got contacts with some very...unique abilities. They've been working on things like this for some time. Agree to work with me, and you'll get all kinds of research just like this. You'll have your little plant babies in no time at all."

The redhead only needed to look at the blueprints for an instant to tell that they were gold. They were leaps and bounds ahead of anything she'd done. As strange as it might have felt, there was just no way Ivy could turn something like this down. She needed to work with Scarecrow so that she could get her hands on all of the knowledge regarding this subject, "These studies are years beyond the ones I've conducting. They're damn near complete. If you keep funneling me these, I'll do pretty much anything that you say."

"I knew that you were one of the smart ones," Scarecrow said, shaking the woman's hand to seal the deal, "Welcome to the winning team Ms. Ivy. Let's go and show those others fools what can be done when you understand the power of fear."

* * *

War. War never changes. (I'm highly anticipating the release of Fallout 4, in case you didn't notice.) From country to country, and landscape to landscape, it always remains the same. No matter what powers or weapons a society may have, war remains the same. It's hell, no matter what form it's found in. That was why Barbara was so desperately tugging at Naruto's sleeve trying to get him away from the stadium as she watched Sound ninja's descending from the walls of the stadium, "Naruto, we need to go! You know that I can't fight and there's no way that I'm leaving you here! I know you'll end up doing something crazy!"

Naruto had no intention of leaving. He was watching nearly all of his friends, Gaara, Ino, Temari, the Old Man, and so many more, fighting off these deadly ninjas. How could he just walk away from them and leave them hanging out to dry? "Barb, I can't abandon my friends. If one of them gets hurt, I'm never gonna be able to forgive myself!"

"Um, guys," Hinata said as loudly as she could manage, "I haven't completely h-healed from my fight against Nej-ji. If I try to fight, I'd probably be okay, b-but I could get really hurt too. I think I need-d to get outta here."

Now Barbara had something that she would work with, "So you need to someone to protect you? Naruto, if you wanna help, then why don't you lead her somewhere safe? You'll keep her alive without putting yourself too far into the line of fire."

Hinata couldn't deny that having a Naruto protecting her was an enticing idea, "I...I would gr-reatly appreciate it if you could l-lead me back to the Hyuuga compound...if it's safe there anyways."

"If that's what you need, I'll do it in a heartbeat," Naruto said, catching a glance of Hiruzen following Orochimaru as he ran up to a rooftop, "I really do hate leaving the other's behind though."

There was no time for the boy to be thinking like that. Barbara neede him focused on getting the hell out of here right now, "I'm sure they'll be okay. You're strong Naruto, but you're strong enough to save all of them. For now, just save the ones that you can! AKA, Hinata!"

Naruto realized that she was right, so he grabbed Hinata by the hand and began to pull her towards the stairs, "Good point. Come on, we'll get you out of stadium and then you can lead us to the Hyuuga compound. Hopefully it's not to far from here."

"W-woah, Naruto wait," Hinata cried, but it fell on deaf ears. She could hardly keep up with how hard he was tugging at her, "Sl-low down!"

They would be slowing down very soon, as they weren't going to have any other choice. Three sound ninjas, who were all wearing purplish grey ninja suits, dropped down in front of them, "Don't you dare move! Give us the girls or we'll gut the three of you for the fun of it! Come on, do it!"

Naruto didn't move an inch, taking his chokuto and unsheathing it, "You guys have no clue who you're dealing with, do you? I'm not another kid you can just order around. What do you want with the ladies anyways?"

"The blue haired one's a Hyuuga, I can tell by the eyes, so she'd be useful for breeding purposes in our new village. That's a hell of a valuable bloodline right there," Started the sound ninja, then pointed to Barbara, "The redhead...well she just looks like she'd be a whole lot of fun."

That was not something Naruto was gonna let go unanswered for, "You're gonna pay for saying shit like that! I'll cut out your tongue so you can't ever do it again!"

All of the Sound ninjas began to laugh, "Oh my, it looks like the little guy wants to play. Alright, let's see if you can at least manage to keep up. Just remember short stack, we were willing to let you walk away!"

"I can't say I'd be willing to let you do the same," Naruto muttered, before leaping at the ninjas with brief swing of his chokuto. All three of the ninjas jumped back, causing the boy to taunt them, "What's the matter? You afraid of the short stack?"

The first Sound ninja growled and pulled out three throwing stars, slinging the weapons at Naruto. He deflected each one with his blade and then pulled out a kunai, throwing it at the shinobi in retaliation. It tore into man's shoulder, leaving him too distracted with pain to notice Naruto jumping right in front of him. Next thing thing any of them knew, the boy smacked his opennet in the face, causing him to hit his head on the wall beside him. Wasting no time, Naruto brought his chokuto back around and towards the second Sound ninja, who brought up a kunai to defend himself. The two metal's clashed and sparked as the older ninja warned the boy, "You're not bad for a kid, but you just caught us off guard! Now that we know we don't have to hold back, things are really gonna get intense."

"You have no idea how afraid that makes me," Naruto deadpanned as the first sound ninja tried to stand back up. He jumped back from the clash with second ninja to land on the previous one's back, stomping on the man's head to assure he stayed down this time, "Come on then, show me something a little more intimidating."

Both of the remaining Sound ninja charged at Naruto, who then charged right back. It was hard for Hinata to believe, "He's m-making them look like they're n-nothing. Those guys are at leas-st genin level. How is he not hav-ving any trouble with them?"

Barbara watched her surrogate little brother as he had already started to make quick work of his foes, then explained to Hinata, "You already know he's strong, but you have no idea how powerful he can really be. From what Tsunade told me, he could go toe to toe with most Jonin when he's at his strongest. She compared him to being as strong as that Kakashi guy was at this age, maybe even stronger."

"Wow," Hinata couldn't help but mutter, as she'd heard plenty of tales about Kakashi's prowess in those days, "Naruto...just how powerful are you going to become?"

Considering that by the time Hinata had finished her sentence Naruto had already knocked out the other two Sound ninjas, he was more than likely only going to get stronger as the years rolled on, "That's three of them taken care of. Come on, let's get moving before any more of these nut jobs pop up. They're not that tough, but that doesn't mean I'm in the mood to fight them."

The two women agreed, following Naruto as he ran towards the stadium exit. Usually the two ladies would be a force to be reckoned with, but in their current states they simply needed to be somewhere safe. Hopefully the other major players in this fight would make it out alright…

* * *

"I must say sensei, I never knew you were such a good actor," Orochimaru spat out, angry that months of planning had become meaningless, "Do you have any idea what it took for me to organize all this? I had a plan that was capable of taking down one of the five most powerful villages in the ninja nations! But you and your friends from the Sand had to go and spoil all of my fun."

Hiruzen didn't exactly feel bad about that, "Spoil your fun? Well, it's nice to see some things never change. For instance, you still have no regard for human life. I should've killed you all those years ago, back when I first had the chance. You were my student, I raised you like I would my own son! When I came down into those labs of yours and saw what you'd done...well, I couldn't even bring myself to move it was so horrible. How many lives could I have saved if I'd just been willing to kill you then I wonder? Hm, I guess we'll never know, but I'll save as many lives I can now by ending your trail of blood and tears right here!

The snake sannin hissed at him, "Oh come now sensei, you most know better than that. You're too old and febel to defeat me. That's a state that I'll never let it come to myself. I'm going to live for eternity to become the most powerful shinobi of all time!"

"Honestly Orochimaru, you sound like the villain for one of my grandson's manga," Hiruzen muttered, finding it hard to believe just how far his student's mind had gone from reality, "Though I must admit, you've done something far more horrible than they ever did. How many bodies have you transferred your mind between now?"

Orochimaru didn't seem surprised that his old sensei knew about his methods of immortality, "Ah, so you know about that, do you? Yes, I'm on my fourth body now. I'm hoping that my next one will be my last. I couldn't settle on much better than an Uchiha, could I?"

That was another thing Hiruzen had plenty of info on as well, "Using that curse mark on him was an excellent move, I can't deny that. It's power is as addictive as a drug already, but for Sasuke, it's even worse. His desire to kill his brother must make that mark irresistible to him. He'll do anything to keep getting its power."

"It's true. I was almost disappointed by how easy it was to make him give in to its influence. Watching them struggle is one of my favorite parts," Orochimaru said, as he began to noticed how isolated they were up on the rooftop, "My associates were supposed to be here by now. Is it safe to assume that you removed them from the equation as well?"

The two opponents began to circle one another, certain they knew what was about to transpire, "You planned to use the Sound Four to trap within dome so you could revive the past Hokages with some horrible new jutsu of yours. I wouldn't have stood a chance against you and them together, so I decided to even up the odds. The Sound Four were intercepted and defeated before they could make their way into the village at all."

"I never divulged that part to the hidden Sand," Orochimaru recalled, starting to plan out attacks for the upcoming battle in his head, "How did you know about that aspect?"

Out of all the things the Leaf had been able to uncover, the news about Orochimaru's newest jutsu had been the hardest to get, "We only found out about that a few hours ago when Anko and team of Anbu black ops brought your apprentice Kabuto in. You wouldn't believe the kind of torture she had to put him through to get that information."

Orochimaru had a hard time believing they'ed gotten at all, "And here I thought it was impossible to torture information out of Kabuto. I suppose everyone has their limits. So, what do you say sensei? Shall we settle this once and for all between just the two of us?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Hiruzen said shortly before both men dashed at one another. Kage level combat was a rare sight indeed, so any ninja who could was going to end up watching this fight out of the corner of their eye. No doubt, it would be one for the record books.

* * *

As Naruto ran past the flying metal and bodies of war that swirled around him, his hand grasping tightly onto Hinata's and Barbara close behind him, he did his best to keep his head down so that the Sound ninja's would hopefully pay no mind to him. After leaving the stadium, he'd only run into two other enemy shinobi, both of which he took out without much effort. According to the blue haired girl, they were roughly half a mile from the Hyuuga compound, meaning that they were edging closer and closer to safety. Assuming the compound itself was safe that was, which Marito was not entirely convinced the of, "Hinata, are you sure this place is somewhere you're going to be able to hide out? Those other Sound guys seemed to know who you were and wanted to kidnap you, so I'd think they'd wanna head to your home to try and go there to get some other Hyuuga's or something."

It was a reasonable assumption, but Hinata knew more about the compound's defenses than Naruto did, "They'd hav-ve to be crazy to try and attack the c-compound. There's too m-many ninjas and security measures protecting it. It's Pr-robably one of the safest places in the village right now."

"Sounds like the perfect place to hide out to me," Barbara concurred, liking the idea of someone other than her or her little brother doing the fighting, "The less of these weirdo's we have to deal with, the better."

Naruto had a funny feeling it wasn't going to be that easy, "You know something's gonna come up Barb, it always does. Right now, all I'm wondering is what it's gonna be and when."

In the nick of time, that was when they heard Gaara's voice call out, "Stay away from me you crazy bastard! I'm not your enemy here!"

"Sounds like we've got ourselves some trouble," Naruto muttered, spinning around to see Sasuke using the power of his curse mark to chase Gaara, who was trying to run away and avoid the fight, "Oh come on, what's the emo prick doing now?"

Gaara's screams gave him even more of an answer, "I don't want to fight you Sasuke! We on earth are you chasing me? I have no quarrel with you!"

That was nowhere near the way Sasuke saw it, "You left before we could finish our fight! I need to prove that I'm strongest genin here. First I take out you, then I find my brother and kill him."

"And people used to say I have issues," Gaara mumbled, "This isn't going to end well for you Sasuke, turn around and let get back to defending your village before I'm forced to do something I promise you won't like."

Naruto decided to cut in on this one, "Hey Gaara! Do me favor and get these two to the Hyuuga compound. Leave Sasuke to me. I've beat him to the ground before, I shouldn't have any problems doing it again."

There was no chance Barbara was going to let that happen, "Naruto, I asked you to stay out of all this for a reason. If you start using too much of your power, you'll end up drawing too much attention to yourself, from both the Sound ninjas and the council."

"If the council wants to be afraid of me getting control of my power, then let em'" Naruto scoffed, unafraid of the bureaucrats, "I'll be in Gotham in a week anyways. As for the hidden Sound, I've already shown I can take care of them. Don't worry Sis, I'll be fine."

Barbara didn't like it, especially after what happened to Jason, but she also knew coddling him wouldn't do him any good either, "Alright, but be careful. Whatever those markings are, they really seems to bring his power up to insane levels. They're making him go crazy too. There's no telling what he might do if you piss him off."

While there was plenty of things that could go wrong, Naruto wasn't worried, "I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve that Sasuke hasn't seen yet. Gaara, I can count on you to keep these guys safe, right?"

"But of course my friend, they'll be safe in my hands," Gaara assured him, turning to the two the women, "Ladies, if you'll lead the while I'll make sure you get somewhere a little less hectic."

Naruto watched them leave, turning just in time to Sasuke trying to make another run for Gaara. The blonde haired boy sighed, jumping into the Uchiha's path to force him to stop, "Hey Sasuke, are gonna stop chasing my friends or I'm gonna have to remind you of just how hard I beat your ass back in Gotham?"

The power of the curse mark had already begun to alter Sasuke's mind, so the boy only scoffed at Naruto's threats, "Tch, I've got power you can't even imagine! I could kill you with just one move, so get out of my way!"

"It's like talking to a wall," Naruto muttered before he saw that Sasuke was beginning to charge at him once again. Some kind of chakra began to cover the boy's hand and Naruto could hear birds chirping as well, "Wait a minute...he's not actually going to use THAT, is he?"

Sasuke's attack fully formed in his hand as he started to scream, "Chidori!"

While Naruto watched with wide eyes, Sasuke lunged at the boy and plunged his attack into his opponent's chest. Rather than any blood pour out, a burst of smoke went off, destroying what had actually been a Naruto clone. Right behind him, Sasuke could feel a new presence coming for him. It was Naruto, with a spinning sphere of chakra in his hand, which he then shoved into Sasuke's back, "Rasengan motherfucker!"

"Gah," Sasuke yelled out before he went flying into a nearby building. Once the dust cleared, he was standing back up covered in various marks from the skid. None of what transpired seemed to disturb him, "So, it was clone? I figured with the how different it's chakra looked with my Sharingan. Must of used the replacement jutsu for that."

Naruto was not satisfied with that answer, "You figured it was a clone? If you were wrong, I'd be dead right now! You brain might be scrambled, but I think you still know putting a hole in someone's chest is gonna kill them!"

A flash of doubt ran across the boys face, but the mark quickly took hold once again, "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have gotten in my way! I need to kill my brother, no matter what it may cost me or anyone else."

"It's hard to believe just how far you've fallen," Naruto muttered as he slowly walked towards Sasuke, who got in a defensive position, "My dad tried to help you, to warn you, but you wouldn't listen. You're closer to edge than he ever was. Things don't have to be this was Sasuke, there's lot of people out there who want to help you. For your own sake, let them. Don't let your brother take anymore from you than he already has."

The boy's words were enough to make Sasuke take pause. If he was being honest with himself, he'd been thinking about what Bruce had told him about revenge for a while now. His whole world had revolved around finding and killing Itachi, he didn't even know who he was without that goal. Abandoning it was was a frightening concept to him, "It's not that easy. There's no one else out there who can stop my brother. I'm not even sure the Leaf's really looking for him anymore. I can't let him do something that horrible and go unpunished."

Naruto understood that, but that didn't mean he could condone this course of action, "I get that you want to see him pay for what he did, but if you push away everyone who cares about you it won't even matter if you succeeded because you'll have no one to celebrate it with. Even worse, if you end killing someone who gets in your way, you'll be up locked away forever! Is killing your brother really worth much to you? Are you willing to throw away your entire life for it?"

"I don't really know," Sasuke replied, giving the only answer that he could, "People always told me I was much like my brother, both in the way I looked and acted. I need to find out if that's true. When I'm standing in front of my own flesh and blood, I need to know if I can actually bring myself to kill him. That way I'll know for sure who I really am and who he really was…"

The explanation that the boy gave actually revealed a lot about him. While he did want revenge on his brother, there was also a part of him that feared he'd become Itachi as well. Sasuke was prodigy like Itachi, and was pushing people away in the same way that he did. His biggest fear wasn't never getting revenge, it was never proving to himself that better than his brother, both physically and morally. Yet, in an ironic twist, the harder that he tried to chase his brother, the more like him he became. Naruto was smart enough to realize this, "Who your brother was doesn't define who you're going to be. You're past is something that can be escaped. Believe me, I know about this stuff. Please, think about what I'm saying before you go crazy or something. You might be a dick, but that doesn't mean I want you to end up dead or something."

Sasuke didn't move for a few moments. By this point Naruto had reached him and was standing right in front of him. He had already begun to form another chidori, which he would use to rip through the boy's chest if he had to. No matter how much sense he made, Sasuke still had his reservations about Naruto, "You act like you understand all this, but you got adopted into a rich family and were flown off to some other freaking country. What makes you think our situations are anything alike?"

"Because we were both alone," Naruto started to explain, "We both know what it feels like to come home to an empty house at night, wishing that we had a familiar face to greet us. The only difference is, whenever someone offered me a chance to have a new friend or family member, I took it right away. To me, those were too precious to pass up. I've lost some of those people too, and I've been betrayed by others. I know at least some of your pain Sasuke, and all I'm trying to tell you is that you've got options. Make sure you pick the right ones."

For a few moments neither of them said anything. The silence hung in the air, neither one want to move for fear of what may happen. Finally, Sasuke's mark began to recided and he stopped preparing his chidori, "You've given me something to think about. Let's just hope your not around in case I decide that it's all bull."

Naruto didn't seem too worried about the warning. He let Sasuke leave in peace, glad that it hadn't come to blows for either of them. Once he was gone, the blonde turned in the directions Gaara and the girls had went, begining to track them down, "Well, that could've gone worse. It could've gone a whole lot better too, but I'll take what I can get. Guess I'll go relieve Gaara of his guard duty. Hopefully this damn war is over soon…"

* * *

"Dammit you old bastard," Orochimaru cursed as he dodged another swing from his old sensei's staff, "For once in your miserable life can you just lay down and die?"

Hiruzen brought his staff, which was created from his personal summon animal Enma, a large ape who could change into said weapon which was able to change both width and length, to Orochimaru's side and hit him hard in the ribs before he could jump back this time, "I have no intention of going anywhere today you slimy little snake. You may have grown more powerful since you left this village, but you've also become even more of a fool! Do you honestly believe that living forever is how you'll become the most powerful shinobi of all time? I was regard as the god of shinobi in my hay day, and I got there when I was ten years younger than you! Do you know what it is that made me so powerful?"

The words were ones that Orochimaru could only barely hear as he rolled across the roof, eventually managing to grab onto a tile stop himself. He jumped right up and opened his mouth, a snake with a sword in it's mouth shot out and rushed towards his opponent, "You had two of the most powerful shinobi in the world as your teacher! With First and Second Hokage teaching them, anyone could become the most powerful shinobi in the world!"

"Perhaps, but there's far more to it than that," Hiruzen said, arching his back to avoid the snake, then lunging to the side, "My teachers saw that I had the Will of Fire residing within me, so they knew that I'd do anything that it took to save those I cared about! My desire to protect those I loved is what drove me forward. What is it the drove you forward Orochimaru? Your demented desire for power?"

Orochimaru chose not to answer his sensei's question. Instead he asked a question of his own, "What does it matter what drives me? All that matters in how hard you can work. Once I'm immortal I'll have all the time in the world to make myself stronger!"

Clearly Hirzuen's student need to be taught one last lesson. The Hokage fired off Dragon Flame Bomb, forcing Orochimaru to jump back as he explained, "There's a difference between fighting for yourself and fighting for others. When you fight for others, you know that there's no room for error. If you fail, someone you love dies. It's because of that I'm so much stronger than you! Unlike you, I can't afford to make a mistake. Now, let me send you home with your tail in between your legs! It's time Enma!"

"Not that cursed ape again," Orochimaru grunted as he saw his old sensei's staff flying right for him. Before it reached him, it disappeared in a puff of smoke and massive ape jumped out of the smoke. The primate pounded on the snake summoner, breaking multiple bones with his oversized fists. Behind his hits was a force almost no human could ever match, forcing Orochimaru to open his mouth wide. This time, instead of a snake popping out, another exact copy of Orochimaru popped out, this one more silmy and without the broken bones. He jumped out of his own maw and landed behind Enma with a sword in his hand, "I'm going to send you back to where you came from you oversize baffon!"

The blade came around and hit Genma in the back, dispersing him immediately, sending him back to the summon realm. Hiruzen was beginning to get a little tired at this point, as his age had begun to show, but he was still ready to donwhatever needed to be done, "I've still got plenty of fight left in me Orochimaru. I do hope you weren't thinking that Enma was all I had."

"No, even in your decrepitate state, you're still most likely the strongest ninja in this village," Orochimaru admitted, weighing his options. He looks out as his soldiers, who were currently getting pushed back by the much larger opposing force. Even if he did manage to kill Hiruzen, the battle itself was already lost, "As much as I'd like to see which one of us would win this battle, I think it's best if my forces and I make a hasty retreat. It was nice seeing you again sensei, but it's time for me to make my exit."

Hiruzen wasn't about to let the most dangerous criminal the Leaf had ever produced simply walk away, "You know I can't let you leave. No matter what the cost might be to me, you aren't going to leave this village alive."

For some reason, Orochimaru highly doubted that, "I'm sure you'd put up a noble effort, but there's no real way you could stop me. I had escaped routes planned that only I knew about from the beginning. You can never be too careful. Don't worry sensei, this won't be the last time you and I meet. I promise to come and visit you again just as soon as I can."

"Orochimaru, wait," Hiruzen called, but it was too late. The snake had already phased through the roof and likely into the ground below to make his way to the escapes routes. Sighing, the old man mumbled to himself, "I really am getting too old for this shit…"

Kakashi landed behind him as he finished speaking, likely to give his Hokage an update on what all was happening, "Sir, our forces have managed to push back the hidden Sound and we suffered very minimal losses. The battle couldn't have gone much better."

The Third Hokage turned around and faced Kakashi with a heavy look on his face, "That's good to hear. You know, I really hoped my days of leading battles like this were over. I'm one of the oldest living Kage that there's ever been. I can't tell you how much that's worn on me. Kakashi, I think that it's time."

"Time for what?" Kakashi asked, before quickly realizing what the man meant, "Sir, are you actually saying you're going to retire as Hokage _again_?"

Hiruzen didn't feel he had much of a choice, "This village needs someone who can keep it safe, and I just don't feel I can do that anymore. At least not in my current state. Don't worry, I've already got a successor lined up, and I do believe they'll take the job this time. Did you keep an eye on Naruto as I asked?"

The jonin nodded, "Yes, and he was very impressive as a whole. He already showed me how strong he was in Gotham, but here I got to see that he both knows how to follow rational orders when they're given to him, and when to be the one to step up and take charge. Frankly, I don't think I could've taught him any better myself."

"Good, I'll let the council know in the morning that I wish for him to be given chunin status along with a couple of others. It'll be my final act as Hokage," Hiruzen said, mostly to himself, "After that, I think I'll go and get in touch with an old friend."


	30. Going Home

We're back everyone, and we're only one chapter away from a wedding. After the wedding, we'll be going into a time that will lead us into the next major arc. Do to me having to extend the time in which it takes me to write chapters, I've decided to cut some of the more filler like chapters I was planning on releasing...expect for Christmas! I will have a Christmas chapter that will have nothing to do with the major plot of the fanfic, because that is how much I love that freaking holiday! Also I'll likely do a haunted chapter of some kind, we shall see. To make a long story short, I believe this fanfic will have roughly 45 chapters, give or take a few. Now, let's get on with a chapter of war and destruction! I must say, it's miracle I even got this chapter done with how amazing Fallout 4 is. Oh, and before I go, just let me say happy thanksgiving to everyone out there. Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Paul McCartney: Live and Let Die

* * *

"Oh hell no," Tsunade screamed in utter disbelief, "No, no, no, no! There is no way in hell you are shackling me with that freaking job! I will leave this village right now if you so much as mention that shit to me!"

Hiruzen, who was sitting with his old student in his office, sighed and took a long puff from his pipe, "All I said is that I'm retiring Tsunade, I never offered to make you Hokage. I just wanted your input on the matter."

She found that hard to believe, "You're gonna offer me the job, we both know it. Why else would you call me in here without anybody else?"

"As I said, perhaps I want your advice on who I do intend to offer the job? Did you ever consider that?" Hiruzen asked her, making the woman go silent for a second.

Tsunade waited a few moments, then responded, "I'm not sure I buy that you'd have my fly out here just for the sake of that, but all right, I'll play along. Who did you have in mind for the Fifth Hokage?"

The Third Hokage listed off the top contenders, "I do have a frontrunner in mind, but I'll keep that to myself for now. You are in the conversation, I'll admit that much, and so is your old teammate Jiraiya."

"I'm not sure I can imagine that old pervert leading an entire village," Tsunade said, though she had some ulterior motives, "I don't want another one of my lovers to end up dead anyways."

Hiruzen nearly dropped his pipe when he heard that, "What? You and Jiraiya? Since when?"

Tsunade didn't realize until then that she hadn't told the man about that little detail, "It's been about a month, maybe two now. Please don't make a big deal out of it. We don't wanna get to public with it until we're sure it's going somewhere.

"Alright, if that's what you want," Hiruzen said, trying to hide his smile, "Next is Shikaku, who is smart enough to be the Hokage and knows the politics, but I'm not sure if he's strong enough to be consider Kage level."

The Nara didn't seem like a good option to Tsunade, "I think he might be able to do it, but there can't be any might when it comes to appointing a Hokage. Besides, he's too lazy to even consider it. Who else?"

The next two were a little higher on the list, "Both Gai and Kakashi are possibilities. They've got the Kage level strength I believe, and Kakashi has an awareness of the politics. Gai's personality does make me a little bit nervous to put him in any kind of position of power though."

"If you think I'm gonna let you put that bag of mixed nuts in charge of the hidden Leaf,then you're crazier than he is," Tsunade said, frighten at the very thought of the green leotard wearing as Hokage, "Who else?"

Hiruzen was all out of candidates, "No one, those are the only real options I had. You eliminated everyone but yourself and Kakashi."

She was starting to see the point her sensei was trying to make here, "When you think about it, Kakashi isn't really a good choice either. He's still not over what happened to his team, and he's hardly been able keep track of three kids. No way he'd manage a whole village very well. I can't be the only option for his job, can I?"

"Are you the only option? No," Hiruzen said, as he could always settle for a lesser candidate, "You're simply the best option by far. I know you don't want to take this job Tsunade, and I don't blame you for that, but I can't help but try and convince you to change your mind. I need to leave the Leaf in the best possible hands, and there's none that are better than yours. I would know, I trained you."

Tsunade had never thought that she'd actually be thinking about this, "I...I don't know...I need some time to think about it. It's happening too fast."

That certainly wasn't the answer Hiruzen had been expecting, "You're actually considering this? My word, I didn't see that coming. I expected you to throw me right out that window. Naruto must really be rubbing off on you, giving you a little more hope about the world."

"The kid's got me seeing things in a whole new way," Tsunade admitted, smiling at her memories with the boy, "I gave him my grandfather's necklace and everything. He wants to be Hokage one day, and I think he could do it too. Though there is one issue that's gonna need to be taken care of if he's really going to make it there."

Hiruzen was naturally curious, as he wanted to see Naruto's dream come to fruition, "What is it? His training regiment? I thought that Bruce was supposed to be one of the best teachers in the world when it comes to that short of thing."

The blonde woman quickly explained, "No, nothing like that. Like I'm sure everyone's been telling you, the kid's strong as hell. What I'm worried about his father's philosophy when it comes to murder. Naruto hasn't had his baptism of yet, and with his father's feeling towards killing anyone, even criminals, it unlikely he'll ever get the chance to do it."

"Well that simply won't do," Hiruzen stated, concerned what this may mean for the boy, "I don't want him to kill without reason, but a ninja must be willing to take a life when it is necessary. The Hokage is the highest level of shinobi there is, and Naruto needs to make the tough decisions when the time comes. Surely Bruce understands that."

Tsunade wasn't so sure. She could talk freely about the matter, as Hiruzen knew the truth about the Batman situation, "Maybe, but maybe not. I'm going to have a talk with Bruce about it when I get home. If the Red Fox can't kill, then fine, I understand that, but Naruto's a soldier. You can't be pondering morality when lives are at stake."

Her sensei couldn't have agreed more, "Well said Tsunade. You go home with Naruto and Barbara now, and give be ready to return with your answer about taking up my mantle in a week's time. Oh, and tell Naruto about his promotion as well. I'd love to do it myself, but one of the council's conditions was that the news not be made public."

"Sure thing sensei," Tsunade said with a happy grin on her face, "I can't wait to see his reaction when he finds out."

* * *

Black Mask couldn't remember how long he'd been fighting to gain ground in Gotham City. For year upon years, he'd been building his empire with thieves, murderers, cops, judges, pretty much anybody that could be bought with his near endless supply of cash. Now that infamous Clown Prince of Crime was dead, he had the chance to climb to the pile of the heap. He had everything he needed, except for a plan that was. Lucky for him and the fifty men he'd gathered in his old steel mill, the plan was going to be a very simple one, "Gentlemen, as I'm sure you all already know, our organization is one the verge of becoming the one that runs the entire city of Gotham. I don't need to tell you what we could do with that kind of money and power at our disposal. Look at what we've done already with what we've had to work with. Hell, I don't think the Justice League themselves would be able to stop us if we took things up a level. However, there are many fools who believe that they have the ability to defeat us, so they're standing in our way. That is why we're going to prove ourselves tonight, by killing one of the most well known criminals in this city. Tonight, we are going to murder the one and only crime

lord Harvey Dent, known to most of you as Two-Face, to show the other crime lords just what we can do. Who's with me?"

The entire room cheered, raising their weapons above their heads and stomping on the grates beneath their feet. As the metal clanking echoed around the room, something crashed through the windows, sending four metal cylinders into the crowd. They exploded with a loud bang and blinding flash. Another explosion went off shortly after, one that blew a hole in the nearby wall. Black Mask managed to adjust his eyes just in time to see Bane and his men coming in with automatic weapons, mowing down his men like they were pieces of grass, "You sorry sons a bitches! Put those weapons down before I turn you bastards into a bloody mess!"

"You're not in a position to be negotiating Roman," Came Poison Ivy's voice as vines began to wrap around his arms and legs, "Now, watch as Bane's men rip yours into little tiny pieces. Then we'll get to the discussion."

Black Mask kicked and thrashed as the villainess merely walked through the the back door of steel mill, coming up and standing right beside the incapacitated Sionis. None of his men had even gotten the chance to raise up their weapons before they gunned down. A mist of blood filled the air, causing some blood to drip down Bane's arms as he walked inside, pulling up a walky talky, "Crane, the room's been cleared. You're free to enter now."

The mobster began to understand what was going on, as a few minutes later, two more men with guns entered the room with none other than the Scarecrow behind them. Black Mask was furious, "Are you shitting me? It was you? Crane, you stupid motherfucker, we all know you ain't got what it takes to win this war. You're a side criminal, nothing more than that. How in the hell did you get Bane and Poison Ivy to work for you anyways? They're smart enough to have figured all this out."

"When you have the abilities to manipulate fear, anything is possible," Scarecrow said as he stepped over the mutilated bodies that littered the ground, "I find it ironic that you're taunting me when my associates just turned your steel mill into a mass grave. It is the reaction I expected from you though."

That insult failed to disturb Black Mask, "So what? I've got 50 more men where they came from on there way here right now! This place is rigged with security cameras, so my cavalry should be coming anytime."

Scarecrow reached into his pocket and retrieved a series of bloodied masks, "Ah yes, the cavalry. You mean like Tattoo? Flamingo? Pint Sized Slasher? Any of those code names sound familiar?"

"How do you know those nicknames?" Black Mask asked in a low, frighten tone, "How did you know that we were meeting here at all?"

To answer that, Scarecrow brought up something the mobster liked to say, "I would think you'd know. After all, you're one always spouting off about how none of us should take moles in our operations personally. It's just business. I'm afraid Mr. Sionis, that no one is going to be coming to save you this time. They're already dead."

Black Mask had been betrayed by one of his own men, and it was starting to look like it might cost him his own life. His temper was flaring, "You son of a bitch! Of all the people I expected to do something like this, you were never one of them. How'd you get him to turn over, money or fear? Oh, what the hell am I saying? You used your chemicals to rip apart his mind. How much of your toxin did it take to break my man?"

"Not much, but still more than the average man," Scarecrow responded, honestly surprised Black Mask's man had lasted that long, "Now, on to the point of my little display here. With the small bit of information I was able to acquire from my mole, I managed to take out a few dozen of your men, removed any kind of backup that could save you, and now I've got you here at my mercy. All of that with the tools given to me by one man. You're in my hands, so just imagine what I could do with that massive bargaining chip."

Though he was not the typically the kind of person who showed vulnerability, Black Mask couldn't deny the kind of situation he was in, "Okay Scarecrow, you've got me, I'll admit that. What is you want exactly? Whatever it is, you know I can get it for you? Make me an offer."

Bane found himself chuckling on the side, "Oh, he's going to make you an offer Máscara Negro, but I doubt it's going to be one you'll like. I know from experience."

"My friend is right Roman, I doubt you'll like what I'm bringing to the table. Although, you aren't going to have much of a choice," Scarecrow told him, walking directly up to Black Mask and standing beside him, "You've seen what I'm capable of here tonight. This is when I give you the one and only chance to join up with me. If you refuse, you won't have long to regret it. Join up with me and betray me, and things will be even worse for you. Do you understand?"

At this point, Black Mask was getting desperate. He'd counted Crane out of this war before it even begun, and now the man was on the verge of killing him. There must have been something he could do, "Bane, Ivy, whatever he's paying you, I'll double it! No, triple it! Let me go and we'll take this punk out before he knows what happened!"

Neither of the villains responded to him, both shaking their heads. Black Masked looked at both of them with fear in his eyes, a fear that the Scarecrow could see. This made Crane smile under his mask, "This city is filled with sentient mortals, just like you, condemned to die, and time is against each and every one of them. Someday they will be forced to embrace fear for the quiet and meaningless truth that it is. Consider this a prophecy, and consider me the prophet. You can either get behind me and thrive, or fight me and watch your world crumble around you. The choice is yours."

"Hm...I always thought I was the best intimidator in all of Gotham. But you Crane, you proved me more wrong than I ever thought I could be," Black Mask said with shame in his voice, "You're gonna be spectacular as the head of Gotham...but I won't be there to see it. Roman Sionis answers to no man...Do it."

Scarecrow nodded in understanding, then used his glove to inject the man with a high dose of his fear toxin. Soon the mobster began to jerk and twist, screaming in agony as the terror took hold of him. Crane watched briefly, then motioned for Bane and Ivy to follow him, "Bane, have your men burn this place to the ground. I want the message to be clear to my competitors, Those who challenge me will burn in the flames of fear."

The mercenary could see his men were already grabbing every flammable substance they could find and gathering it into a pile. One everything was ready, one of them took out a match and lit it, dropping it onto the combustible substances. By morning, the building would be unrecognizable, and Black Mask would be dead. Another villain had fallen to Scarecrow, and there was plenty more yet to come. Crane was just getting started.

* * *

"You're freaking kidding me," Naruto screamed after Tsunade gave him the good news, "I'm being promoted to Chunin?"

He and the rest of the family were all standing within the living room of Gotham Manner, as Naruto and Barbara had returned home with the medic nin earlier that day. While Bruce beamed with pride for his son, Mei found herself in a state of confusion, "But Naruto didn't actually compete in the exams. It's not a time of war, so there's no warrant for a field promotion. As much as I believe that he deserves to be a Chunin, I have to ask how he got the rank in the first place."

Tsunade didn't need long to explain, "Naruto actually was being tested, he just didn't know it. He was being watched the entire visit to see if showed the qualities of a Chunin. Needless to say, he went above and beyond what he needed to do, so the council approved upping his rank. Congratulations kid. Being made Chunin at your age is pretty damn impressive."

"I'm beyond proud of you son," Bruce said as he put a firm hand on Naruto's shoulder, "To show the things that you did during a time of crisis is exactly what I've been training you for. You're growing stronger and stronger every single day."

As much fun as it was to hear people singing his praises, Naruto found himself getting a little bit embarrassed now, "Okay, we get it, I'm awesome. How about we move onto you guys telling us about what's happening in Gotham while we were gone? I heard there was some big fire or something last night?"

Bruce had actually gotten back from investigating said fire a few hours ago. It had been difficult to do, as it was broad daylight and there was police all around. Still, Batman had managed to get plenty of info on the matter from Gordon, "Yes, an arson more precisely. The old Sionis steel mill was burned down. That's not the interesting part though. The interesting part was that Roman Sionis was still in it. He burned to death with a pile of his own murdered men."

"Black Mask is dead?" Barbara asked in utter shock, "First casualty of the war I guess. I wonder which villain had the balls to do something like that."

It may have been her first venture out, but Mei was smart enough to notice something strange had been going on last night, "I found it odd that we had so many attacks on law enforcement from Bane's men, yet we never saw the mercenary himself. Do you think he was the one who killed Black Mask?"

Bruce had no way to be sure, but felt his fiance was on the right track, "He seems like the most likely candidate right now. However, there was some evidence that Poison Ivy may have been there as well, as found scorched vines snaking their way through the windows. Those two work together from time to time, so I wasn't shocked by that. An early autopsy report shows that Black Mask had some kind of chemical running through his bloodstream. Whatever it was will likely give us a clearer picture of exactly what transpired."

"Only in Gotham can a simple fire turn out to be part of massive gang war," Naruto mumbled, before letting out a little yawn, "I've still got some jet lag. You guys mind if I go and take a quick nap?"

That was something Alfred had been expecting and waiting for. Tsunade had asked him to talk about something in particular with Naruto, as it was the one area that the old man could talk to the boy about that Bruce couldn't, "Of course Master Naruto, allow me to bring your bags up to your room for you. There's a small matter I wished to discuss with you anyways."

Bruce caught that last bit and had to be curious. Usually his butler told him about something like this, "Alfred, what do you need to speak him about?"

"Worry about that later Bruce," Tsunade told him as the other two went to Naruto's room, "We have our own matter to attend to."

There was clearly something going on here, and Bruce wanted to get to the bottom of what it was. The subject was not going to be pleasant one, as both he and Naruto were about to find out.

* * *

"Master Naruto, did I ever tell you about my time in MI6?" Alfred asked as the two of them sat on the boy's bed, but he quickly caught himself, "What kind of question is that? Of course I have. I suppose what I should be asking you is have I ever told you the bad time in the organization, when I was in the thick of it?"

Naruto looked up at the man with worried expression, "No, not really. Are you okay Alfred? You're acting weird right now."

The older man nodded to him, "Yes Master Naruto, I'm alright. This simply isn't the easy thing for me to talk about. You see, during my time with them, I had to do some things that I'm not entirely proud of. It had to be done, but that didn't make these things any easier. I had a young man who I trained, a man named Frederick, who eventually became my partner. There's no way I could count the number of times I put my life in his hands, and vice versa. That made things all the more difficult when I forced to put a bullet in him."

"What? You shot him?" Naruto asked, unsure of what to make of Alfred's tale, "Why would you do that to your friend?"

Alfred let a deep sigh escape from his lips, "Because he betrayed MI6 and his country. I trained him, and he sold some of the nation's most important secrets to a rouge by the name the Red Claw. He ran of course, so MI6 handed me a sniper rifle and told me to take care of it. One shot between his shoulder blades and he was down. He was taken in and forced to reveal what information he'd given out, and was executed afterwards. I couldn't bring myself to watch that part. Do you know why I'm telling you think Naruto?"

All the boy had been able to gather from that story was that MI6 must have been a rough place, "Not really. Is this supposed to be about trust or something?"

"No, though I suppose that's a good lesson to gather from this as well," Alfred said, before getting to the real point, "You see Master Naruto, Frederick didn't even die by my own hands, but that action still haunts me to this day. He's one of 17 people who I killed in one way or another. Each of those deaths took their toll on me, but I would kill each of those people again if I had to go back and do it once more. I wasn't a hero like Master Bruce, I was a soldier, and soldiers have to kill. Now do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

Naruto was starting to get the message, "You're saying that because I'm a soldier of the Leaf, I'm going to have to kill someone someday, right? Sooner or later, somebody's blood is going to be on my hands."

Putting an arm around the boy, Alfred spoke in soft, sad voice, "Indeed Master Naruto, that is the case. Tsunade is speaking with your father about it right now. We don't want to go out and murder a criminal right away, but we want to make sure you're mentally ready for this when the time comes you have to make your first kill. Don't take any pleasure in if my boy, but don't hesitate either. There isn't always going to be an ethically pleasing choice in this world."

"Huh...I guess I never really thought about it," Naruto said, again mostly to himself, "I'm exhausted Alfred, can I sleep on this for awhile?"

Alfred jumped right up from the boys bed, going back to his typical composed self, "Of course Master Naruto, get yourself some rest. You've have an eventful few days. I pray a little relaxation will do you some good."

* * *

Though his son's conversation had gone very well, Bruce found himself in much more agitated state. Tsunade had begun to tell him what she and Hiruzen had discussed, and it was not something he could support, "Are you trying to turn my son into a murder? I mean honestly, you're talking to him you want him to kill someone!"

"No one wants him to kill anyone, we're just being realistic and admitting to ourselves that one day he's going to have to," Tsunade fired back with confidence, "Don't you want him to be ready for that when the time comes?"

Bruce was known for being prepared for anything, but preparing someone for murder just felt wrong to him, "Of course I do, but he's 13 years old! He's still getting over Jason's death too. Naruto's not ready to make decisions like this."

"He's not ready, or you're not ready?" Tsunade asked, startling Bruce, "That child's seen more thing in 13 years than most people do in 40. He's felt loss, so he knows what taking a life means. All I'm asking is that help him deal with what he's done when the time comes. Can't you at least do that much?"

It still seemed twisted to Bruce, but he also knew the woman had a legitimate point, "I'll think about it a little more and then decide what I want to do. That's all I'll promise to for now."

Mei cut in before Tsunade could say anything back. She had been gone for much of the conversation, as Bruce's communicator had gone off and he was too invested in what he was saying to answer it. That's why Cinder had to do it for him, "Bruce, we just got a call from Commissioner Gordon. Someone broke into the LexCorps research facility here in Gotham and stole some kind of weapon that's still in the developmental stages. It's so secretive that Gordon said he couldn't even get Lex Luthor to say what it actually was. No alarms were tripped, no one was killed, and the Luthor is claiming that you had something to do with it. Apparently a remote hacking device was used to break based certain barriers, and the only people who make a device that advanced would be…"

"WayneTech," Bruce finished for her, then began putting the pieces together in his head, "We sell them to law enforcement and the military, but they're too dangerous to let them fall into the hands of criminals. To counteract this, we put a tracker in each one. There's not many of them in use yet, as the technology is still experimental. All we need to do is figure out which one of devices is missing and use its serial number to track it down."

His fiancee was glad to see he'd planned ahead for this situation, but it did leave her with a few questions, "Does the Remote Hacker you use as the Batman have a tracker in it as well? What about the one from WayneTech, how did someone manage to steal something that valuable from such a heavily guarded building?"

Bruce had some theories, but nothing was concrete, "As to your first question, no, there's no tracker in mine because Remote Hacking device it's much more advance than the ones WayneTech sells. That makes it more dangerous in the wrong hands, but it can only be used with certain sets of fingerprints. Now as to your second question, well there's only one person in Gotham I can think of who could break into my building, get out unseen, break into LexCorp, and then use the Hacker to get past the building defenses. I'll go and see if Naruto's up for an outing, then we'll find out if I'm right about a certain feline friend of ours…"

* * *

"What the hell is this thing?" Catwoman muttered to herself as she circled around the ancient katana that laid on her bed. It appeared to be asain, maybe Japanese, and was at least a three or four hundred years old, "This is definitely not something that Luthor made in that lab of his. He wouldn't have put so much effort into hiding it if it was worthless, and someone was willing to pay a fortune for it, but why? It just looks like a normal sword to me."

Right when she was about to pick up the blade to get a closer look at the strange markings that lined it, she heard cracking wood and looked up to she her door being kicked it. Batman was standing in the doorway with a displeased look on his face, "Selina Kyle, why am I not surprised? Care to explain why you stole one my remote hacking devices to go and steal something else from Luthor?"

Catwoman was a bit surprised to see Batman here to soon. He walked in with the Red Fox following close behind him, followed by a woman the thief didn't recognize. Her costume was made up of the same material that the other heroes were, but she had blue tints and a blue bat symbol on her chest. She had a hood on like one Batgirl use to wear, complete with a mask that matched the rest of her costume and let her red hair fall into a ponytail. The red hair was what finally gave away who it was, "Oh I get it Bruce, you've got your new lover in on the game now too. I thought it was Batgirl for a split second, but she's not old enough. Where's Batgirl? Oh no, tell me Joker didn't get her too!"

"No, she's alive, but you won't be seeing much of Batgirl anytime soon," Batman told her, recalling the realse of their story that Jason had been lost at sea during a fishing trip. There had been a freak storm the day after the boy had actually died, so it was completely plausible that he could've been swept up during it, and it explained that lack of a body as well. She clearly knew about it through the news of what the Joker done however, "This has been a difficult time for us, but that's not why I'm here. You stole something from LexCorp, and I'm hoping you'll be kind enough to tell me why."

That was the kind of thing Catwoman felt she shouldn't give away, at least not yet, "I'm getting paid a fortune to bring whatever thing thing is to very wealthy client. Not a small fortune either, we're taking a big one. You don't think I'm gonna let you and your new fling take it out of my grubby little paws, now do you?"

The Red Fox found it funny that Catwoman thought she could stop them, "Oh come on, you couldn't take Batman on your own, let alone all three of us. Just give us the...what is that, a sword? Katana maybe? Why did Lex Luthor keep an old katana locked up so tight?"

"That's exactly what I've been trying to figure out," Catwoman said, but quickly added, "As long as I get the money, I don't really care what it is. I'm only curious, like any cat would be. As for the fight, well, I'm certain I could escape long enough to stash the sword away for later. Is that what I'm going to need to do here? What does it matter anyways? It's just a sword, probably just something some stuffy collector wants."

Before anyone had a chance to continue, everyone noticed that the Red Fox had begun to star at the sword intently. He was trying to read the writing that he saw on the blade, "Soul...stealer? No, that's not quite right. I can't think of the right word in English for that symbol…"

Cinder realized what Naruto was trying to do, so she decided to help him out, "The closest thing that I think of is 'Taker.' Soultaker? Well, isn't that a pleasant thing to put on a blade?"

"Wait, you can read that?" Catwoman asked, taking a quick glance at the katana, "I was still trying to decided what freaking language it was."

Walking over to the bed, Cinder reached down and picked up the weapon, examining it in her hands, "The Soultaker Sword? It has a nice ring to it. I swear, I've seen this thing somewhere before. There's some kind of power flowing through it, a dark one."

Catwoman snatched the blade out of her hands and hissed, "Hey, I never said that you could pick that up. No matter what kind of dark power is running through it, it's still mine. My benefactor is expecting it in an hour, so scram before I claw your eyes out and try to sell him those too!"

"And who is this benefactor of yours?" Batman asked, trying to appeal to her more human side, "Come on Selina, you heard what Cinder said about that sword. What if you're giving to someone who knows how to use it's power for all the wrong purposes?"

A flash of worry fluttered across Catwoman's face, after which she took a look at the weapon for herself, "So what, you just want me to give up the biggest score I've ever gotten based on something your girlfriend said? Why should I tell you anything?"

Batman was doing his best to use reason on her, "You know me, I don't let my feeling get in the way of the job. Please, just tell me who's paying you all this money for this katana?"

"Dammit Bruce, is there anything that you can't talk me into?" Catwoman asked, mostly to herself, "I don't know their names, but they were definitely assassins. I've dealt with enough of them in my time to recognize one when I'm talking to him. He didn't tell me what I'd be stealing or what it did, only what I needed to do to get it. I hate to say it, but if Luthor was guarding it so heavily and these assassins were willing to cough up so much for it, it's probably dangerous."

The thief scowled a bit as the Red Fox was able to take it from her reluctant hands, "This probably isn't the best time, but we're gonna need that Hacker you stole back too. We can't really let a criminal hang on to that…"

Catwoman gave them all a death glare that would've made Zabuza jealous. She grabbed the device off from her bed and tossed it at Batman, "Fine, take the damn thing! You guys owe me though, you owe me BIG!"

"You cooperated, so I'll be sure to return the favor as soon as I can," Batman said with a genuine tone to his voice, "I'll remember this Selina, I promise it."

That was little comfort to the women as Batman and the Red Fox turned to leave. They both noticed that Cinder was still looking at Catwoman with a guilty look in her eyes, prompting the Red Fox to ask, "Cinder, you coming?"

Cinder didn't say anything at first, then asked rather abruptly, "Selina, would you like to come to our wedding?"

"Is that some kind of joke?" Catwoman asked, unable to believe that was a real question, "You want me to come watch the two of you get married?"

It was an odd request, so Cinder quickly explained herself, "I know that you and my fiance have been close for a long time, and I've heard that you saved his life once or twice. I realize it must be painful for you with how much you care about him, but I don't want this to be the end of your friendship. We both care about him and want him to be happy, so for his sake, can't we at least try to get along with one another?"

Catwoman wasn't having an easy time with that concept from where she was standing, "Easy for you to say, you aren't the one who lost. Winner takes it all, right?"

"I understand why you feel that way, and I have hard time being around someone I know Bruce used to sleep with myself," Cinder admit, showing a bit of vulnerability, "But I want him to be happy, and I think that he'll be happier with you with you still in his life. Maybe even as a bridesmaid in my wedding?"

The request threw Selina completely for a loop. For few second she said nothing, then looked over at Batman who seemed very hopeful she'd say yes. Catwoman released a sigh, "If I'm going to be a bridesmaid, I'll need a dress. A good one too, nothing cheap!"

Cinder nearly hugged the woman, before deciding that would likely end up angering her, which would undo all the progress she'd just made. So, Cinder simply replied, "Thank you Selina, this means so much to the both of us. Would you like to come home with us so that you and I can talk details?"

"Might as well," Catwoman said with a shrug as they all made for the door, "What in the hell happened to me? I was the greatest thief in the world, one of the most feared people in Gotham. Now look at me, doing the right thing and going to the Batman's wedding. I might as well be one of the good guys at this point."

Batman found her moral delma rather comical. He even decided to make a quick joke, "Hey, if you want a spot on the Justice League, I'm sure we could find a place for you."

Brandishing her claws at the man, Catwoman fired right back, "You may be my friend again, but remember, I'm still willing to cut my friends. By the way, be sure to tell me what you find out about the Soultaker Sword. I wanna know what that freaky looking katana does."

"Why don't you have the boy ask the Kyuubi," Came a deep, intimidating voice that caused everyone to spin around and see a completely bald and extremely muscular middle eastern looking man, "After all, the beast has come to blows with the blade before."

The Dark Knight knew who the man was, "Ubu, one of Ra's right hand men in the League of Assassins. When Selina mentioned assassins, I figured Ra's was involved. I'm guessing you came early to make sure you got the katana you were going to pay so much money for. Planning on trying to take it from us now?"

Ubu knew better than to take on a group like that, "No, that's a battle I have no doubt I'd lose. We'll get the Soultaker sword in due time, just as we'll get the power that the boy holds within him. Until we get another chance for a fight, I wish you well Bruce."

"I'm sure that you do," Batman replied, allowing Ubu to have the chance to leave peacefully. The warrior was one of the most deadly hand to hand combatants the hero had ever faced, so he had no desire to fight the man, "Well, Looks the Kyuubi might be the key to finding out what blade really does. Good to know."

Everyone but Catwoman turned to leave the old apartment building, leaving Selina to wonder out loud, "What in the hell is the Kyuubi?"

* * *

It began with the same things Naruto had grown accustomed to. As soon as he'd gotten home, the boy went into his room to get into a deep enough sleep to contact Kurama, which brought him down into the dark, damp sewer that was the Kyuubi's confinement. In a matter of seconds, Naruto saw the beast's glowing red eyes from within his cage and began to walk towards it. Kurama spoke the moment he saw the boy coming, "**Ah, there he is. I'm glad to see you came so quickly Kit. I was worried you would decide you can't trust anything I say about the Soultaker Sword."**

"We're up against people who are trying to steal you from me and use your power to shape the world into whatever they want it to be," Naruto responded easily, knowing Kurama had just as much to lose here, "You'll never let that happen, even if it does mean that you have to work with a human like me."

The Tailed Beast nodded in affirmation, "**If I'm being honest, you're one of the better humans I've had to deal with in my long, long life. I'll tell you everything you need to know about the Soultaker Sword under one unbreakable condition. I want your word on this, and we both know that you never break your word. That's your ninja way, unless I'm mistaken."**

Naruto had not expected Kurama to play that card, "Something like that, yeah. What's your condition."

"**You have to promise me, no matter what you find out about this katana's power, you won't try and use it to take control of my powers or force me out of your body," **Ordered the Kyuubi, giving away only what he had to about the sword, "**The first one for obvious reasons, and the second one because I know you'd muck it up and end up killing us both. Do I have your word that you won't try tamper with my power with your new toy?"**

Seeing as how he had no other choice, Naruto went along with it, "Yes, I promise that I won't use the sword to screw with your chakra or anything. Now, will you tell me what it is?"

Kurama fired a toothy smile at his container, "**Of course Naruto. Take a seat, as I tell you the tale of the legendary power that lays within the Soultaker Sword…"**


	31. Legacy

Gather around children, it's time for a story from Uncle Kurama. A bit of an odd opening sentence, I know, but I felt I needed something different this chapter. Again, sorry about how long it took to get this chapter out, but I'm sure you all know how things get around Thanksgiving. Also it didn't post right yesterday, so gotta love that. Now, as I'm sure you all have already guessed, we'll be jumping right into the Kyuubi and the story of the Soultaker Sword. Needless to say, I'll be deviating from the comics here, but that's what fanfiction is for, now isn't it? After that, it's a bachelor party and wedding, so bring the Kleenex...you know, for both of them. By the way, the thing I said about Bruce's religion along with his parent's in chapter 26, is actually canon, just so you all know. Also, though it won't be right away, you will get an answer about Tsunade becoming Hokage. Also, I don't know if I mentioned this, but Zabuza is in his thirties in this fanfic, not his twenties like in the canon. Hope all of you are having a wonderful time now that the holidays are in full swing. My next chapter will be Christmas one, which I hope all of you will love! Man that was a long intro. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review. **SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER**

Chapter Soundtrack-Bill Wither: Ain't No Sunshine

* * *

There were few creatures still alive who could even come close the age or knowledge of the great and mighty Kyuubi. He knew of nearly all of the most powerful weapons in the world, and the Soultaker Sword was no exception. Naruto stood in front of him and listen diligently as the beast told of its power, "**The Soultaker Sword dates back centuries, being younger than me by a narrow margin. It was created by a master blacksmith by the name of Hattori, a man famous for making some of most beautifully crafted and long lasting blades on earth. I don't know what his last name was, so don't ask. All you need to know is that he was almost like a god in the Great Ninja Nations. Some of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen are still using his blades to this day."**

"Talk about high quality," Naruto said in awe, "So what does the Soultaker Sword do exactly?"

Kurama was just getting to that, "**Patience Kit, it's a longer story than you realize. The weapon you speak of was the first of its kind, and was crafted for one woman in particular. Her name was Katana, and she's the reason that style of sword got its title. She got the name because of the way she would draw her blade in an upward slicing motion, hence 'Cutting edge up,' as that's what katana originally translated to. Hattori made her a special blade to accommodate her style, as regular swords didn't work well for her. The name Katana stuck, and even I don't know what the woman or the blades original name was."**

The history lesson was beginning to bore the boy, "That's great and all, but why didn't it get those Soultaker markings on it?"

"**That was because of something that Katana added to the blade, something that she knew Hattori never would've approved of," **Kurama continued, regaining the boy's attention, "**She tracked down someone who was able to curse the blade, giving it the ability to absorb spiritual energy. Katana would steal the souls of those she deemed unfit to live, stealing their lives while using the Soultaker Sword's power to absorb their energy for herself."**

Naruto was completely engrossed in the story at this point, "What did the energy do for her? Did it give her cool abilities and stuff like that?"

It was always fun for Kurama to see the boy show his age. Only someone who was still a child at heart would ask that, "**In a sense, yes. The souls and energy she would steal could be used to reverse the aging process, giving Katana the potential to be immortal. She, as almost any person would, found herself corrupted by the power of the blade. It gave her abilities that almost no one was able to defeat. Much of the Ninja Nations began to believe that she'd end up ruling over them all with an iron fist."**

"So what stopped her?" Naruto questioned, sensing the story was getting close to its resolution, "She's not around today, so something must have gotten to her."

Kurama gave the boy a toothy grin, "**Good, I don't have to point that out to you. Feeling guilty for his blade having any part in it, Hattori tracked down Katana himself and challenged her to a battle of blades. She'd grown abundantly overconfident by that point, so she accepted the fight without question. The result was one of most magnificent clashing of blades anyone had ever witnessed. It was battle that raged on for hours, some say days, until finally, Katana fell to superior Hattori. Her stolen souls were no match for the blacksmith's years of experience. Victorious, Hattori took the blade, vowing to protect it for the rest of his life."**

Even if the story had ended right there, it still would've been one hell of a tale. However, Naruto knew that there still had to be more to come, "So how did the Soultaker Sword end up in Luthor's lab? I thought you said this all took place in the Great Ninja Nations."

"**Very observant, at least for a lowly human," **Kurama replied, his version of a compliment, "**News of Katana's defeat spread for and wide, meaning everyone knew the key to immortality was once again up for grabs. Hattori realized that he couldn't keep the katana away from them forever, so instead, he had it shipped off to a place without chakra of any kind, where no one would be able to understand what the blade was capable of. After that, Hattori cut off one of his own hands to insure a weapon of such power could never be made again, as only a blacksmith like him could make a blade that was able to carry that kind of dark curse."**

Naruto could put the rest of it together himself, "That probably worked great, until someone figured out what the Soultaker Sword could do and tried to use it. I'm gonna guess it's been bought, stolen, or killed for about a hundred times now."

While that estimate was a tad high, the boy was in the right ballpark, "**Something like that, yes. Luckily, you'd need an extensive knowledge of spiritual energy to know how to use the sword properly, and almost no one outside of the Ninja Nations has such knowledge. Luthor was likely using his labs to try and discover what the sword could do when Ra's al Ghul almost stole it right out from under him. Unfortunately, I believe Ra's has actually shown enough knowledge to the point where he might even be able to use it. We need to keep the Soultaker Sword out of his hands, or he may use it rip my power right out of you. That is process I highly doubt I'd like or that you'd survive."**

"I know I wouldn't want him to control over your power," Naruto replied, his way of agreeing, "Ra's is freaking crazy enough now, so who knows what that kinda power would do to him. What's your take on the situation?"

Kurama's next few words were going to be hard for him to say, "**As difficult as this is going to be for us, I'm afraid that you and I will have to work together to make sure that katana stays in our hands. Know this Kit, I would never do something like this if there was but one other option for me. Working with a human will likely prove to be the low point if my long life."**

A drawn out speech like that we enough to make the boy roll his eyes, "No need to explain Kurama, at this point I know how freaking much you hate me."

"**I don't know if call what I have for you hatred, it's more like contempt," **Responded the Kyuubi as if it was an improvement, "**For a human, I find you to be rather tolerable. You should feel honored."**

Naruto simply kept rolling his eyes, "Oh yeah, real honored. Does that mean you'll finally be cooperating with me now about using your chakra?"

"**To an extent, yes, I will be,"** Kurama said, ignoring the sarcasm of the previous statement, "**I'm going to teach you how to use the Soultaker Sword to its full effectiveness without making you go mad, and I'll give you access to portions of my power. Again, you should feel honored. I've never done this for any human before. Oh, and one last thing about that katana I think you may wish to know...Your mother used it for quite some time during a period when it found its way back to the Ninja Nations. She was more skilled with blade than I ever thought possible. Hell, Kushina even managed to blend my power with it on rare occasions. That power she wielded with that blade makes me fear it even now. Her reputation with it was a large part of the reason the Third Hokage sent the blade back to the US after her death."**

For the young Naruto, this was like a dream come true. He was going to be using the same weapon as his mother, "Really? It was her's? Will you...will you tell me stories about it some time?"

Kurama wanted to say no, but found even his heart was broken by how much hope filled the boy's eyes, "**If it means that much to you, I'll work in a few stories while we're training. Now, you go back into the real world and tell Bruce everything I just told you. You've got a long journey ahead of you kit, but believe me, it'll be more than worth it. You have no idea the kind of things that lie in store for you, Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne...no idea at all."**

* * *

"Woohoo, now this is my kinda party," Screamed Oliver Queen, as he downed another shot of tequila, letting the fiery liquor burn the back of his throat and lower his inhibitions, "Bruce, you oughta get married more often. I don't ever get a chance to do stuff like this since I started dating Dinah."

The 'stuff like this' that Oliver was referring to was hanging around his friend's mansion with a seemingly endless stream of alcohol around him, along with a few women dancing in front of him. It was Bruce's bachelor party, taking place roughly one month after Naruto's revelation about the Soultaker Sword and the Kyuubi. While the man was not crazy about the idea of his son being taught how to use a powerful weapon by a creature who seemed to care only for himself, Bruce allowed Naruto learn how to master the katana because he knew how important it was to the boy. After all, he'd been able to confirm the blade had indeed been used by Kushina Uzumaki herself. So, for the past month Naruto was learning how to use his new weapon while Mei planned the wedding, along with something special for her husband to be, "It's hard to believe Mei planned this entire thing for us. Never expected my future wife to throw me a party complete with strippers jumping out of cake. I really do have the best fiance ever."

Oliver wasn't going to argue, "Hey, if you don't want her, I'll sure as hell take her. I'm just glad all the girls got that cake cleaned off so the real fun can begin. So, who all is Mei using for her bridesmaids? You've got me, Clark, Dick, Wally, and Naruto, so she must have five of her own, right?"

"Yeah, there's Tsunade, Barbara, and Selina, for the first three" Bruce started to name them off, moving on to Black Canary and Wonder Woman, "Dinah and Diana were the other two I believe. Kendra might have been talked into it, but considering that Mei already had five people, she let Hawkgirl turn it down without much of a fight. Shizune wanted to do more the behind the scenes stuff, so she's not in the wedding either. Pretty amazing group all in all."

A blonde woman with large 'assets' walked over to Bruce and tried to sit down on his lap, but he waved her off, sending her to his friend Oliver. Considering the girl was dressed as Black Canary, as all the strippers were dressed as superheroes thanks to Mei's somewhat twisted sense of humor, it was likely his friend was going to have a lovely time with her. As Oliver enjoyed the show, Bruce walked over to Dick, who was in middle of conversation with Alfred. Both men had a scotch firmly in their grasp, "So you really don't mind that you're not a groomsmen? I mean officiating is great and all, but I'm pretty freaking happy being the best man."

Alfred looked at the position in a much different light, "Master Grayson, I'm much too old to be a groomsmen. A groomsmen goes out and parties after the wedding, likely get's drunk of his arse his too. No sir, that's a young man's job. At my age, you give the couple to be advice and, at least in my case, perform the ceremony. Believe me, you'll prefer doing that sort of thing when your time comes….Ah, Master Bruce, how are you enjoying the party?"

"I've got my best friends here, there's lots of good alcohol, some half naked women, and it's all been approved by my wife to be," Bruce said, summing up the situation pretty well, "What's not to like? I wish Naruto could be here with us, but he's a bit young for a party like this. Still, I made sure he'll have a good time of his own tonight."

Dick recalled Bruce mentioning something about inviting some of the boy's friends to come over, "Right, you hooked him up with the big tv on the other side of the mansion. So was it his ninja friends coming over or the ones from school? I know you try not mix the two groups, and that makes sense I guess. Wouldn't want them to accidentally using their powers or something and freaking the normal ones out."

"He sees the school ones almost every day, so invited the ones from the Great Ninja Nations. Pretty much any of the genin teams that wanted to come," Bruce said, then corrected a small error he'd made, "Well, they're not all genin anymore I guess. A couple were promoted to Chunin I think. I don't know who all showed up, but when I asked Naruto he seemed pretty happy with the turnout. Now, the real question is, how much has Clark been using his X-ray vision tonight?"

That was something Dick hadn't even considered, "Oh, that lucky son of bitch! Well now I've gotta ask him. Be right back guys."

Alfred watched the young man walk over to the kryptonian, then turned to ask Bruce a question once he was out of earshot, "Sir, I know this may not be the best time, but I was wondering if you got the chance to ask Mei about the Momochi fellow? If you recall, I asked you to inquire about it a few days ago."

"Right, I almost forget about that," Bruce said, sparking the memory in his head, "I questioned her about him, mainly if he was related to Nusana in any way. I'm sorry Alfred, but Mei said Momochi is a common last name in the hidden Mist, so the two probably aren't related at all."

The old Brit sighed, having been expecting this, "I figured as much. When I first heard of the Great Ninja Nations I instantly knew that was where my old flame must have been from. Naruto's adoption explained many things to me about her. Yet, I'm still left with so many questions…"

Bruce found a frustration begging to rise inside of him that had been present for years. Nusana was a mystery to him, a checkered part of Alfred's past that he refused to share. Over time, he had been able to get little bits about her from him, mainly that she was a women Alfred was order to protect back in MI6. She seemed to be the closest thing Alfred had ever gotten to love. Recently though, Bruce had discovered two new facts about her: She was likely from the hidden Mist village, though Alfred didn't know that back then, and Mei's new bodyguard Zabuza shared a last name with her. That still wasn't much, but it was more than what Bruce had before, "Given the new info we've gotten, is there any chance you'll finally tell me who Nusana is to you?"

"Master Bruce, that story involves what was quite possibly the lowest point in my life. It's the one tale that I must request stay with only me," Alfred told him, in a soft but stern voice, "It weren't for that Zabuza fellow, I wouldn't have brought it up at all. All those memories bring me is pain and regret for not being able to do what was right. If Zabuza really does know nothing, then I think I'll simply try and forget this memory like I've been trying to for the past nearly 30 years."

Though the response did raise a large amount of new question for Bruce, he chose to do as Alfred wished, leaving the story where it was, "If that's what you want old friend, then I'll leave it alone. Come on, let's get back to the party. Hey, what do you think the girls are doing right about now?"

* * *

Right about then, the girls were having just as much fun as the boy's were. If Mei had planned something special for the guys, then she went all out for the women. The group had started out at a male strip club, much like the men with their women, but they only stayed there for an hour or two. After that, they left to go to a elegant party that Bruce had actually been the one invited to. However, in the dresses that they had on, they had no problem getting to the party. Each woman was dressed to break hearts, which was exactly what they did. They would let the men buy them drinks, maybe even sneak a dance in if they were lucky, then tell them that it wasn't going to happen for them tonight. After that, there was only one thing left to do; go to the best damn onsen that the Great Ninja Nations had to offer.

"Oh my god, it's like every stress I ever had is just melting away," Barbara cooed as the soothing water enveloped her body, "I thought the strip club was gonna be the best part of the night, but this right here, this some kind of heaven."

Mei giggled as she grabbed a cup of sake that was lying next to her and took a drink. The onsen was not an overly elegant one, with nothing but simple wooden walls covering it and a straw ceiling as the roof of it. You didn't come there for the environment though, you came for the hot springs, "This place is my personal hideaway when things in the Mist get too hectic. It's only a few miles from my office, so I can jog there for a workout and unwind for a bit. Something about this place, it just makes every part of me feel clean when I leave it. Oh, Selina, I know you didn't like the idea of using the seals to get here. They weren't to bad, were they?"

If they had been, she didn't seem to mind it now, "Nope, I'm in fucking heaven right now. I still can't believe that Bruce never told me about all this ninja stuff. Sure, I get why he couldn't tell me, but it all seems so crazy, the abilities you guys have."

"They're fun to use, but they're more dangerous than you think," Tsunade said, earning a confused look from Selina, "I don't mean in the sense that they're powerful, which they are, I mean that they push people to do crazy things. Starting wars, performing mad experiments, and killing your own family are just some of the things chakra has made people do. It's wonderful, but it's a burden as well. It's only gonna get worse for me now that I'm taking up the Hokage title in a month. God, I just know I'm gonna live to regret this…"

Tsunade's stress over taking the job was one of things they were trying to get away from, so Diana distracted them by comparing many of the problems back in America to the ones they had, "Seems like almost anytime you put that much power of people's hands things tend to go wrong. Mei, weren't you telling us once about your parents being killed over your bloodline?"

The Mizukage gave a sad nod, "Yes, I'm afraid so. My father, who gave me my Boil Release, and my mother, who gave me my Lava Release, were both murdered because of their powers. Luckily, I was able to escape and hide my abilities for quite some time. I'm simply glad I got the chance to rise up and stop the horrible act in its tracks. Things are looking up in the Mist, and it's making me proud to call myself its leader."

"Damn, you sound like you could've made it anywhere," Selina said, finding heightened level of respect for the woman, "Even a place as screwed up as Gotham."

Mei enjoyed the compliment, but wished to speak about happier things, "Thank you, but why don't we get back to wedding things? I'm getting married tomorrow, and I couldn't feel anymore welcomed into this group you guys have. I've been made an honorary member of the Justice League, or Cinder has I guess."

For Dinah, inviting the new hero in was a no brainier, "As strong as you are Mei, we pretty much had to say yes. You might be one of the most powerful members we have right now. Anyways, think the guys are having a good time with their strippers and booze?"

"They better be, after all the effort I put into planning it," Mei remarked, making everyone laugh, "I still don't understand why Wally agreed to watch the younger ones though. I thought it'd be impossible to get someone to do that job."

Diana had seen that coming from a mile away, "Trust me, Wally is exactly where he wants to be right now. He might be the fastest man alive, but her sure took is his sweet time growing up. I have to wonder just how much trouble he and those kids are going to get into tonight."

* * *

"Oh come on, there is no way that you could've dodged that so easily," Barry complained as Naruto managed to escape a fatal blow by the skin of his teeth, "I mean seriously, there's no way...Ganondorf is too slow to get away from Meta Knight! Everybody knows that!"

The boy laughed, making his character spin around and kick Barry's in the face, "If you can't handle the heat, then don't play Smash Bros with me. Oh, and it looks like you're flying off screen again! Man Uncle Barry, you really do suck at this game."

Barry, as one would expect, took offense to that, "Hey, if we were playing Brawl right now, I'd be kicking your butt. I still haven't gotten used to the new version yet. Alright, I'll be done for this round. Think one of your friends might wanna play?"

"Probably, I think Kankuro wanted to go next," Naruto recalled, remembering that the boy wanted payback for beating him last round, "Hopefully this time he'll put up a better fight. Could you please go over to the next room and see who all wants to play? Tell me what Star Wars movie they're too, I wanted to watch the last one with them."

Since Barry had learned Japanese a couple years ago to try and get close to Naruto, he would be able to do just that. He gave a mock salute and then ran over into the next room, which was actually Dick's old room. The tv in there was big enough for everyone to see the movies, with popcorn buckets and soda all around. After seeing how much Mei ended up enjoying the Star Wars movies on the day the two got around to watching the films, Wally suggested that they show it to Naruto's friends as well. All the Rookie Twelve were there, along with the Sand Siblings. When Wally came in, they were right at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, about to hear Darth Vader one of the greatest twists in movie history. Well, read it more accurately, since they need subtitles to understand, "Luke...I am your father!"

Everyone in the room gasped at once as whispers of, 'No way,' and 'That's crazy' came from all around. Barry chuckled at the first timer's shock, "Yeah, the originally trilogy was the best. I was gonna see if any of you wanted to play a game with Naruto, but I'm thinking you'll wanna start the next movie now, huh?"

"Yes," Everyone in the room cried at once, getting another chuckle from Barry.

He spun around to go back into the previous room, "The tv in there is a little bit better, so I'll set up the next movie for you guys out there. Until then, you all enjoy the movie."

Sasuke jumped up from where he was standing and walked over to the man, "Hold on, I wanna come with you. I've got something I wanted to talk to Naruto about."

"Okay, fine by me," Barry said with a shrug, "You've seen the most important part anyways."

The boy followed the scarlet speedster out to the other room to find Naruto already turning his game off, "I heard you guys say that you were done in there, so I thought I'd help get set up. Sasuke, did you say something about wanting to talk to me?"

This question earned a small nod from the Uchiha, "Yes, I did actually. I've been thinking about the things that you and your father have been saying to me, and, well...I can't believe I'm saying this, but I get it. If my whole life becomes about killing my brother, then I won't have anyone left to help me rebuild my clan when I'm done. I still want him dead, but if it comes down to it, I'd rather have a life of my own over taking his."

"Huh, well good for," Naruto complimented, surprised that his somewhat friend had come to this conclusion, "You seemed hell bent on revenge, but chasing after that won't get you anywhere. Was it just the stuff that me and my dad said that changed your mind, or was there something else too?"

Sasuke had been thinking about that himself, and he could only think of one thing to say, "I don't know, I guess that when I realized throwing my life to kill Itachi would actually be letting him win, I started seeing everything different. It doesn't make a ton of sense, I know, but it's just how I've been feeling lately."

As far as Naruto was concerned, that explanation was perfect. Pretty much any reason to not chase after revenge was a good one, "Don't be scared of it. Like Yoda says, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the dark side. Lame line, I know, but I wasn't gonna pass up a chance to use it. Now let's get this movie started so that you guys can see the end of the greatest movie series ever!"

"I thought you told us the Rocky movies was the best movie series ever," Sasuke replied with an odd look.

Naruto grabbed the disc for Return of the Jedi and responded, "Yeah, that one too. I'll show you that one later. I've got so much to teach you guys…"

* * *

The air of the room was thick with tension, and had lighting so dim it made it almost impossible to tell what anyone's facial reactions were. It was an old board room in essence, with a large table that everyone could sit around. All of the villains were meeting here once again, this time in a condemned building that set to be torn down in a matter of days. At the head of the table sat the Scarecrow, with Bane, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn staying close to him. Not far down the table was the Riddler, the Penguin, and Two-Face. This was a meeting that had been called by Scarecrow, and it was doubtful that anyone who wasn't on his side would leave happy, "Ah, the three top dogs of Gotham City, what a pleasure it is to have you all meeting with me tonight. I'm sure that all of you have heard about the recent death of our competitor, Roman Sionis, otherwise known as the Black Mask."

"I believe we'd all find brutal murder to be a more accurate depiction of what happened to Sionis," The Riddler commented, and he was far from wrong, "Burn alive is rather high up on my list of ways I wouldn't want to die. Did you call this meeting to try and ascertain who took our mobster friend out of the game?"

That was the opposite of the reason Crane had gathered the rogues gallery, "No Nygma, I was planning on telling you that I was the one who killed Black Mask in the first place."

The Penguin could hardly believe that, "Wait, you? You're the one who pulled that off? Damn Crane, didn't know you had it in you! Haha, good for you laddie!"

"Hm, Mr Sionis said that he never would've expected something like this from me either," Scarecrow confided, to which everyone in the room seemed to agree, "He did not trust that I could be as ruthless as he could. That's a mistake he won't get to make twice."

Two-Face found that to be a rather obvious statement, "Considering that he won't doing anything ever again, we'd have to agree. Also, we can't help but wonder why the girls and Bane are standing behind you. It's making us very nervous in fact…"

It was at that moment that Harley decided to pipe up, "Oh, we're just showin' our support for the next head of Gotham City. Crane here agreed to help me with any of my plans I've got for revenge against Batman and crew, so I agreed that me and all of Mr. J's old men will help him from time to time if he needs it. Plus, Ivy's working with him too, and I always make sure to help out my favorite girl."

"Wait a moment, the three of you are working with Scarecrow now?" The Riddler asked, finding himself in odd state of utter flabergast, "When did any of this happen? The three of us have been fighting each other, so we didn't even know any of you made a move at all yet."

Scarecrow could elaborate on that very easily, "It's simple really, I've put all of them in a state that made them realize there's no better choice than myself to be the new king of Gotham city. I'm hoping that three of you will realize that tonight as well, because I have no desire to kill any of you."

Now the villain was talking in a way that the Penguin could not let fly, "Hold the hell on! Do you actually think that you could win this thing? Look Crane, you've done well for yourself, better than any of us expected you to, but you still aren't a top tier criminal. Maybe if that whole thing with you trying to be mayor had gone well, then you might be able to pull this off, but after the way the Red Fox kicked your arse and crushed your dreams, there's just no way. Sorry Scarecrow, but it's the truth."

"Hm...once again, everyone seems so surprised by my eagerness to control of this worthless city," Scarecrow responded, still puzzled by everyone's underestimation of him, "It doesn't seem to matter how far I come, my competitors still doubt me. Well, allow me to explain something to all you. I am going to become the kind of this city weather you believe it or not, and do you know why? It's because of the same reason that the Joker ruled over Gotham for so long. I've found my obsession, just as he did. The Red Fox will fall to the power of fear, and I will be sure that the whole city sees it. He will be what I use to break this city and end the stranglehold Batman has over us all. That is my one and only goal, and the rest of you may do whatever you wish, as long as you do as I ask when I need it in the future. I'm only making this offer once, and if you refuse, I'll crush with the might of my new army. Do you all understand me?"

The room was silent at first, no one was sure of what to say next. Each of villains felt it had been made clear how seriously the Scarecrow was taking this war. Two-Face began to nod, after which the others began to follow. In a turn of events that no one could've predicted, Jonathan Crane had emerged as the frontrunner in this competition of the twisted. Only time would tell if he could continue on his path to go down in infamy.

* * *

There are some days in a person's life they they wait for from the beginning. Things like graduation day, losing their virginity, and the birth of their first child were just a few of them. The wedding day, however, was possibly the most famous. It was day you told someone that you were going to love them forever, that you'd always be theirs and theirs alone. No doubt, it was a day of beauty, and one that should be celebrated by all those one is close to. That's why Bruce refused to let the day become a show for the paparazzi like one would expect of the Wayne wedding. He was going to give his bride the most wonderful day he could possibly give her, because Mei deserved it.

"You nervous Bruce?" Dick whispered into his mentors ear as he stood next to him at the altar, "You look you're sweating a little bit."

Bruce took a deep breath as he looked around the beautifully decorated room, seeing all of the people who had gathered to watch the ceremony. The music had began to play signally that the bride was on her way down, so saying the man was nervous would be accurate, "Maybe, but I'm excited too. With all the bad things that have been happening lately, part of me thought we weren't gonna get here. There's more than a couple of people that I wish could've been here, but I still couldn't be happier."

There was clearly a response about to come from Dick, but the sound of the church doors opening silenced everyone. Mei quickly became visible, with Ao guiding her up the aisle. She was breathtaking in wedding dress. It was form fitting, showing off just enough of her curvy figure, with some lace. Her veil cover her face, with touch of makeup to bring out her own natural beauty. Once she and Ao reached the altar, she gave him a light peck on the cheek and walked up to the altar. Bruce reached for her veil and pulled it up, showing her magnificent face, "My god, you look so beautiful."

"Thanks, you're looking pretty sharp yourself," Mei said, trying to act calm, but clearly ready to burst.

Alfred could see the state the two of them were in, so he got right to point, "Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of two people I've grown very fond of during my time here on this earth, Bruce Wayne and Mei Terumi. These two people have chosen to say to god and just about anyone else who's listening. Now, let's face it, everyone hates the part where I'm supposed to start reading a long speech from the bible talking about love. I know both of these people have love in their hearts for one another, so I'm simply going to let them do the talking. I believe you've both written your own vows."

Reaching into his pocket, Bruce nodded, taking a deep breath before he began to speak, "Mei, I found it nearly impossible to right these vows to you. Not because I couldn't think of anything, but because there's so much that I want to promise you that I can't think of a way to put it all into one speech. To this day, I don't know what ever could've attracted you to me. I think that's why I couldn't trust you in the beginning. No one as smart, strong, and kind as you would've ever decided I was the right person for you. But you did, for reasons I'll never be able to understand, you did, and I'll always be grateful for it. Because you were crazy enough to pick me, I'll do anything it takes to make you feel like that was the right choice. I love Mei, and I always will. Hopefully, you'll always feel the same as well."

"Oh Bruce," Mei said, trying to hold back tears, "You act like you don't deserve me, but this whole time I'm wondering what I did to deserve a guy like you. You're like something out of a fairytale to me. A big strong prince who'd be there for me whenever I need him. We both know pain, the pain that comes with loss. The fact that I know you'll always be there for me, with your kind heart and noble mind, makes me feel safe in your arms. Never forget Bruce, that I do love you, because you're better man than you've ever given yourself credit for. Thank you, for coming into my life, and please let me going on loving you until the end of time."

Almost everyone in the room could feel the love radiating off from them, and, as sickeningly sweet as that may have sounded, it was a sight to behold. Alfred could think of no better note to end on, "And with that, let us commence with the rings. Naruto, if you'd hand them to your father please."

Naruto smiled and pulled them out of his pocket, handing one to each of them. The two smiled, putting the rings on one another's finger. With that, Alfred got to the part everyone had been waiting for, "Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time, may I present you Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Wayne! Bruce, you may kiss the bride!"

"With pleasure," Bruce said, grabbing Mei and dipping her into a long sweet kiss. The crowd around them cheered, happy for the new couple. Now, there was only one thing left to do...party!

* * *

The party retired to Wayne Manor to celebrate the night away. To dance, to drink, and to celebrate two people coming together. Yes, it was a happy occasion, with not a sad face in the room. Well, except for one that was.

"You see boy, they don't care about you. Look at them, eating and drinking, just having the time of their lives," Harley Quinn whispered into a shadowy figures ear as both of them watched the festivities, "They've already forgotten you. But me, I won't' forget. I can't stand losing another person I'm close to. You'll let me become close to you, won't you? You'll let me be your new family?"

The boy continued to stare from the distance, saying in voice void of nearly any emmontion, "Yes mama...you care about me...not them...you're my family now."

Harley smiled at the boy, hugging him from behind. He was hers now. She was his mama, and she was going to make him into whatever she wanted him to be. Her new, perfect son. Speaking of son's, down at the party, Alfred was busy talking to his surrogate son, "I tell you Master Bruce, there really is nothing better than a day like today. So much joy, so much happiness. Enjoy it my friend, because times like this don't come often."

"I will Alfred, believe me I will. Then, right after our honeymoon in Paris, we'll come back here to celebrate Christmas with you guys," Bruce told him, noticing that Mei was flagging him down, "Ah, it looks like my bride wants another dance. Talk to you in a bit. Oh, go find Zabuza if you can, he was saying something about wanting a drink. He's got his mask off today and is scaring people a bit. With those teeth of his, it's probably best to keep him happy and not frightening everyone."

Something about what Bruce had just said scared the hell out of Alfred, "Teeth?...No, it couldn't be. It's not possible. There's simply no way."

"Hey, you," Alfred heard a gruff voice he assumed to be Zabuza's calling, "With the big plate of drinks. Get over here would ya? I need a glass of something strong."

The Brit spun around and saw Zabuza's face without the mask. Those brown eyes, and those sharp teeth left no doubt in Alfred's mind, "My god...he looks just like his mother. Zacharia."

It appeared that Zabuza realized it the second Alfred did as well. He sighed, walking over to Alfred and grabbing a glass of champagne, "It's Zabuza now dad. Not a word, and I mean not one single word, until this party is over. I'll explain then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to go and get drunk off my ass. See you in a bit pops…"

"Bloody hell…" Alfred muttered, dropping the tray of drinks, "I can't believe this…"

* * *

**ANNOUNCEMENT: **Welp, talk about a shock. I'll explain more next chapter, but now for the contest! You see, next week's chapter will be the Christmas one and will feature the characters tell stories about fighting villains during past Christmases. I've made 2 of them myself already, but I'm offering my readers a chance to think of one themselves! Whoever has the best idea, I'll feature their story as the final Christmas tale. Send it to me in a review or PM please! Same for any questions. Good luck!


	32. Christmas Stories

Hello everyone, and happy holidays! Crazy to think that Christmas is already here. For those of who don't know, which is likely most of you, this is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the way people are kinder to one another, I love all the Christmas specials, and I love trying to think of cool things to do for people. This makes the fact that I now get to write a Christmas chapter freaking great, and I couldn't be happier to be doing it. Of course, before we get to the stories, we'll start covering everything that happened with Alfred and Zabuza. Talk about a shock last chapter, huh? I promise, no cliffhanger this time. Congrats to acw28, who came up with the Christmas story that'll be making it into this chapter. Before we start, let me wish you all a very Merry Christmas and say that I couldn't be more thankful to a have great group of fans (Still hope it's okay to call you guys that) like you guys. Now, let's begin. Thank you for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack: You're Favorite Christmas Song!

* * *

"I don't believe this Zacharia," Alfred said to his son, quickly correcting himself, "Zabuza, yes, you said that your name is Zabuza now. It's a good name I suppose. Which one would you prefer that I call you?"

Zabuza leaned back into his chair and pondered the question his father had just asked him. They were alone together in the kitchen, drinking some coffee after the party was over. Bruce had left with his new bride to begin on their honeymoon, so that left the ninja alone with his long lost father. He wasn't sure what he wanted Alfred to refer to him as, "Feels weird hearing you call me Zabuza, but it's been so long anybody called me Zacharia, I don't think I'd even answer to all of the time. Go with Zabuza, at least for now."

"Alright son, if that's what you want," Alfred said with a brief nod, not sure where to go next, "I really don't even know where to begin. How long has it been? 30 years?"

Though he was far from sure at first, Zabuza had a quick way to figure it out, "How old is Wayne now? I left when I found out you were gonna take us to give live his parents and their about to be newborn son."

Alfred could hardly remember that it had been so long ago, "My word, you were only five then. That makes it 31 years ago. Hard to believe your five years older than Bruce. You both seem to be the same age in my eyes. I looked for you, you know that don't you? For eight years, I searched for you in every spare moment I had. Every last favor MI6 owed me, I called in, and yet, I got nothing. You had simply vanished. After the death of Master Bruce's parents, I think I forced myself to move on, simply because he needed me. Where did you go son? How did a five year old make himself disappear like that?"

"Woah, hold on now old man," Zabuza told him, startling his father just a bit, "I'm not gonna answer a damn question that you have until you answer me one of mine. I want you to finally tell me the one thing about my mother that I wasn't ever able to figure out. Back in the Mist, I uncovered everything there was to know about her, except for how the two of you met. So, where did you meet Nusana Momochi? How did you come to be my father?"

There was no doubt that Zabuza intended to get answers, and it was Alfred's duty to give them. He owed his son that much, "You're mother was a woman I knew little about when we first met. You see, all I was told was that she was from another country, one with powers similar to the ones that had begun to pop up all around the world, with people like the first Green Lantern. I was told she was from an ancient, traditional country near Japan, forcing me to learn how to speak the old form of the language simply to communicate with the woman. Nusana was hiding from someone, someone who would stop at nothing to get her as long as she was still in her home. That's all I knew then, though Naruto entering into my life has given me the ability to piece much of it together. Based on what I was able to dig up, I believe she may have been one of Orochimaru's earliest experiments."

Zabuza confirmed that last part for him, "The Orochimaru bit I knew, something about him trying to give her more control over her Killer Intent. Though I have to wonder why the British military would care about some chakra wielder who was running from a dangerous criminal."

"Best I could figure, they wanted to learn more about her abilities," Alfred mused, which did make sense to the ninja, "After I began to watch guard her for a while, we began to fall for one another. She was such a strong, beautiful woman, magical really. I broke code and ended spending a night in her arms, resulting in your conception. Scared as the idea made me, I was ecstatic to be having a family of my own. I left MI6 in order to raise a family the right way, in a house with a white picket fence, a dog in the front yard, the whole shabang! Sadly, your mother passed when you were born, living you and I alone together. For the first few years, that was alright. I think you were happy, weren't you?"

Though it was a long time ago, Zabuza still felt he could answer honestly, "From what I remember, things were pretty good for me. Course that I'll changed when I turned four, and you started treating me like I was made of glass."

Alfred didn't need much prodding to remember that, "That was when your powers first began to manifest themselves. You kept talking about feeling like you had something strange inside of you, something that was alive. I didn't like the sound of that, and knew that your mother had her abilities that I mentioned before, so I decided to have you tested. My friends at MI6 found that you had the same power lying within you that your mother had. They told me that, much like your mother, your power was so strong that you likely wouldn't be able to control it without proper training."

"I think someone told me once that one out every hundred chakra users are like that, usually because of genetics," Zabuza noted, then began to wonder, "So if you knew that was gonna be a problem for me, why did you spend an entire year trying to get me to supress my powers?"

If he'd been around more in that time, Zabuza would know why, "Son, it's only been over the past decade or so that people have become accepting of those with powers they can't understand. You would've been treated like Naruto was back in the hidden Leaf. I was going to teach you how to use your powers someday, but until I knew for sure how to do that, I needed you to hide them for your own safety. Besides, I didn't know if the person who had been after your mother was also after you. You keeping a low profile was paramount, which was why I was going to go and work for Martha and Thomas Wayne. There I could have a job that allowed me to keep a constant eye on you."

Zabuza could hardly believe his father had just outright stated the problem, "That was the reason I fucking left! For god's sake, you told me that you'd have you'd be watching me at all times, and it sounded crazy even back when I was five! I watched all the other kids playing out their normal lives while my dad sheltered me like some little puppy, and I hated it! When I found out it was going to be getting worse, I had to get out of there. There was just no way I could take living like that for the rest of my life!...You were right about people wanting to get there hands on me though. I wasn't gone all that long before a ninja from the hidden Mist tracked me down. He used some translator seal to tell me about some fantastic place that my mother was from. Then he told me that if I came with him, the hidden Mist would show me how to use my powers, make me a real ninja and all that. Ended up getting real strong too, stronger than almost anybody else in my graduating class. Had to kill a couple of my fellow classmates to get through, but hey, that's the Bloody Mist for ya. Not really sure how the whole story about me killing a hundred people got started, considering I didn't even have that many people in my class, but I wasn't gonna tell anyone they were wrong. Made sound like a bloodthirsty badass, which you need to survive in the ninja world. Huh, maybe that rumor got started because of how ferocious I was…"

"I don't care about any of that son," Alfred stated, snapping Zabuza out of his reminiscing, "The simple fact is, I know that the growing gap between you and I was started by me, and my need to overprotect you. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you like I lost your mother, but that didn't make the way I sheltered you right. Please, I want to get to know the man my son turned out to be. Will you let me do that?"

It was a request Zabuza felt uneasy considering, "I don't know old man, you and I have been separated so long, it might just be best to leave things the way they are."

Alfred had no intention of letting 'no' be his son's answer, "Perhaps, but I would at least like to try. Please, come to Christmas dinner next week. We can talk, and they'll be plenty for you to eat and drink. You'll have a good time, I promise."

"Plenty to eat and drink huh?" Zabuza asked, recalling all of the times he'd missed some of the food they had outside the Great Ninja Nations, "Hm...Alright, I'll come for dinner, but that's all I'll promise to for now."

That was all the older man wanted, "Excellent, I'll be certain to have an extra plate set for when you arrive."

Zabuza had a brief amendment to make to that, "Set two, I'll bring my young friend Haku with me. We travel everywhere together, so I can't really leave him behind for this. Heck, you saw his face when I asked him to leave you and me alone for awhile. Kid's basically my son at this point."

"Well then, I'll treat him like I would my grandson," Alfred said, making his actual son shrug, "Have a good rest of your night Zac, er, Zabuza."

The large man pushed himself out of his chair and gave his father a brief wave as he left, "Same to you pops. Oh, and Happy Christmas...or was it Merry Christmas? Fuck, I can't remember anymore. Haven't been in the states for the holidays in god knows how long…"

* * *

A few more days passed, allowing everyone in the family to get even more in the holiday spirit. The decorations were already up, the Christmas music was playing 24/7, and plenty of specials played on the televisions throughout the house. It was a wonderful time, and with Bruce away, Dick was there to visit with his family, and protect the city whenever the occasion called for it. Visiting with him was Raven and Starfire, two members of the Teen Titans. Cyborg needed to stay in Jump City, as he was the only one who could manage the city's security system, along with Beast Boy, who simply didn't wanna leave his buddy all alone in the city. It was a good time all around, and Christmas Eve came before any of them even knew it.

So, what better way to celebrate it all than to tell stories of Christmas's past, "And the Joker's plan was, I'm not kidding you, to kidnap people and force them to act out the sickest holiday specials he could imagine, and with the Joker, that's saying a lot. If we hadn't of gotten there on time, the kids in Gotham would've been in force something much darker than The Nightmare Before Christmas."

"Wow, I don't think Nightwing told us that one yet," Raven said, listening to the story while she waited with the rest of them for It's A Wonderful Life to come on the tv, "That reminds me of when we fought Slade and that Winslow Schott guy last Christmas Eve. The holidays aren't my thing to begin with, but throw those two wackos in there, and it really starts to become a pain."

It was easy for Dick to see that Naruto and Barbara didn't know what villains Raven was talking about, as she tended use the criminals real names, so he explained, "That's our nemesis Deathstroke along with a guy that goes by the name of Toyman. You know, from Motoropolis?"

Naruto recognized the name quickly, "Right, that inventor guy who uses all those toy themed weapons. Sounds like a mixed bag of nuts, but I heard he's just crazy enough to be dangerous."

"Yikes, just imagine what would happen if him and the Trickster got together," Barbara said, referencing the Flash foe and making all of them shiver at the idea, "That might almost be as bad as the Joker was."

Seeing as how they were all telling stories, Starfire thought she should try to tell one, "Oh yes, the Toyman was far more dangerous than he appeared, and Deathstroke appearing only made matters worse. Were it not for friend Nightwing holding off Slade for us, we may not have been able to win on that day. It went something like this if I recall…"

* * *

"Titans, hold formation," Nightwing screamed out to his team as half a dozen 7 foot tall mechanized Nutcrackers surrounded them, "Those things probably have weapons stashed away in every nook and cranny of them!"

Cyborg had his sonic cannon at the ready so that he could blow these fools away when they started coming after them, "What does this crazy Toyman want anyways? I thought he was a Superman villain! Shouldn't he be off ruining that guys Christmas?"

One of the nutcrackers opened their mouth to reveal a gatling gun inside it. Raven surround the team with a dome of energy right before it began to fire on them, making Toyman laugh while he controlled his machines from a safe distance, "Haha, no, I'm afraid I've drained Metropolis of its technological resources. Luckily I was invited to spend the holiday here in Jump City, and I must say, I'm having a lot of fun."

"Who was stupid enough to invite the psycho toymaker here for the holidays?" Beast boy asked as Raven pushed her dome outwards, sending their robotic enemies flying back, "I just wanted to sit around the tower and drink coco today! Why'd you have to take that from me?"

A man jumped down next to Toyman, who was flamboyantly dressed in an orange sweater vest with a blue tie and blue dress pants, and Nightwing was easily able to identify him as Deathstroke, "Slade Wilson, I didn't think that Christmas Eve was your kinda time of the year. What are you doing working with the Toyman?"

Deathstroke chuckled in his charmley smooth voice (Ron Perlman version), "Oh Nightwing, I'm simply trying to spread some holiday cheer. Look how happy I've made the Toyman by inviting him to our little gathering. Why don't you come over here so that you and I can discuss the gift exchange?"

"Go ahead Nightwing," Starfire said as he fired a blast at one of the nutcracker's, leaving some of its circuitry showing, "We can handle the cracker's of nuts by ourselves!"

Trusting his team to handle the situation, Nightwing jumped through a gap in the circle of nutcrackers and ran up to meet Deathstroke, who tried to give the hero a swift kick to the head, forcing him to jump back. Nightwing took out his staff and tried to jab Deathstroke in the side, but the villain grabbed the staff, using it toss the hero over to the side, "No, no, no, you're being too hasty Nightwing, and it's making you sloppy. I didn't set all this up to fight at any less than your best. Step up your game!"

Nightwing scowled and click a switch on his staff, separating it into two prices. An electrical current ran through what we're now shock batons, which the hero planned to use to use to electrocute his enemy into submission, "Fine, then let's see what you think about this!"

"Now this is more like it," Deathstroke said, drawing his sword and charging right back at Nightwing, "Now let's see how you've been doing on your form…"

The two of them a few moments later, using moves and strategies on one another that no normal person could follow. Nightwing was using an aggressive offensive approach which was designed to shock his opponent upon the first strike, lowering the enemy's defense and allowing for a flurry of quick strikes. Deathsroke's approach was more cautious, using his enhanced reflexes to dodge each strike so that he could wait for the right moment to turn the tides. It looked like the villain wasn't even trying, infuriating Nightwing, "What, am I not worth your time? Come on, you're the one who's been trying to recruit me for the past year. Aren't I talented enough for you?"

Deathstroke jumped to the side of batons once more, this time bringing up his blade and slicing the electrified ends of them, "You've certain got a lot of potential boy, I'll give you that. However, much like your old teacher, you hold back too much. I hate to see skill such as yours wasted because of some moral code. A month with me, and I could turn you into one of the finest killing machines you could ever imagine."

"I'm not interested in becoming a killer for hire," Nightwing fired back, though in the back of his mind he was still amazed that Deathstroke had been able to tell who trained from his fighting style alone, "Why me anyways? There must be other scum like you just dying to learn how to become an assassin."

Taking a few smoke bombs from his belt, Nightwing threw the booby traps onto the ground to try and blind his opponent. However, after the sound of a few smacks were heard, the hero came flying back out of the smoke, leaving Deathstroke standing victorious, "There's plenty, I assure you, but none with half the ability you have. Your bone and muscle structure tell me you're twenty at the most. I may have been hired to kill you, but when I saw a kid your age with this much skill, I just couldn't pass it up. There's something much bigger to be gained from letting you live."

Nightwing held his bruised side and looked back over at his team, who he saw had almost finished with crazed Christmas robots. Deathstroke was good, but even he had trouble taking on all five of them, "Why don't you stick around a little longer Slade? The whole team wants to give you our Christmas present together."

"A tempting offer, but I think I'll pass for now," Deathstroke responded looking up into the sky, "I was merely trying to remind you of something; that the longer you refuse my request, the more danger you put your team in. Who will pay the price for your insufferable sense of justice, hm? Beast Boy? Raven? Your precious Starfire? Even on the sweet night of Christmas Eve, they're not safe. Remember that Nightwing…"

With that, Deathstroke jumped back into the shadows. The young hero decided not to chase after him, opting instead to help his team take out the remaining nutcracker's. Thanks to Slade Wilson, this would be a Christmas Eve he would not soon forget.

* * *

"Geeze, talk about an unmerry Christmas," Naruto mumble as the Titan's finished their story, "You hadn't even been there very long at that point. You must have really made an impression on that Deathstroke guy."

Dick didn't need to be reminded of that, "He's been recruiting me like a madman. Seems like every time something goes wrong in that city, it leads back to Slade and his plan to have me take up his mantle. I don't know what has him so eager to get me. He's got a daughter named Rose somewhere out there, he could just go and train her. It doesn't matter. I've held him off plenty long so far, I can hold him off a little longer."

Finding herself enjoying the stories very much, Barbara decided to keep things going, "How about we talk about a Christmas that was a little happier? Naruto, this only the fifth Christmas you've ever had. Which one's been your favorite so far?"

"Huh...you know I'm not sure," Naruto said, after pondering it for a second, "It's probably my favorite holiday from America, so it's kinda hard to choose. If I had to pick, I'd say it was my first one, when we opened presents and had to run off to see what Mr. Freeze was up to pretty much right after. You guys remember that one, don't you?"

Barbara needed little time to remember that not so white Christmas, "Oh yeah, the year with no snow on the ground. I never could've predicted the way that one would turn out. Heck, I don't think anybody could've…"

* * *

The Bat family sprinted up the stairs as quickly as they could manage, with Batman leading the charge and the Red Fox, Batgirl, and the original Robin following behind him. They needed to reach the top of the largest hotel in Gotham, which was the Cobblepot Luxury Inn at that time, as that was where the notorious Mr. Freeze had set up shop. Adapting some confiscating technology the Justice League had gotten from the Weather Wizard, the mad scientist had created a device that had the capabilities to create a blizzard that could tear Gotham apart. If it was used at its most powerful, in a matter of minutes one of the largest cities in the world would be thrown into a new ice age. That was something Batman would not let happen, "Just a couple more floors and we'll reach him. Best I can figure, Freeze is going to put the city up for large ransom in exchange for not setting off the device. Last I heard he was getting low on research money, so I was waiting for him to make a move like this. Robin, do you think that you can hack Freeze's suit once we get up there?"

"Um, maybe," Robin said, though he sounded less than confidant, "He tends to change the interface of his suit every time we fight because he knows I can hack into his systems. If you're looking for fast results, I'm probably not the best bet."

The Red Fox had an idea he felt could work, "What if we used one my clones to sneak up on Mr. Freeze and put that EMP thing on him? Dad said that if it works, it would turn off all the electrical stuff in this guy's suit, right?"

It sounded like a good plan on the surface, but Batman had some doubts, "The EMP Pulser isn't completed yet, so it doesn't have good range or a strong effect at the moment. You'd have to place it right on the generator on Freeze's back for it to work. Having you that close to him seems like a bad idea to me. You'll end up frozen, maybe even worse."

"It's not necessarily the best idea, but we don't have enough time to come up with a better one," Batgirl pointed out, not relishing in the idea of a frozen over Gotham, "I say we let him go for it, unless you've got something else in mind."

Batman was trying to think of a safer plan at that very moment, but he was drawing a rather large blank. There was no time to think something less risky like they typically would, "I suppose if the Red Fox promises he'll be safe about it, I'll let that be current course of action. Now enough talking, we've got to move! Only one more floor left and we'll have reached Freeze."

The group went silent as they rounded the corner to reach the final stairwell. This was the one that would lead them to the roof, and it was heavily covered in ice that had likely been left there by the passing villain. Batman took an explosive capsule off from his belt and threw it at the door, shattering the ice around it. It was still slippery in some parts, but it was good enough to allow the team to reach the door. They all burst through to find Mr. Freeze typing away at a terminal with a device next to him, "Ah, Batman and his friends have arrived. Merry Christmas to the three of you, though it doesn't really feel like Christmas just yet. There isn't any snow on the ground."

"And there's not going to be if we've got anything to say about it," Robin fired back as the Red Fox discreetly made a clone and sent it off to sneak up on the villain, "We're not going to let your cold heart destroy this city Freeze, so give it up!"

Mr. Freeze looked surprised and almost a little hurt by that statement, "I'm not trying to destroy this city, I'm trying to help it. Nora is going to get the only present that I can give to her this year. Really it's a present for Gotham as well as her."

It was then that Batman saw a portable cryo chamber holding Nora a few feet from the Freeze. Why had the mad scientist bothered to bring her up here? The plot of this little encounter was thickening fast, "Why'd you bring your wife with you Victor? Did you want her to see the horrible things that you've been doing in her name?"

"Again, I have no idea what you think I'm going to be doing here today, but I assure you there is no malice behind it," Freeze responded, beginning to turn a bit more tender with his words, "I really am here to give Nora her Christmas gift, at least in a sense. You see, every Christmas morning, instead of running down stairs to open presents or making ourselves a pot of coffee, we would do something a little different. Every year, we'd bundle ourselves up, make some hot coco for the road, and then begin to walk out into the streets of Gotham. There's no rhyme or reason to where we'd go, rather, we let the scenery direct us. Nora told me that those holidays with me were some of her favorite moments of her life. A warm cup of cocoa in one hand, a candy cane popped in her mouth, and my hand firmly grasping hers was all she needed. The little things like that made the holidays more special to her than you can ever imagine. Snow though, I believe that snow was what she loved the most. For hours, Nora could watch it fall gracefully to the ground, listen to it crunch beneath her feet, and imagine what it would be like play in it with children of her own one day. Now, here we are, on a Christmas without any snow…and I can't help but think how sad it would make my sweet Nora."

Batgirl and the others had put the pieces together by this point, "That's what all this is about. You're not trying to cause some massive storm at all. You just want to make it a white Christmas for Nora."

That was a touching story, but it was one Batman didn't fully believe, "Forgive me Victor, but I find it a little challenging to trust you after everything that's transpired between us. How many times have you tried to murder this team for your own gain? How many lives have you taken in the name of your mission? How in the hell do expect us to believe a damn word that you say?"

"I understand your distrust of me, as I've done much over the years to earn it," Mr. Freeze responded, not the least bit angry. He took the freeze ray off from his hip, making the Bat family get into their battle positions. To their surprise though, he didn't pull the trigger, opting instead to throw at the Batman's feet, leaving him totally defenseless, "I've done a great many awful things to you Batman, but lying isn't one of them. Even when I intend to end your life, I was always honest about my intentions. The same is true now. All I want is to give Gotham its white Christmas...for Nora's sake."

Robin had never seen Mr. Freeze this venerable before, and it was certainly making him wonder, "Well, he hasn't asked for a ransom or anything yet. I hate to say it, but I think he might actually be telling the truth here. What do you think? Should we still stop him."

The Dark Knight stayed silent, playing the ways that the situation could go out in his head. There didn't seem to be an angel here for Mr. Freeze to play, which made Batman much calmer. With the Red Fox's clone now behind the villain, he made his decision, "Red Fox, hold off an using the pulser for now. If he does anything I don't like, I'll give you the signal to shut him down. I'm giving you one chance Victor, so don't be foolish and waste it."

"Alright Batman, I'll hold off for now," Said the Red Fox's clone, which Mr. Freeze only now noticed. It was the one chakra based power that the hero showed off to every villain regularly, and it was one that still confused them to no end, "You heard him Freeze, go ahead and do what you're gonna do. Just don't anything stupid."

Freeze briefly glanced at the boy and then nodded, returning to his terminal. He made some brief calculations and typed a few last minute commands in before finally hitting the enter key. The device next to him, which looked like a radio tower with a large power coil on top, began to shoot brief flashes of lightning into the sky. All of the bright blue color indicating it was to be a clear sunny day began to vanish, and white clouds slowly but surely took its place. As the Gotham air turned frigid, a white powder began to descend upon them, making all of them smile. Even Batman cracked a little grin when he saw Freeze walk over to his frozen wife and whisper to her, "You see darling, it's just as I promised. Snow on Christmas morning and you and I together, as it always should be. Thank you all, for allowing me this moment with her. It means more to me than words can express. It's not much, but I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas"

The clone of the Red Fox dispersed and tossed the EMP Pulser back to Batman, who said simply, "You're welcome, but don't expect me to let you do this every year. If we don't have any snow this time next Christmas, it's going to stay that way. Pack everything up so that I can take you to Arkham and return this equipment to where it belongs...oh, and a Merry Christmas to you too."

* * *

"It all sounds a little cheesy and stuff, but it was really one of the nicest things I'd ever seen," Naruto said, finishing up the story, "To this day, it still kinda gets me a little bit."

Alfred remembered that day with the utmost fondness, "Ah yes, what a day that turned out to be. You all came home and I made us a roaring fire to combat the oncoming cold. I think that was the perfect way to introduce young master Naruto to Christmas. It showed him that the holiday is about using your effort to show others how much you really care about them."

As great a story as it was, it struck Raven as rather unexpected, "Wow, Bruce really did that for him? He struck me as a real hardass, follow the rules no matter what type of guy. It's really cool and all, but it kind of changes the way that I look at him."

"Oh that's nothing," Said the easily identifiable voice of Mei, entering the room with a smile on her face, "You guys have to tell her about what Bruce did last Christmas with that Roxy Rocket girl. That's the one where he really showed how big his heart is."

Naruto jumped out his seat and gave the woman a large hug, happy to see she and his father had returned for their honeymoon, "Hey, you're back! How was you and Dad's trip? You guys have fun?"

The woman giggled and leaned down to give her step son a hug, "Yes, we had a wonderful time. I'm sure you father will tell you a bit about once he's done bringing the bags up. How about we tell Raven and Starfire that story before he gets here?"

"Sure thing," Naruto said with a bright smile on his face, turning to the two previously mentioned girls, "Well it all started when we found out some freaking rocket lady was visiting Gotham…"

* * *

Roxy Rocket was likely one Batman's least well known foes, despite the fact that she was also one of the most colorful. Roxanne Rocket was once a prominent stunt women in the movie business, right up there with Zoë Bell in terms success, until her career came to screeching halt on one of her films. During the filming of the new Grey Ghost movie, Roxanne intentionally increased the number of explosives set to go off behind her when she doubled for the film's main star, Jessica Chastain. Though it did give her the thrill she was looking for, the woman nearly killed herself and cost the studio a large sum of money in damages, causing her dismissal from the film industry all together. Not the kind to give up on her life of excitement, Roxanne decided to create herself a small rocket like device that she could steer herself and become Roxy Rocket, the craziest daredevil the world had ever seen. Most of her stunts however were so dangerous that they broke several laws and safety violations, and she even stole from time to time in order to pay for repairs on her equipment. This lead Batman and his team to stop her and throw her in prison, though her crimes were small enough that she'd been able to plead down to five years. Thanks to good behavior, she was out in three, and on Christmas Eve was already back to her old tricks.

"Woohoo! Here we Gotham! It's time for me to really light up this Christmas," Roxy called as she rode her rocket through the night sky for the first time in years, "Who needs Santa Clause when you've got me?"

She had been cat calling so loud that she almost missed the sound of the Batwing flying right up behind her. Roxy did her the plane's exhaust pipes however, causing her to turn around and see that the Bat family was right on her tail, "Oh come on, it hasn't even been half an hour yet! You couldn't give me half an hour? Pull over, I wanna talk to you!"

After slowing down as much as she could for a landing, Roxy touched down on a small warehouse that was ironically enough owned Wayne Tech. The Batwing soon landed next to her, allowing Batman and the Red Fox to jumped out. It ended up being the younger hero speaking first, "Really Roxy? You get parroled on Christmas Eve and the first thing you do is go pull a stunt like this? I was trying show my friends a bunch of Christmas movies tonight, why'd you have to go all thrill seeker on us?"

"Hey, look kid, this ain't just a thrill for me! I'm trying to turn over a whole new leaf," Roxy fired back, kicking open the cargo hold of her rocket to reveal that it was filled to the brim boxes and toys of all kinds, "You see, I was gonna deliver these toys to bunch of kids myself!"

The Red Fox looked inside to see that she was telling the truth, but the revelation actually raised more questions, "Where in the hell did you get all this stuff? Who are you delivering it to exactly?"

All of a sudden Roxy got a touch nervous, "Where did I get them? Well...why don't we just forget about that part, huh? How about we focus on the fact that I was bringing them to an orphanage."

"Really? An orphanage," Batman asked, finding the idea a bit over the top, "If hadn't been so heavy handed right there, I might have believed you. Come on, we're taking you to see Commissioner Gordon. We'll get this all settled at the police station."

Roxy could see she was losing them, "What? No! I really was gonna give them to an orphanage. I couldn't think of anything, and that's what you always see them do in the movies, so I just went with that. The toys...well honestly, I stole those from a mall, but so what? Those guys are rich enough anyways!"

Neither hero was entirely sure that they believed her, but they didn't want those toys to go to waste on Christmas. Batman decided that he had the solution, "Tell me what mall it was and give me the presents, then you go home and I'll try to pretend that this never happened."

"Really? You're just gonna give the toys back to the," Roxy started to say, before the Red Fox raised up his hand to stop her, "Huh? What is it?"

The Red Fox had already figured out his father's plan was at this point, "We're not taking the toys back, we're gonna deliver them ourselves. We need to know what mall you hit so that we can make sure all this stuff still gets paid for. We're gonna let this slide because it's Christmas, but if we see out in your Roxy getup with that rocket again, we'll drag you back to Arkham so fast it'll make your head spin."

It wasn't quite what she wanted, but it was good enough in Roxy's book, "Alright, fine. Just let me unload the presents and then I'll go. Those kids better be happy after all the trouble I went through for this…"

"Well, she might not have done it the right way, but I think Roxanne's heart was in the right place," Batman told him, then asked one last question before he began to help Roxy with the loading, "What movie did you still need to show Gaara and them anyways?"

The Red Fox had trouble keeping himself from laughing as he said, "Bad Santa…"

His father's surprise was almost hidden under his mask, "Aren't you a little young for that movie? Who showed it to you anyway?"

"Dick showed it to me, who else?" The Red Fox said, an answer Batman realized should've been obvious, "And really? I fight crime every night in the toughest city in the world, but I too young for Bad Santa?"

The Dark Knight had no room to dispute that point, "I suppose you're right. I'm going to move all these gifts before I find out something else I didn't want to know. Come on, it'll go by faster if you help."

* * *

At that, the story ended with everyone in the room enjoying the warm tale. Bruce had entered the room a few moments earlier, commenting once the story was over, "To my surprise, Roxy hasn't done anything stupid in the past year. Never thought that thrill seeker would actually stick to her plan of laying low. Not that I'm complaining, it is less work after all. Who knows, maybe this year we'll actually have a nice, calm Christmas."

"I imagine that we will Master Bruce, considering how quiet things have been lately," Alfred said, adding in almost to himself, "Though I do wonder how things will go now that my son Zabuza is stopping over for dinner tomorrow evening."

And so, those last few words resulted in Alfred having to explain to the room of shocked people just what in the hell he was talking about. It was the final story of the night, and one that brought a pleasant close to an even more pleasant Christmas Eve...


	33. Dedication

Hello everyone, and welcome to first chapter of the new year! I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday and that 2016 is starting out even better than last year. The idea behind this chapter is a simple one: I'll be wrapping everything up before we jump into the next time skip, with a little action thrown in to keep things interesting. I'm not sure if I told you guys about this yet, but the time period will be pushed up next chapter to the point where Naruto will be about 16. It's simply that the next arc I was planning requires a lot of time, and I didn't want to try and bridge the gap with some useless filler. Don't worry, it'll all be taken care of this chapter. Thank you for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Tom Petty: Last Dance with Mary Jane

* * *

Another year had come and gone at Wayne Manor, ushering in another set of changes for the Bat Family. Though Christmas had been cheerful and New Years had been a blast, Dick soon had to return to Jump city in order to defend it with the rest of his team. It was a sad goodbye to be sure, and it wasn't going to be the only one either. Now that the holidays were over, it was finally time for Tsunade to take up the position of Hokage as she had promised her sensei she would. That meant both she and Shizune were going back to live in the hidden Leaf. In a tearful goodbye, Naruto had say farewell as the two women headed back to their homeland, with Shizune making him promise to stay safe and Tsunade making him promise not to let up on his training now that she wasn't gonna be there all the time. Though it was difficult for the boy, he was happy that Tsunade was getting the chance to live up to the rest of her family's legacy. All of this did leave Naruto with one major delam though; the mansion was now all but empty.

"Hello? Anybody? Echo," Naruto called out as he wandered around his home by himself. His dad was off working, Barbara was spending time with her father, Mei was in the hidden Mist, and rest of the gang had all moved out. That meant the only one in the house was Alfred, who was usually cleaning or cooking something. The older man did help with Naruto's training whenever he could, but that still meant that there were hours of the day where the boy had no real companionship. The blonde was finding that he really didn't enjoy solitude very much, "Come on, there's gotta be something for me to do. I've been off school for 3 and a half hours and I'm already bored out of my mind. Alfred, do you know for sure when Dad's supposed to get home?"

The butler called back to him from the kitchen, "I'm afraid not Master Naruto, but I believe it's in about half an hour or so. Why don't you put something on the television? That should entertain you for at least that long."

Naruto threw himself on the couch, shrugging his shoulders, "I already did my homework, trained, for two hours, and I've been watching tv and playing video games for more than an hour. Man, this is really gonna suck when summer hits…"

"I'm sorry my boy, I know this must be rough for you, seeing as how you've almost always had somewhere here to interact with you in the past," Alfred said, walking into the living room, "There's nothing I can do about it today, but I may be able to get my son to bring over Haku tomorrow afternoon so that the two of you may spar. Would you like that?"

An offer like that was enough to lift Naruto's spirits almost immediately, "Really! Hell yeah, that sounds awesome! Haku was talking about this crazy bloodline that he has, and I'm just learning how to use the Soultaker Sword, so that would be an amazing fight!"

Alfred had to conquer with the blonde's conclusion. Haku had shown off some of his powers after dinner on Christmas day, and it was quite the sight to behold. He'd gotten even more skilled since they'd been hired by Scarecrow a couple months prior, and it was likely he could give Naruto a real run for his money. Something did seem odd to Alfred though, "You're going to use the Soultaker Sword? I say, couldn't that do some real damage to your opennet."

"Only if my goal was actually to rip the energy from his body," Naruto answered, understanding of the butler's concerns, "It's main use is to absorb chakra and other type of powers used to attack me. According to Kurama, it's more useful for defense that it is for offense, at least most of the time."

That explanation served to increase Alfred's fascination with the blade. Zabuza had done some research on the katana while he was in the Hidden Mist, as it was something of a legend over there, and told his father about all the blood that he been spilt trying to obtain the sword. It had been one of the few thing Alfred had been able to get Zabuza to talk about during his visit, as the shinobi still seemed less than thrilled with the idea of having his father in his life. Hopefully this little spar that Alfred was setting up would give the two of them a chance to talk further, "Good information to have. I'll give Lady Mei a heads up tonight to send our two friends over for the afternoon. Now, you go and enjoy your program Master Naruto. Leave the rest to me."

Naruto sighed at having nothing to do again, but went back to the couch to try and relax nonetheless. His dad would be home soon enough, which meant they could plan some of their night activities, "Huh, I wonder what all the big name criminals have been up to lately. After Black Mask got axed off, none of them really did anything. This is gotta be the least bloody war I've ever seen. Talk about your calm before the storm."

* * *

"Are we really going to do this?" Two Face asked, not only to himself, but to all the others sitting with him at the table, "We're all agreeing to hand over control of the Gotham Crime Syndicate to the Scarecrow? No one's going to fight this thing?"

The way the Riddler saw it, there wasn't a whole lot of fighting that they could do, "He's got Poison Ivy and Bane on his side, and that crazed clown woman is supposedly siding with him too. That means he'll have the Joker's old crew at his disposal as well. At this point, we'd have to all band together to stop him, and even if we did that, it'll end up costing us more than it's worth. I say we go with it and be glad that we have someone less mad than the Joker in charge now."

Harley Quinn, who always did have impeccable timing, let her squeaky voice ring out at that moment, having arrived only a few moment earlier, "Yeah, Crane might not be as wacko as Mr. J was, but that just means he won't be as much fun either. Make way everybody! Harley needs a place to sit."

"Oh great, now the real pain in the arse shows up," Penguin grumbled as Harley Quinn entered the room. He noted not only the darker shades her clothes and makeup now had, but also that there was some sort of bodyguard with her. A younger looking man with a red mask covering his entire head, "Who's the new muscle? He looks a little young to be working for ya. Taking a page outta the Bat's book?"

Shrugging back at him, Harley Quinn sat down across from Two-Face, draping herself across the arms of the chair. She took out a cigarette, which the hooded figure next to her quickly lit with a lighter he pulled from the pocket of a leather jacket he was wearing. After taking a puff, she grabbed her bodyguard and gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek, "Good boy Red. Huh, gonna be weird calling you that instead of Pammy. Oh well, she'll get used to it."

"That I will Harley," Said the Poison Ivy, having just walked in the room. She looked at the mysterious figure as if she'd seen him before, walking over and giving him another kiss on the cheek, "Glad to see your new friend here is working out. I'll sit next to you if you don't mind."

Harley wouldn't have had it any other way. As her friend sat down, the villainess noticed her guard was about to wipe the green and black lipstick marks off his cheeks, which she wouldn't allow, "Hey, leave those where they are. You should be proud, two pretty girls like us marking on territory on you. New Rule: If Pammy or I kiss you, the mark stays. Got it?"

No words came from the hooded figure, opting to nod his head instead. It had been an odd display, but it was one that told all of the villains in the room one very important thing: this was someone who would do anything that Harley Quinn said. Before any more comments could be made on the matter, Scarecrow entered the room with Bane closely behind him. Though the hispanic man had originally hated the idea of working as Crane's protector, he was starting to see that the job had its perks. As long as his men continued to assist and defend Scarecrow, than the villain agree to give Bane access to his massive chemical bank, and promised to help improve the Venom serum whenever he had time to. Considering how little he was actually going to need Bane, since he now had Harley's men to do most of his ground work for him, it was really an excellent deal. With everyone now in place, Scarecrow began the meeting. He sat down at the head of the table, slamming his fist into the wood surface to silence everyone, "Attention guests! It's time for our negotiations to begin. Everyone here has come willing to hand the reigns of Gotham over to me, but I'm sure you all have demands you'd like to make. Bane and Poison Ivy, in exchange for being well compensated for their assistance, have agreed to my terms. Harley Quinn and I have to come to a special arrangement that I can assure you all would be tedious to explain. With Black Mask dead, that leaves The Penguin, Two Face, and the Riddler as the only major parties undecided. Catwoman would've been in the mix as well, but she's been rather absent in the criminal underworld as of late. People like Clayface and Mr. Freeze tend to keep to themselves, so there's no rush to talk with them. I'll get to them when the opportunity presents itself."

"None of them are intelligent enough to be a real treat to any of us, expect for maybe Ms. Kyle," Riddler remarked before pulling out a few papers and sliding them over to Scarecrow, "These are my demands. Nothing too outlandish, I simply wish to be left to my own affairs. It's actually better that you take over, as my mind is far too valuable to waste on thinking of ways to corral a herd of common criminals."

Looking over the papers, it was clear to Crane that the Riddler's ego was as big as ever, "I believe we can accommodate these requests. Talk to me after the meeting so that we may be certain of everything. Dent, what sort of things were you looking for?"

Two Face had already come to terms with the fact that he was going to have to surrender some of his control, but if he was going to do that, he would at least get the most that he could out of the deal, "We don't want our business tampered with too much at all, but our main thing is that we don't want my niche in the Justice Department taken away from us. Look, we've got more than a couple of moles worked in that organization, and no one knows how to do it right but us. Only someone who worked there as long as we did can pull it off without them being noticed. The last thing we need is some idiot who doesn't know what they're doing screwing the whole thing up!"

"That only seems fair," Scarecrow said, seeing a lot of validity in the ex-district attorney's point, "If it isn't broken, there's no need to fix it. Penguin, that only leaves you. What's your big request?"

Oddly enough, Penguin really didn't have a long list of things he needed to feel comfortable in this situation, "Well, I've been thinking about it, and I decided I kinda like the number two spot. It's comfortable there, and there's not someone always trying to knock you off every other day. Shit, if you leave me most of the white collar crime and don't mess with my gang activity, I don't care what the bloody hell the rest of you do."

Scarecrow hadn't predicted things would go this smoothly, but he certainly wasn't sad that they had, "Excellent, I can assure to that with the greatest of ease. Now that all of that is settled, those who do not have anything further to discuss with me may leave. I anticipated this meeting being much longer, but I see my worries were misplaced. Thank you all for your time. Oh, and don't worry about the Batman tracking you down as you leave tonight. Killer Croc has graciously agreed to entertain him and his family for the night. Be on your way everyone."

"If you say so crow-man," Harley said, standing up and gesturing to her new friend to follow her. As she was about to pass the Scarecrow, she leaned down and whispered to him, "So we're all good, right? I keep letting you use my men, and you keep using your advanced psychology to keep Red under control."

The psychiatrist whispered back to her, trying to remain unheard, just like she was, "Yes Dr. Quinzel, I wil. I was the better of the two of us at warping minds back in our asylum days, and I still am now. He'll adhere to your every command as long as he continues his session with me."

Harley had been bringing the youth to see Scarecrow every week for a while now, and while she hated his methods, it was hard to argue with the results, "That stuff you do to him is worse than some of the stuff you did in Arkham...but it works. I'll send 20 boys over to your hideout tomorrow to help you move those Titan containers like you asked. What do you want with that stuff anyways? There's only a few barrels of it left and last I knew it still killed people after they used it."

"Don't be concerned, I have a purpose for it," Responded the new head of Gotham's underworld, a twisted glint in his eyes, "I almost had Gotham City in my hands years ago, but the Red Fox took it from me. Now I'm back to the spot I earned, but I'm unrecognizable. It's time for that brat to deal with the monster he's created. He's going to perish in the depths of his own darkened pyschy. Never again will he be able to question the power of fear. For now though, I'll leave him to Croc. Maybe one beast can destroy another."

* * *

Killer Croc was beginning to become a desperate man. His condition had begun to get worse, making his body turn into something much more ghastly than it ever had been. In total, his weight had almost doubled since the Joker's mad night at the asylum, and he was about a foot and a half taller than he used to be. He now stood at an astounding 9 feet tall, and his arms had started to look like canons. Both of his legs were now as thick around a tree trunks, and his feet looked as though they belonged on elephant, except for the large claws that jetted out of them. Speaking of claws, the ones on his hands would likely pierce steel, and Croc's teeth could bite through nearly anything his heart desired. The skin on his body had been rough before, but now it was near impenetrable, with large leathery spikes emanating from him in some places. It was a horrid transformation, but it's one that Croc himself was the cause of. After the incident at the asylum with the Titan monsters, Croc had managed to get a hold of one of the inmates who'd been experimented on. To him, it a giant muscled treat that he'd never get another crack at, so he gobbled most of it right up. What he didn't know was that the Titan that still ran through the patient's blood would affect him as well. Now his body was mutating, and he still had no way to stop it. Scarecrow claimed that he could help him, but only if Croc killed the Batman for him. It wouldn't be easy, but in this new form, who knew? It might actually be possible.

"Stay still you pricks! I'm trying to get my supper," Growled Killer Croc as he smashed his massive hand onto the ground below him, trying to crush Batman with his enormous hand. He'd backed the hero and his two companions, Cinder and the Red Fox, into an alleyway, as he knew he'd have more control over the fight in an enclosed space, "I'll suck the flesh clean from your bones, then swallow them whole!"

The man's voice was deeper and even more demonic sounding than it had been before, which almost had the Red Fox wanting to run as he did a backflip to avoid a kick from Croc's massive leg, "What the hell happened to you Jones? I thought you were ugly before, but now you really take the cake!"

Cinder dodged a snap from the killer's teeth, calling over to the Red Fox as she did, "Perhaps would should think about not antagonizing the hungry crocodile humanoid. Batman, any idea how this 'handsome' fellow got so big?"

"My best guess, he had a bad reaction to Titan," Batman said, ducking under another round of slashing claws, "Why would you inject that poison into your body Waylon? You had to expect you'd have a reaction like this?"

If he'd known what the result would be, Croc never would've taken even one bite of that inmate, "I made a bad meal choice after the Joker used the Titan, so I didn't know I was taking it to begin with! Now it's making me into even more of monster than I was before, and I can't stop it! Scarecrow's going to help me, but I need to kill you first. All those chemicals the Joker used, running through my blood! Bane's Venom, Ivy's plants, the Red Fox's blood!"

The Red Fox stopped on a dime when he heard that. This was first that he'd ever heard of his blood being used for the Titan. Kurama's chakra flashed around him and his growl came out, "What? What do you mean the Joker used my blood?"

"You didn't know about your part in this?" Killer Croc asked, noticing something forming in the Red Fox's hand, "What you got there shorty?"

In the hero's hand was a rasengan, a touch of red in it due to the Kyuubi's chakra. He jumped onto a nearby wall, kicking off from it to gain some height, and then shoving the rasengan into Croc's face, letting it burst ton knock out a few of his dagger like teeth. The huge mound of a man rocked back and forth before collapsing onto the ground like a fellow who'd just gotten a hard hit to the jaw would. Croc put his arms out in front of him to push himself up, but before he could finish, Cinder spat two globs of lava onto his hands, which quickly dried. Seeing what she was planning, Batman leapt to Killer Croc, jumping on his lower back to force him to stay down on the ground. With her opportunity apparent, Cinder spat more lava onto the villains legs, pinning him down firmly on the ground once it was dry. Since Croc no longer had any way to escape, the Red Fox walked safely over to him, pulling out the Soultaker Sword and putting close to the cannibal's face, "Okay Jones, since you can't bite my head off or cut me open anymore, you're gonna answer my previous question. What do you mean the Joker used my blood?"

Croc growled in anger, frustrated by the way they'd beaten him so easily. However, the Red Fox's blade being only inches from his face forced him to say what they wanted to hear, "The Joker had trouble getting Titan to work, even with samples of Venom pulled right from Bane's blood and Ivy's plants. So, he kept working at it, using his bizarre knowledge of chemicals to try and make it work. After nearly a month, he still couldn't get it to do what he wanted and he was starting to think he wouldn't have it done in time for his big plan. That is until Scarecrow took a look at it and he told that clown he knew how to make it work. I don't know all the details, but it has something to do with your blood those scars you left on his face that he can't ever get rid of."

"I don't know, this all sounds pretty shady to me," The Red Fox said, finding the story rather ridiculous, "Why would me messing up his face give him a way to finish up the Titan? How did Scarecrow get my blood in the first place?"

Being the great detective that he was, Batman had already figured that out, "When you were knocked out from the fear toxin during the Cloudburst incident. I think Croc may be telling the truth Red Fox. I've done studies on your powers, and while others like you like you can heal from chakra based injuries normally enough, those without have nothing in their body to repair the damage. In essence, you need chakra to heal chakra. It's possible Scarecrow may have found a way to use the irreversible effect chakra has on the normal human body to make Titan's effect permanent."

Croc felt like he was very much out of the loop, "What's chakra? I don't really give a fuck, I just wanna know if there's some way to stop it from the doing all damage it's doing to my body."

"_**Hey Kit, this might be a good time to test out the progress you've made with the Soultaker Sword," **_Went off Kurama's voice in Naruto's head, "_**If you use the sword to suck out the chakra that's running through him, it should keep his condition from getting any worse. Go on, give it a try."**_

It seemed rather risky to the Red Fox, but Croc really did need some help. He put his blade up to the man's shoulder and began to course the Kyuubi's chakra through it. Before the heroes could ask what the boy's plan was, he buried the steel into Croc's scaly flesh. While he screamed in pain, Batman lunged as though he was going to stop the Red Fox. Cinder grabbed his hands, pointing out a strange green looking energy that the Soultaker Sword was pulling from the villain. Now that they knew what he was doing, the two let the Red Fox get back to his work. A few moments later, all of the chakra had left Croc's body, causing him to breath a sigh of relief, "That...that actually feels great...geeze kid, what the hell did you do to me?"

The Red Fox pulled out the blade and wiped off the slight bit of blood that had gotten on it, sheathing it back onto his belt, "I sucked the chakra out of your blood, it should stop you from growing any more than you already have. There's nothing I can do about how big you've gotten, but hopeful we can figure out a course of action soon."

"Good, I think I was starting to grow a tail or something," Croc replied, finding that most of his anger had subsided. He noticed that his shoulder had already sealed up, which didn't surprise him any more, "Looks like I'm still healing faster than usual though. Eh, I don't mind that part so much. So what, you gonna take me back to Arkham now?"

Considering he was a dangerous criminal, Batman didn't have much of a choice, "We'll be taking you right to the asylum, yes. Then we're going to head home and do a little research on what Titan's real purpose might have been. The Joker may have saw as a way to have a little fun, but I think Scarecrow had bigger plans for it. Croc, are you going to go quietly, are we gonna have to do this the hard way? I'd rather not deal with trying to move someone your size if you're gonna struggle. You know what's gonna happen if you struggle, don't you?"

Croc had been doing this long enough to get the idea, "Yeah, you'll knock my ass out. Don't worry, I'll work with ya. So...is anyone gonna tell me what the hell chakra is?"

"No, but I will wipe that little detail from your memory so that you don't go blabbing about it," Cinder said, walking towards a shocked looking, "Stay still, this won't hurt a bit."

Strangely enough, that was most frightened anyone had ever seen Croc, "Hold on, you're doing what to my memory? Hey! HEY!"

* * *

Tsunade had been the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf for less than a week, and in that short amount of time she had already done more paperwork than she'd ever done in her entire life. Hokages were known for having shorter lifespans than most ninjas, and after all this work, Tsunade knew why. They were all offing themselves instead having to do all of this paper work, "I swear, if I have to fill out one more report for a D-rank mission, I'm going to throw this freaking desk out that window!"

"I told you not to take that job Hime," Came the voice of her lover Jiraiya, entering the circular office with a shit eating grin on his face, "It's not all excitement and epic battles. Most of it's dealing with paperwork and political bullshit."

This wasn't new information to Tsunade, "I know that, I took the job to make sure that you didn't. We both know when those epic fights do come, I'm the one who's actually suited for the battle. I need you to live dammit. Foolish as it might be, I do you love you, ya old pervert."

Jiraiya smiled and chuckled at the admission, walking over and giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Same to you Hime, same to you. So, do you know why I'm here?"

"Knowing you, it's probably to try and get me into bed," Tsunade responded, moving to another piece of paperwork, "As much as I'd love that, I don't know if I've got the time at the moment. Maybe if I get far enough tonight, we'll see."

For once, sex wasn't what was on Jiraiya's mind. Well, not entirely anyways, "I sure as hell wouldn't turn down a night with you, but that's not the big issue right now. We need to up Naruto's training regiment. The boy's no where near ready for what's coming for him."

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya as if he'd just said the boy's skin was going to turn purple, "Up his training regimen? The kids already training more than any chunin I've ever seen. Even with school, he trains 2 hours a day on his ninjutsu and is out with his father for more than double that every night fighting criminals hand to hand. I think his taijutsu is almost as good as Lee's at this point. All in all, he must train at least six hours every weekday and probably more than that on weekends. How much more training can he do?"

"It's not the amount of training I'm worried about, more the things he's being trained in," Jiraiya explained, which did make a touch more sense to Tsunade, "His taijutsu is beyond exceptional for a kid his age, I agree with you on that, and he's been doing great with wind chakra training and he's been doing pretty good using the Kyuubi's power too. Still though, I need to get him up to speed on his toad training if he's gonna be a sage by the time he needs to be, and he needs someone a little more skilled than Bruce to teach him how to use that sword. Don't get me wrong, the man's good with a blade, but not good enough to teach Naruto everything that he needs to know, and the Kyuubi can only help Naruto so much from inside his head."

Some of that sounded a bit extreme to Tsunade, "You want Naruto to be a Sage? Even you haven't gotten that far yet. If you train him at that rate, he's gonna be near Kage level before his 20th birthday. Does he really need to be this strong this fast?"

Jiraiya didn't see any other route to send the boy down, "Naruto's going to be going up against the Akatsuki, a group of S-ranked ninjas hell bent on retrieving every single tailed beast on the planet. I've shown you the members I was able to confirm, and even I wouldn't wanna go up against most of them. Then there's this Ra's Al Ghul guy, who'd use an entire league of assassins if that's what it took to get the Kyuubi. Lastly, there's the Scarecrow, Naruto's new nemesis or something like that. He's quickly becoming a major threat too. With a list of enemies like that, Naruto's going to need to be even more powerful than either of us are if he's going to survive. There's no time to wait on this Hime, not if you want to make sure he lives."

"It always scares me a little bit when you start making that much sense," Tsunade said, earning a chuckle from her lover, "But you're right, Naruto's safety is a major priority for the Hidden Leaf, and me in particular. So, how do recomend we get this training situation all fixed up?"

For this particular situation, Jiraiya didn't want the change to be too abrupt. It needed to be more gradual than anything, "If he hadn't grown so close to his family, I would've just taken him on a training trip with me for a year or two. I doubt Bruce would take too kindly to me taking his son away from him for that long. The best thing we can do is start having me go to the mansion more often so that I can tell him what he needs to do until my next visit. Hopefully he'll be ready for Sage training by the time he's 17. He's just barely under jonin level right now, and I feel like I'm underestimating him a bit by saying that, but I think he'll be able to take on most Anbu before long. Naruto's a damn strong kid, but he's got some work to do. Hopefully his father's alright with that."

Tsunade knew that Bruce would understand why these changes would need to be made his son's training regimen, even if the man preferred to have control over it, "No matter how controlling he is, Bruce always steps aside if he knows it's what's best for Naruto. You're next visit with them is in a few days, so we may as well wait until then to discuss it with them. Now, you stay where you're at, and in an hour we'll retire to the Hokage Mansion...Oh god, another D-rank. You know what? Let's go now! I need to work out a little stress!"

"Well when you put it like that," Jiraiya said, appearing behind her in a flash and picking her up bridal style, "Guess you'll have to make Shizune finish up these forms for you tomorrow."

That implied that wasn't already the case, "She's already use to it, so it won't come as much of a shock. Hell, I think she enjoys. It keeps her mind off from...well, you know."

Jiraiya could safely assume that Shizune was trying to keep her mind off from the death of Jason Todd, whom she'd grown very close to. It was part of the reason she'd been so willing to leave America. That place reminded her too much of the boy who'd come to adore her. Tsunade hated seeing her apprentice so sad, which in turn made Jiraiya hate seeing his lover to sad. He nuzzled the crook of her neck, whispering gently to her, "It'll be okay Hime. She's got you here to help her throught. If I was struggling with loss, there's no one else I'd rather have by my side. Now come on, let me take you to bed. I'm gonna show you that Shizune's not the only one you mean a lot to."

* * *

"Alright, it's time to settle this once and for all. We're gonna finally find out who's tougher, me or Haku," Naruto said with enthusiasm, bouncing around vigorously to get himself warmed up, "What do you think buddy? Is your Ice Bloodline gonna be enough to take me?"

The boy, who was about a year or two older than Naruto, was confident in his abilities, at least enough to beat his current opponent anyways. Yet, that was far from Haku's main concern at the moment. At that time, he was trying to figure out how they were going to have a decent shinobi spar indoors, "Before I answer your question, I must ask something. I understand that this is a training room, and a rather large one at that, but with two people such as ourselves who are rather destructive when they fight, shouldn't we be doing this outdoors?'

Naruto could see why Haku might think that, given that he didn't know how advance the training room actually was, "If it wasn't for the risk of people seeing us use chakra, we might have done that. That's not a risk that we can take though, which is fine because this room is built to take a beating. The walls are made of some crazy kinda concrete that's actually part plant. It makes it really strong, and even if it does get busted it, it'll actually repair itself. Even better, it's pretty absorbent material, so it doesn't hurt to much when you hit it. Freaky stuff, but man is it useful. That put your mind at easy?"

"What an intriguing substance," Haku said to himself, running his fingers across the small concrete, "If what you have said is true, then yes, I feel ready for our spar. Thank you Lady Mizukage and Mr. Pennyworth, for setting all of this up for us."

It had been a long time since anyone had called Alfred 'Mr. Pennyworth.' He found the name brought a smile to his face as he stood next to Bruce and Mei, "Oh, there's no need to call me that, Haku. Alfred is fine by me. As for Lady Mei,well, you'd best call her whatever she wishes to be called. She is your superior after all."

Barbara, who had been waiting to watch this battle all day long, was getting tired of the exposition, "You know, if we stand here and talk for much longer, these two aren't gonna have much time left to fight. Although I guess we should wait for Zabuza to get here. He probably wants to watch his student fight."

"Oh no, Master Zabuza said he'd found out about some business that had to be attended to right away, and that I shouldn't wait for him to begin the fight," Haku responded back quickly, having nearly forgotten that his teacher was nowhere near him, "He did want to be here, but there was simply no way he could let the matter wait, or so he told me."

A part of Alfred wondered if his son was merely trying to avoid him, but that honestly didn't seem like it fit the rest of Zabuza's mannerisms. For the time being, he would shelve those thought in favor of getting the fight started, "Then we shall clear the way for you so that the two of you may begin. Fair warning, if we feel that either of you are going too far in this spar, we will put a stop to the fight. So, to put it simply, don't kill one another."

Both teens nodded, then walked over to opposite ends of the room. Bruce was finally able to start the battle, "Alright you two, on the count of three, start going at it ...1...2...3!"

"Let's get wild," Naruto called, using his typical battle cry. He took out four kunai and threw them at Haku, who dodged them seamlessly by arching his back far enough so that they went right over him. When he arched back up, he found Naruto right in front of him with his fist pulled back, ready to strike, "Distractions, ya gotta love em!"

Haku reacted in a fraction of a second, using the back of his hand to deflect the first punch and try for a jab of his own. Naruto saw the attacking coming though, grabbing his opponents now extended wrist and throwing him across the room. After a skidding a few feet, Haku managed to roll onto his shoulder and into a standing position from there. They lunged at one another to continue the battle, leaving Mei to ask Bruce, "You've got the leg up on me in hand to hand combat, so I'll ask you this: If it was just a pure taijutsu fight, who do you think would win it?"

That was a tough question, as there were plenty of variables to take into account, "Well, Haku's faster than Naruto, though not by much, and he's got one style that he's mastered whereas Naruto tends to use a mixture of multiple styles. On the other hand, Naruto hits much harder and the reason he uses that style is the same reason I do; it's designed to help adapt against any style you come up against. Really, this one's a toss up. I'd give the edge to Naruto if you twisted my arm, but it's anyone's game at this point."

"Great Breakthrough," Naruto cried, grabbing everyone's attention once again as the boy emmated a massive gust of wind from his lips and fired it at Haku. This was the first ninjutsu attack of the spar, "Let's see how you handle this one!"

Haku handle it by digging in his feet and covering his face with his hands. Once the wind subsided, he knew that Naruto was going to be right in front of him once again, going for another aggressive assault. Before Haku even finished lowering his hands, he already had something in mind to counter the oncoming attack. He threw a pale blue ball of chakra onto the ground, creating a bundle of sharp, icy shares that forced Naruto to jump back before he could finish his attack. Naruto retaliated by putting his hands into the Ram seal and creating a dozen clones, most of which charged right away at Haku while a few stayed back, some to create a rasengan and others to someone a toad or two.

Alfred was beginning to get a bit nervous at how intense this fighting was getting, "Oh dear, this is getting a bit out of hand. Perhaps we should call the fight here…"

"Nah, they'll be fine," Zabuza said, entering the room with a level of silence that impressed even Bruce, "If Haku busts out his mirrors or blondie busts out his Soultaker Sword, then we may need to step in. By the way, the Mizukage said Bruce isn't entirely sure how to show Naruto how that thing works. I wouldn't mind teaching him how to use it, if you guys are cool with that anyways."

As Haku did his best to dodge the onslaught of attacks, and he was doing very well in that endeavor, Alfred responded happily, "That would be wonderful actually, thank you. Tsunade called and told us that Jiraiya wished to speak with us about Master Naruto's training, so I imagine that your help would be a nice addition. Um, son, is that blood I see on your shoulder there?"

Zabuza looked down to see a red blotch did indeed stain his skin, which he quickly wiped with the flick of his wrist, "Damn, I thought I got it all. Guess the cat's outta the bag. Before I got here, I got a last second lead on a guy I've been chasing for a couple of weeks now here in the states. So, rather than lose him just to see a spar, I decided to chase him down and um...finish the job, as it were."

"I see," Alfred said awkwardly, not sure how to responded to that. In the end, he broke the tension with a joke, "Anybody I know?"'

Ironically enough, it actually was, "Let's not have you ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, eh pops?"

Alfred caught that last bit just as he saw Haku barely get out of the way of a rasengan in time, "So it was then. It's alright son, I was in the service as well. I know what it's like to have to kill in the line of duty. Lord knows Fredrick still gets to me, even if I didn't do it with my own two hands."

"Wait, Frederick? Did you actually think he was dead?" Zabuza asked, a question which clearly startled Alfred, "Huh, guess your military buddies must've lied to you ya. I got wind of a guy tailing you back when we first met up again, and it turns out it was Frederick. He wanted revenge on you for shooting him years back, or at least that's what it sounded like based the on info I could get. Your old government kept him alive to try and get some more secrets out of him, but he escaped. Can't believe they didn't tell you. Hell, that's the guy I went out there to kill in the first place. He's been waiting for a good time to snipe you like you did to him. Good thing I get his spine out of him before he got a chance to do that."

All of this came as quite the shock to Alfred, likely as much of a shock as Naruto was having right now at the number of needles Haku managed to keep on him. The butler felt unsure what to make out of all of it, "Frederick was alive and he planned to kill me? Good heavens, I can't believe MI6 kept me in the dark for so long, letting me think my friend was dead. Those bastards! But wait, you killed him? You did all that research and took him out for my sake? Why would you go to such great lengths when you've clearly got things of your own to worry about?"

Zabuza raised his eyebrows at the question, "Because you're my dad, why else? I mean sure, we didn't always get along, but I don't want you dead or anything. It sounds strange, but having to practically raise Haku made me understand a little better why you did the things you did. Even if they weren't perfect, everything that you did, you did because you thought it was what was best for me. Look, I'm rambling here, but what I'm trying to say is...I've been thinking about it, and the kneejerk reaction I had to seeing you again was stupid. So, maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you started being around in my life again."

"Nothing in this world would make me happier," Alfred said, knowing that must have been a very difficult admission for his son, "Any time you wish to spend time with me, you need only call. I must say, things are changing quickly around. It's looking like Naruto will be doing some more training, new powers are rising in Gotham, you're going to be around me, and we've got Lady Mei as a full on super heroin now. These next few years are really going to fly by...Oh dear, they've got the mirrors and the swords out! Stop, both of you! We're ending it here!"


	34. Moving Foreword

My friends, the time skip is officially here. Like I said before, Naruto will be somewhere in the 15-16 range here, a little bit older than he was in the actual time skip in the manga. As for why the question of why the timeskip, make a long story short, it's simply because I need him to the be that age for what I've got planned for this second to last arc. Things are going to start getting more intense here, and I can't wait for all of you to see how powerful Naruto's gotten and the relationships he's begun to develop. There's new characters, new challenges, and new threats to introduce, so let's get this started. **IMPORTANT NOTE:** I should still be on schedule, but I do need to have some maintenance types of things done on my laptop. With this being technology we're dealing with, there's always a chance things could take longer than expected which would lead to me having to postpone the next chapter. I'm 90% sure that won't happen, but I want to warn you all in case the odds aren't in my favor. Thank you for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Bobby Darin: As the Curtain Falls

* * *

In the span of three years in Gotham, things had taken a shift of monumental proportions. Some for the better, others for the worst. Gotham's police department was discovering something that they never would've thought was possible before: Scarecrow might, in some ways, have been even more dangerous as the head of Gotham seedy underbelly than the Joker ever was. With the clown prince of crime, there was never a risk of the villain's power over the city becoming too great. He was too sporadic and undisciplined, going off the handle on whim for no other reason than he thought it'd be fun. This meant that he could never get anyone to trust him or invest in working with him. Scarecrow on the other hand, had all the charisma he needed to talk most criminals into doing anything he asked. The master mind had quickly managed to get every villain in Gotham under his thumb, through either intimidation or mutually beneficial offers that earned the criminals interest. Thus, there was no one left who would question him in the slightest. Only one criminal had tried to do it so far, and that was an unfortunate fellow called the Mad Hatter, who was found naked and screaming in terror tied to the fountain in the city square. All that the city's heroes could think to compare it to was the iron first that Lex Luthor ruled over Metropolis with. Out of everyone in the city, the Red Fox had gotten the worst of Scarecrow's wrath. Much like the Joker with Batman, the Red Fox had become Crane's obsession, as he was desperate to prove that no one could conquer the power of fear. Red Fox seemed to make people think that fear could be overcome, with his ability to fight the doctor's mighty fear toxin. There was nothing Scarecrow wouldn't do to prove that fear had a power above all others, so crushing the Red Fox was something that he needed to do at all costs.

Speaking of the Red Fox, he currently found himself walking through the empty corridors of an abandoned parking lot with a girl who wore the complete Batgirl costume, only it wasn't Barbara Gordon inside. This girl had jet black hair and was clearly of asian descent. Her name was Cassandra Cain, the second person to take up the mantle of Batgirl. Having just turned 15, she was less than a year younger than the Red Fox, and was the daughter of the League of Assassins members Lady Shiva and David Cain, who were both top members of the organization. After the death of her mother at the hands of Kakuzu, she'd chosen to leave the League, despite having been trained by her father to be Ra's Al Ghul's perfect bodyguard. She ended up one of Barbara's agents in Gotham, as she had now become Oracle, a technological master who ran everything from the Batcave and gathered info for the team. Cassandra eventually impressed her so much that she was offered the chance to be the new Batgirl. That was an opportunity she could not turn down, since it gave her the chance to make up for the evil she'd done while a member of the League of Assassins. Now here she was, letting her footsteps echo with the Red Fox, feeling more frightened in this place than she typically did, "So, the Scarecrow's men were seen here less than twenty minutes ago? I do not understand, how did they leave this place so quickly, and why meet up here when they have so many more private places to gather?"

"I'm not entirely sure, because that was way too fast for them to have moved any kind of real inventory," The Red Fox responded, listening carefully for any kind of sound, "Still, Batman and the others are busy handling the Riddler situation, so that leaves this one for us to figure out. You're not nervous, are you? I mean you haven't gone out without Batman yet, so I can understand if this is unnerving for you."

The lack of the Dark Knight wasn't what had Batgirl nervous, "Actually, I believe that you may be even more powerful than our leader, though he's much wiser. What concerns me is that this may be a trap set by Crane in the hopes that he can finally crush you as he has desired for so long."

Admittedly, the Red Fox was concerned about that as well, "Knowing him, that's probably going to end up being the case. Whatever he throws at me, I can take though. I'm not afraid of the Scarecrow...no pun intended."

"Your lack of fear is precisely why he hates you," Batgirl pointed out, before her assassin training kicked in and she felt another presence in the room, "I feel something coming off in the distance. It might be above actually, as I do believe I can hear something stomping up there."

Though he trusted her skills, and did sense something himself as well, the idea of it being above them seemed a tad bit off to the Red Fox, "There's a lot of tar and cement between us and whatever might be up there. I can't imagine we'd be able to hear them unless there was a whole lot of those guy, or maybe if it was something really big. Seems unlikely."

Out of nowhere, the sound above them went from a light tapping to a series of crashing boombs. The upper layers of the tar began to show cracks, meaning that there was definitely something up there. That left them with one more thing to figure out, as Batgirl soon stated, "We're dealing with either a large group of people or a few rather massive individuals. Neither of those options is something I want to be dealing with."

"Well, it appears that we're about to find out," Batgirl said, noticing the ceiling above them was beginning to crack, "I do believe it's time for the two of to consider a tactical retreat and return later with a few more heroes by our side."

The Red Fox didn't foresee that being an option for them as small bits of concrete began to rain down in their heads. He and Batgirl began to carefully back away, "Whatever's up there is gonna be down here in a matter of seconds. We're not gonna have time to get outta here before were forced to fight. Don't think about running right now, think about what you need to do in order to make sure we win this thing."

She didn't get much time, as ceiling above them at last gave out and a mammoth sized creature appeared before them. Neither hero could make out what it was at first, as whatever this thing was had a thick layer of fur covering it. When a large screech emanated from the beast, Batgirl was able to identify who they were facing, "Red Fox, I think this thing might be our old foe Man-Bat. Yet, he seems too large. Dr. Langstrom almost looks bigger than Killer Croc did last time we saw him."

"Probably means he had the Titan in him longer than Croc did," The Red Fox suggested as he started to make some quick hand seals, "I hate showing off my jutsu's in public like this, but we don't have time to go get the others and there's no way we're leaving until this guy is taken care of. Summoning Jutsu!"

A puff smoke emanated from the boy's hand as he slammed it onto the ground below him. The Red Fox had managed to grab Batgirl just in time as a toad roughly the same size as Man-Bat appeared from thin air. It was Gamasuku, the keeper of the contract scroll for the toads. Though he wasn't much of a conversationalist, Gamasuku was a skilled fighter and was both large enough to fight Man-Bat, and small enough that he would destroy any more of the parking garage. He was bright orange with blue marking covering varying points on this body, along with a couple metal plates on his arms and legs for defensive maneuvers. Having done this before, the tremendous toad knew that his master would not summon him unless it was necessary, so he quickly assessed the situation, "You've put quite the beast in front of me sir. Is this something that I need to kill or would you rather I merely maim it?"

The Red Fox had held out hope that Langstrom could be transformed back into his normal state before, but that seemed less than likely now. Even so, he had no intention of killing what was once a man if it could be avoided, "Get him unconscious and leave it there. If you need help with something, I'll step in to keep him distracted. I'd fight him myself, but there's a bit of a size difference here."

"Say no more sir, the issue will be taken care of," Gamasuku responded, preparing to close the gap between Man-Bat and himself, "He doesn't seem refined enough to give me an intellectual fight, so I imagine this will mostly be a blow by blow battle. Let us commence!"

Starting off the fight right, Gamasuku jabbed Man-Bat directly in the nose, making him screech in pain. The monster attempted to retaliate with a slash to the toad's throat, but Gamasuku used his metal plates to block the talon. Next thing Man-Bat knew, he found himself being head butted by the summon animal, causing him to reel back. Gamasuku grabbed his wings before he could get much farther back, then he jumped up and kicked Man-Bat in this chest. This was enough to knock him down all together. With him in the state that he was, Gamasuku was able to start pummeling the villain in the face with repeated smacks to its jaw. Some blood began to splatter off from the creature's face, making him even angrier. Man-Bat brought his legs up into the air and kicked hard, flipping the toad over onto his back. Both the Red Fox and Batgirl were thrown off from him, just barely able to catch a glimpse of the beast lifting his killer claw into the air, ready to slit Gamasuku's throat. Though he knew it would lead to nothing more than his friebd's dispersal, the Red Fox prefered not to let that turn of events transpire, "Don't worry Gamasuku, I got ya! Wild Lion's Mane!"

Jumping with all the strength and height he had in him, the Red Fox leaped into the air as the hair on his head began to grow at an alarming rate. It came down far past his feet, along with each follicle being as sharp as a senbon. Thanks to a technique that Jiraiya had taught him, he was able to control the air as well. This meant that when he jumped right over Man-Bat's head, he was able to wrap the hair around the massive talon to stop it from cutting into Gamasuku. Now that there was nothing baring down on him, Gamasuku punched Man-Bat in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Next thing the villain knew, his face was being demolished with a series of jabs and uppercuts. After a few more strong hits to the jaw, Man-Bat found himself tumbling to the ground, this time completely unconscious. Gamasuku was visibly relieved the fight had ended, "I'm pleased that ended relatively quickly, because I'm not certain how long I could've held out against that beast. At any rate, the battle is one and I believe that it's time for me to take my leave. Have a pleasant night sir."

"Same to you Gamasuku," The Red Fox replied as his summon animal returned back to its home realm. Batgirl stood looking astonished on the side, "What's wrong? You've seen my toads fight before, haven't you?"

Batgirl had seen it a few times, but never on the scale that she'd just witnessed, "Yes, but there was nothing that could've prepared me for a battle such as that. With you, I suppose nothing should surprise me anymore. On to a more important matter, how do you plan to move what appears to be the largest Titan based monster yet?"

Her description of Man-Bat was spot on, which had the Red Fox worried for more than one reason, "We'll have to call in the Batwing to move it, but even then it'll be a bitch getting him back to Arkham and finding some way to hold him. The real thing that's making me nervous is that Titan formula seems to be getting stronger and stronger, and we still don't know what in the hell Scarecrow wants it for. With him, it's never a good thing to have no idea what he's planning."

"An enemy is always most dangerous when you have no way to predict their next move," Batgirl mused, "As that leaves you with no way to prepare. Crane's main focus as of late still seems to strengthening his stranglehold over Gotham, but his work on the Titan formula still remains constant. Would you like to call Batman, or should I?"

The Red Fox was fine with doing it, "You relax, I'll take care of it. Hopefully they've finished up with the Riddler by now, but if not I'll have Oracle send the Batwing over for us. You can binde Man-Bat's hands and feet if you'd like though."

Seeing as how she enjoyed a challenge, Batgirl was happy to try and think of a way to move the lumbering limbs into position, "That sounds like a bit a of fun actually. Let's see, perhaps if I bind the arms first I can use them as leverage to move the rest of the body…"

* * *

"Ah, so you've finished your studying of the subjects for tonight my young friend," Scarecrow rasped as he sat at the center of his massive layer in the abandoned ruins of the first Ace Chemical Plant, "Tell me Red Hood, what new observations have you made tonight?"

The Red Hood, a muscular individual who looked to be about 16 years old or so wearing a pair of combat pants, a bullet proof vest, a leather jacket with red trimmings, and a red mask made of a glass like substance on his face, replayed everything he'd seen in the command center in his head once more, going over every last detail. This command center was once the security room for the factory as a whole, but it now functioned as a place for Scarecrow and his men to observe the feeds from the main camera's they'd hacked all across the city. Much like everything else in the hideout, it looked disgusting and run down, but was actually quite operational. With his information covered one last time, the Red who'd began to speak in a voice that was noticeably altered by the mask, making it sound robot like, "It was a high risk situation, so, as I predicted, Red Fox did most of the fighting himself. As we've seen him do before, he made what appeared to be a giant toad appear from thin air, which he then used to defeat Man-Bat. Based on what I've seen, Batgirl is still rather skilled herself, but simply didn't have the heavy hitting attack required for the task. It appears that the Red Fox is the most powerful active member of the group thus far. Before I would've said it was Cinder, but she still hasn't been present recently, making it over five months since we've seen her. She is most certainly still alive, as I've heard members of the Bat Team mention her during my night stalking sessions, but I haven't been able to get a concrete reason as to why she hasn't been active."

There was too much of focus on the Red Fox in Scarecrow's brain for him to pay Cinder much mind. However, there was the matter of the Riddler to attend to, "And our friend Mr. Nygma, was he able to acquire the last few parts I required to finish the Cloudburst: Mark 2?"

"Yes sir, he retrieved the new RNA recomiziping device, which should allow you to take your remaining samples of the Red Fox's blood and use them to restore your supply of his genetic material," The Red Hood explained, though the guards who stood on either side Scarecrow had no idea what it meant, "This news must make you very happy, as without that RNA, you can't make your Titan. You'd been using your old one for almost three years, so it's a miracle it worked as long as it did. Soon enough you'll have your genetic material and you can complete the Cloudburst: Mark 2. Will there be anything else sir? Would like to hear my thought on the most recent addition to the team, Spoiler I believe her name is?"

Scarecrow knew everything he needed to, at least for now, "No Red Hood, I feel it would be best if you returned to your 'Mother' now. You can inform me on your findings on our other foes at another time. By the way, I'd recommend that you be ready for a fight tomorrow evening. With my three year plan at last coming to fruition, I no longer need to hide you in the shadows. I'm eager to test your abilities against a team of such skilled individuals."

Usually this was something Scarecrow would ask Harley Quinn about first, as she was the deciding factor in almost anything the Red Hood did, but the mysterious figure knew why he'd skipped it this time, "Yes, Mother has been looking forward to giving me a chance to show the other's what I'm capable of. I'll take my leave back to her now. Oh, and she wants me to ask you when you'd like our next psychology session to be. She didn't seem to eager for it, but told me to ask nonetheless."

"We'll do it the day after your test run against Batman's team. That's when I believe your mental state will be the most interesting," Scarecrow replied, ignoring the remark about Harley Quinn's lack of enthusiasm, "You have your answer, now run along young one. I've got a great many things left to do tonight, and none of them require you. Give Harley my best."

Red Hood gave a brief nod of respect before leaving to return to his master. With him gone, one of Scarecrows men felt it was safe To ask, "Scarecrow sir, if you don't mind me asking, are you sure it's safe for us to be sending our friend there out against the vigilantes so soon? He's skilled, there's no doubt about that, but not skilled enough to avoid capture all together. What if he gets captured and spills everything he knows to the Batman?"

That was a fear Scarecrow didn't' share with his cohort, "A response like that is why you're my personal guard and nothing else. I know he couldn't win a fight against them, but I'm not having him fight in the hopes that he'll be victorious. Red Hood will show himself off to our foes and then make a hasty exit. He'll serve as mystery for them to unravel while I'm working with my new associates. That should keep those fool from poking their pointy noses in final stages of my plan."

"I don't think it's very wise of you to be trusting those new associates either," The guard fired back, showing how cautious working for Bane in the past had made him, "At my last assignment, we never would've trusted men like these. Ra's Al Ghul is a madman and you know this, and this snake charmer you just met, Orochimaru, you won't even tell us where you met him!"

Scarecrow was growing tired of being spoken to like he was an underling. He stood up, looking his bodyguard in the eye with a dangerous glare and speaking with in a low, raspy tone, "If I decide not to tell you about something, it's because it's something I don't value your opinion on. This is the case with most things, which is why you know so little. Ra's Al Ghul and Orochimaru are both dangerous, this is a fact, but I have weighed the risks and the reward is much greater. When I'm thru, this world is going to see that it's heroes are no better than they are. Those gods they looked up to for defense are going to be cowering in fear at feet of criminals and monsters. I'm going to break an entire nation, no, an entire _World's _hope! Nothing, not Batman, Ra's Al Ghul, or Orochimaru will be able to stop me from becoming one of the most infamous men in history! I'll have the Red Fox in a cage, clawing off his own skin out of pure fear! The Scarecrow is going to be the one who ends the age of these so call superheroes and ushers in a new age of fear! If you think there's anything that can stop me, then you'd best get out of my way!"

A stunned silence filled the room, with the guard not moving an inch due to pure terror. This wasn't the Scarecrow that Gotham had come to know so long ago. No man lied beneath that mask, only a monster that the world was going to learn to fear. Nodding dumbly, the guard quickly agreed with whatever his boss said, "Yes sir, excuse me for stepping o-out of line...it was foolish of me."

"Don't let it happen again," The Scarecrow muttered, still seething with rage. He took an old pipe out of his inner coat pocket and lit a sample of fear toxin that laid inside of it. The creator now used his own tool recreationally, as it both built up his tolerance to the chemical and made him feel a small dash of fear when used in high enough amounts. That was an emotion he felt little of anymore, so any semblance of it he could get was blissfully relaxing, "Ah, much better. Now, everyone get themselves ready for Ra's and Orochimaru's arrival. We don't want to be a poor host for our guests, now do we?"

* * *

_The music hit his ear drums like a soft breeze, coxing him awake gently rather than forcing his mind into focus. Naruto sat up on a luxurious red velvet couch, one that looked to be from about 50 years ago. He didn't know where he actually was, but it seemed to be a nightclub, a rather old fashioned one. More gentle swinger music caught his attention, causing Naruto to stand up and walked through a corridor filled with copious amounts of objects that fit with the building's old fashioned dacore. A familiar voice could be heard singing, still off in the distance, "__Off comes the makeup...Off comes the clown's disguise...The curtain's falling'...The music softly dies...But I hope you're smiling'...As you're filling out the door! As they say in this biz. That's all there is... there isn't any more."_

_More and more soothingly, the voice continued in its twisted tone. There was something about the voice that frightened Naruto, despite how smooth and gleeful it seemed to be. In fact, the gleefulness was actually part of what disturbed the adolescent. Naruto tried to focus on remembering who originally sang the song, using everything Alfred had taught him about music to do so, "Let's see, it kind of sounds like Sinatra. No, that's not right. Dean Martin maybe? Hm, no, but that's closer. Bobby Darin, that's who sings this! That definitely isn't Bobby Darin's voice though."_

"_We've shared our moments...and now the moment ends," The voice continued as Naruto entered a dining hall filled with well dressed men and waitresses in long, elegant dresses, "But I got a funny feeling...we're parting out as friends! You're cheers and laughter...will linger after...they've torn down these dusty walls!"_

_Naruto kept looking around, trying to see who was singing the song. There was a man on stage, but his face was too hard to make out from where the boy was standing. He walked close to the stage, noticing the royal purple suit the vocalist wore, "No, it can't be. Please god, tell me it's not him!"_

_The man turned towards Naruto abruptly, smiling a crimson lipped smile and interrupting his own song, "Ladies and gentlemen, I do hope you're enjoying my little tune. It's a special one, just for my friend Naruto Uzumaki! Say hi to him if you get the chance. Be careful though, get to close and he might snap your damn neck, haha! Hope you don't mind that I brought you here kiddo, I just love the class of this time period. More flashy Matire D' than the grunge Gotham's been sucked up in. Oh, I've missed some of the song! What a horrible performer I'm being! Here, let me pick it back up!"_

"_This isn't happening! It can't be real," Naruto screamed as the pale faced, green haired man jumped down from the stage and began to walk towards him, "The Joker!"_

_Alas, the young hero wasn't wrong. Standing before him was the Joker, in all his demented glory, serenading him with a song from a time where Gotham was ruled by polluted politicians and mortifying mobsters, "If I had this to do again...If the evening were new again...I would spend it with you again...but now, the curtain falls!"_

_In a state of complete shock, Naruto began to back away. Before he got far, he bumped into someone wearing a mask over their face. It was a woman, and the mask she wore was that of a porcelain doll with a disturbing smile painted over it's mouth. Worst of all, it appeared it had been seared onto the woman's face, as there were burns around her face acting as a seal. She whispered in a demonic voice, "You're a fool boy! You're just the rest of us here, wearing your mask, trying to pretend the monster that lurks inside of you isn't there! You'll fall, just as the rest of us will!"_

"_No," Naruto screamed, seeing that everyone in the room had a mask of some kind or another plastered onto their face, "No! Get away from me, all of you!"_

_The Joker laughed at the terror that poured through the boy's eyes. It was the sort of thing that he lived for, "But don't you want us to finish your Swan Song? You'll only get one of them kiddo. Not me though, I'm going to get at least one more. Now that lovely little cells have multiplied in your body once more, I'll be able to take over that brain you've got hiding away in your noggin, and then I'll have the power of demon behind me! Imagine a twisted power to match my twisted mind! Haha, it's going to be so much fun! Come here boy, let's start the show!"_

_Next thing Naruto knew, the Joker had jumped off from the stage and grabbed a nearby bottle, breaking it on the table. He came at the boy, brandishing the weapon with the amount of joy people had come to expect from him, "See boy, I told ya that demon in your gut couldn't save ya! My blood flows through you, waiting for a chance to turn your mind it one that sees the world as it truly is! Hope you enjoy your front row seat for it all! Hahahahahahaha!"_

"_It's all in my head," Naruto pleaded with himself, crawling backwards to get away from his nightmare as the Joker brought sharpened glass down upon him, "Nooooo!"_

* * *

Shooting up like a bullet, Naruto found himself awakening in a state of panic. That nightmare had been one of the worst ones he'd had in a long time. Unfortunately, it was far from the only one he'd been having lately. He sat up on his couch, the one in his own living room this time, and said with a deep sigh, "Third one this week. I swear, they're getting worse with each one. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take…"

"Me either," Came a comedic voice standing behind him, "I mean seriously, how many times are ya gonna have that dream? We get it, I'm back and living in your head! It's not a plot twist anymore."

Naruto scowled the moment he heard the Joker's voice. He knew the clown wasn't real, rather he was a sort of figment of the boy's imagination used to represent a dark power that had begun to grow within him. All those years ago, when the Joker had injected Naruto with a sample of his own genetic makeup, he and the Kyuubi had done their best to fight remove all of the horrible substance from his body. Yet, much like the jester himself, that virus of sorts refused to die. A small amount had remained hidden, burrowing itself deep inside Naruto. After a painstaking long wait, the Joker's genes had finally grown strong enough to once again try to take hold of the boy. It needed time though, enough time to break the boy's mind so that he wouldn't even put up a fight when the time came to take control. As much as Naruto would've liked to simply rip the virus out of his body like he had last time, it was to late for that. The Joker's genetic material had grown too close to some of the young man's most vital organs, leaving him no way to safely remove it. So, Naruto had to remain strong for now, hiding new darkness the flowed through him. There was no doubt in his mind as to how his father would react if found out that the Joker was still present in any way shape or form. Bruce would sideline Naruto, forcing him to be studied so that they try and find a way to end the clown forever. That would give the heroic youth no time to train and grow stronger. Simply being around his family put them in danger with all of the people Naruto had chasing after him, so he felt a certain burden to become as powerful as he could. Never would he allow someone he loved to be harmed because of him, not while he was still up and walking. Bruce could know nothing about the Joker, at least not for the time being.

He looked over at his own personal tormentor, flipping him the bird to vent his frustration, "You're even worse in my head than you were in real life, or at least you're more annoying. Yuck it up while you can Joker, because every day Kurama and I get close to finding a way to force you out. When we do, those genes of yours gonna go to hell with the rest of you!"

"Whatever you say foxy boy," Joker said, as someone who very quickly caught Naruto's eye walked in, "Speaking of foxy, looks like one of your little flames is here to greet ya. Have fun boy. Oh, and a little tip, the back door isn't just an exit! Hahaha!"

Ignoring the obscene joke, Naruto grinned as he watched Temari walk into the living room, clearly intent on seeing her sort of boyfriend. She sat down on his lap without a shred of fear, "Hey Naruto, glad you're awake. I wanted to hang out with you a little bit more before my visit was over. How was your nap?"

Naruto knew better than to tell her how it actually was, so he told a little white lie, "Great, really refreshed me. Thank you by the way, for coming out here to help me with the Rasenshiruken on such short notice. I really appreciate it."

"Any excuse I can get to see you is always worth it," Temari said, bringing her nose right next to his. The two shared a brief kiss, nothing intense, but with plenty of intimacy, "Looks like you're getting close to finishing it too. Crazy to think my little boy toy is almost strong enough to use an S-ranked jutsu. If you really can combine your wind chakra with the Rasengan, who know how powerful that could end up being. Honestly, I'm not even sure if Gaara could beat you anymore, and he's a damn Kage."

Her observations about the boy were spot on, as Naruto was strong enough to take on multiple Anbu at once. In fact, that was one of the tests Jiraiya had just run on the boy, "I'm getting there, might even be able to take on an Akatsuki member one on one. If I was up against a pair of them though, I'd more than likely end on the losing end of things. I need to get stronger if I'm going to protect you and everyone else I care about."

Temari rolled her eyes at the boy, resting her head on his chest, "Don't get all serious on me. You're way more fun when you let yourself relax a little. Come on, just lay with me for a second. Block it all out for a minute or two."

"Tech, that's an awful lot of things I'd have to block out," Naruto said, but played along just the same, "Alright, I'll give it shot."

The two of them took a deep breath, sinking into one another and allowing their hearts to beat together. With everything that Naruto had on his mind at moment, it was nice to take a moment for occasion like this. While the non stop training that he was going through had made the boy a titan of a shinobi for his age, even to the point where his sensei almost felt ready to begin his sage training, it had taken it's toll on him, as he almost always felt exhausted these days. Much of his spare time had been spent courting the two girls he was currenting pulling his hair out trying to choose between; Temari and Hinata. Naruto was sort of the dating the both of them, though not in the traditional sense. After taking nearly a year to get over what Cheshire had done to him, the boy found himself ready to find another girl who might be right for him. However, he'd waited nearly a year and a half before making a move on either Temari or Hinata because he simply didn't feel right about going after two girls at once. When the two teens found out about this, they told Naruto that they had a solution. He could try out dating the both of them and then decide based on that which one he wanted continue with. At the time it seemed like a good idea, with Naruto promising that he would go no farther than brief kiss with either of them until he was certain. Yet, after almost six months with the two of them, he still couldn't figure out which girl meant more to him. Hinata was one of the sweetest girls the world had ever seen, and she was simply beautiful with her porcelain skin and curvaceous figure she'd grown into. She was that adorable girl next door type that you fell for slowly over time. Temari, on the other hand, was the sexy tomboy type that you were usually too nervous to approach. Her figure was more athletic, though she still had plenty of bust on her, and her full blown confidence only added to her sex appeal. Though she was a little crazier than Hinata, it made for wilder and all around more interesting times. On top of that, they were both intelligent, kind, and could kick a whole lot of ass. No matter how hard it was, Naruto as going to have to pick one of them though. Dating two women at once didn't seem right in his eyes, even if it could end up being a whole lot of fun.

Naruto found himself so deep in thought and so relaxed at the moment,that he almost couldn't hear a voice calling for him. A few moments later, the boy's ears finally registered that someone was speaking to him, "Hey, I said wake up. Bruce just told me we're going out early tonight. There's someone on the roof of the police station setting off the Batsignal, and it ain't the cops. Everyone needs to be ready in ten minutes. You'll have to say bye to your girlfriend now."

"Way to kill the damn mood Tim," Naruto said, opening one eye to glare at his younger brother, "I'll be there shortly. Is Stephanie coming out with us too?"

Tim Drake was latest adopted member into the Wayne family, and was now the third person to use the Robin name. His mother had disappeared a long time ago and his father had been a weapons dealer that worked for the Penguin. Sadly, his father botched a big sale for the mobster, leading to his execution. In an attempt to scrounge up something to sell on the streets, Tim had broken into Wayne Manor and, similarly to Catwoman, accidently found the Batcave. Seeing as how he needed home, now knew about Bruce was Batman, and obvious had a lot of skill, they decided to take him in allow him to suit up as the new boy wonder. He was 14 years old, and still a little reckless from having lived on his own for so long. However, he was beyond grateful for everything that had been given to him, making him work all the harder to protect all of his newfound friends. The Stephanie that Naruto had referred to was Stephanie Brown, the daughter of the villain Cluemaster. As his name implied, he was more or less a Riddler copycat with an orange color scheme rather than a green one. After being released on Stephanie's 14th birthday, he put on a big show as though he'd reformed and was once again a law abiding citizen. Yet, as Stephanie soon found out, it was all a hoax Cluemaster used to continue his crimes, but without leaving clues behind to be solved by the Batman. Furious with her father, the blond haired girl had decided to become Spoiler, a hooded, purple clad vigilant that followed the Cluemaster, leaving behind the hints to defeat him that he no longer did. Naturally he was captured once again, and when Tim, who had been dating Stephanie for some time up to this point, found out what she had done, he asked Bruce to offer her a spot on the team. Though reluctant at first, Bruce eventually saw that Stephanie was talented enough to help them protect Gotham, so he allowed her to join the team. All of these members made the team the largest it had ever been, which was really a good thing, because they needed all the help they could get at the moment.

"Yeah, I'm gonna call her after I'm done getting you," Tim explained as Temari jumped off from Naruto's lap, "Bruce is gonna say goodbye to Mei and then we'll head out. Anyways, good seeing you Temari."

Temari gave him a little wave as he walked off, having studied English enough to finally be able to understand it, then turned to Naruto, "Well, isn't that just our luck? Every time we really start to have fun, someone comes to spoil it. I had a really fun time Naruto. Let's do it again soon, okay?"

Responding with a small smile and short kiss, Naruto told her, "If the fates align, I'd love that. Now get outta here, you're distracting me too much."

"Well, that was my goal," The older girl said, standing up and swaying her hip as she walked away, "Feel free to watch my ass as I leave!"

Naruto didn't need to be told to do that, he would on his own. Once she was gone, he got up and began to head towards the Batcave. He got halfway there before he noticed Bruce and Mei standing next to the grandfather clock entrance. Bruce was on his knees kneeling next to Mei's extended stomach. Rubbing it lovingly, he whispered to her, "Look at you, almost a whole six months along. God, can you believe this sweetie? In three months, we're gonna have a little girl out here with us, a bubbly baby girl. We're gonna be parents Mei."

The woman chuckled at her husband's excitement, completely able to relate to it, "I know, it feels so strange. As much as I hate not being able to go out patrolling with you and only being allowed to do the paperwork aspect of being Mizukage, I'm just so excited to have a daughter. Oh, I think she's kicking again."

"Let me feel," Naruto said, rushing over to the red head and putting his hand on her belly, "Wow, I can feel her moving in there and everything. My little sister's in there! That's so freaky!"

Bruce had felt it a few times before, so he let his son have this one. Approximately six months ago, he found out his wife of almost two and a half years was a month along with their first child. They found out four or five months later that it was going to be a girl. Mei took a visit to Tsunade after the big news came out, who told her it'd be best if she took things easy until the baby arrived to avoid premature labor. This meant she had to mostly hang around the Mizukage's office or Wayne manor until her daughter came. She didn't mind though. After all, mother's had to make sacrifices for their child, "Alright, that's enough of that. You guys get out of here and see who's hanging around the Batsignal. Based on the description, this is a new enemy, and we don't want the police challenging him themselves just to find out he's got near unstoppable powers."

Not much Bruce could argue with there, "Fair enough. Stay safe with Alfred until we get back. Hopefully this new guy's just another punk and it won't be long before we home. This is Gotham though. Who knows what we're gonna find…"

* * *

"I've waited a long time for this day," The Red Hood said to himself, his hands twitching by his holsters, itching to grab at them and shoot something, "They might not remember me, but I sure as hell remember them. By the time we're done, these bastards aren't gonna be able to forget! They have no idea what's coming for them this time!"

Having been standing along on the roof for a half an hour, Red Hood was quickly realved when he heard Batman's voice as he and the rest of the time landed around the their new foe, surrounding him, "I've heard that claim have a dozen times before you kid. Something tells me you won't be different than anyone else who's said that line."

The Red Hood looked over each member of the team as Batman spoke, paying special attention to the Red Fox and the group's leader, "Trust me, I'm high above those simple crooks league. Don't call me kid either. It's Red Hood."

"Really? Red Hood," The Red Fox asked sarcastically, "The last guy who called himself that ended up turning into a psycho killer clown the way I heard it. That the kinda legacy you want?"

Legacy was a word that meant little to Red Hood anymore, "What can I say, I found it an ironic choice to dress myself like this, not that you'd know why. I'll admit, I'm more than a little outnumbered here, but I still think I'm gonna have a good time. You guys on the other hand, you're going to have a bad time. A bad, BAD time."

Taking one huge step back, the Red Hood pulled his side arms from their holsters and pointed them at the Red Fox. This battle was going to start out Red vs Red, making Batman fear that there was going to be some bloodshed. The question was, who's blood was it going to be?


	35. Distractions Pt 1

It does appear that my computer is working as good as can be expect, and therefore, my new chapter will be right on time. My cliffhanger last week wasn't actually intentional, my chapter was simply getting too long and there's no way I would've had time to make the fight as in depth as I wanted to. What can I say, I wanted to make it great for you guys. Even better, you're going to get a chance to see what some of the new people can actually do. May I also say thank you all so much for getting me up to 200 reviews, over 250 favorites, and nearly 300 follows on this story. Every time I see something about it in my inbox, it just makes me happier than I could ever truly express. It's what makes me all the more determined to make it in writing/film industry. Speaking of which, I'd like to recommend, in a shameless bit of self promotion, that you all go and check out my recently started Youtube channel humbly named Big Boz. I have two movie reviews up for the Hateful Eight and Dirty Granpa, and I will have my Top Five Films of 2015 up shortly after I post this chapter. If you like my stuff, I think you'll enjoy the channel as well. Just look up Big Boz along with one of the titles previously mentioned and you should be able to find it, but PM me if you can't. It's not perfect, but I'll be doing my best to improve it. Thank you all so much for reading and please review, you awesome people you!

Chapter Soundtrack-Styx: Renegade

* * *

The two guns went off simultaneously, sending two lead bullets towards the Red Fox at sonic speeds. Having seen Red Hood pulling out the pistols, the hero quickly dove to the left and threw two batarangs in an attempt to disarm the mysterious villain. With an impressive amount of speed, the Red Hood swiveled on his foot and turned to the oncoming projectiles, shooting them both out of the air before they could reach him. Batgirl decided to assist the young hero, so she pulled out a batarang connected to sturdy line of thread and threw it around the criminal's arms. She tried to throw the guns from the criminal's hands with a hard yank. Red Hood managed to hold on to the pistols and give a hard stomp on the ground, making a knife shoot out of the toe of his boot. With one swift kick, he cut the line and freed his arms, firing off a few more rounds. This time they were heading off at Batgirl, "So, you're the new girl in the suit? Wonder if you can keep from getting as fucked up as she did."

Batgirl did what she could to avoid the bullets heading for her, but only managed to dodge one of them. The other two hit her in the abdomen, not peircing her armor, but nearly breaking her ribs. While she cried out in pain, Spoiler, who was on the left of the villain, jumped in to draw Red Hood's attention away from her allay. She went for a strong jab to his throat, but he weaved to the left and grabbed her wrist, lifting her over his shoulder and throwing her onto the ground. He'd put his pistols away so fast that it didn't even seem possible, "Smart move going for the throat, but in your rush to save your friend you got sloppy. Never let your emotions get the best of you little girl, it's just asking to get killed."

"Screw you helmet boy," Spoiler spat as she swept her opponent's legs while she laid on the ground. Red Hood jumped back and pulled his pistols, once again with a near inhuman amount of speed. Now that she looked at the helmet he wore, Spoiler could see things like lights going off inside of it. It was electronical, which meant she had the tools she needed to toy with it. She took out a version of the remote hacking device that she'd designed herself, as she was even better with technology than Dick Grayson had been, and used it to hack into the helmet in record time, "Let's see how well you shoot when you can't see anything!"

Sparks began to fly from the Red Hoods mask, making him onto clutch his own head. He quickly grabbed the glass covered electronic portion and ripped it off, smashing it onto the ground. Under the helmet was another mask made of cloth, still red in color. Strangely enough, this actually made the villain chuckle, "Not bad girl, not at all. I doubt the first Robin could've pulled that off. Speaking of Robins, let's see how the latest schmuck is doing."

Robin didn't take kindly to be called an idiot, so he pulled out three electrified disks and threw on the ground at Red Hoods feet. He'd been directly behind his enemy, which had forced the Red Hood to spin around. The disk emanated the electronic shocks as expected, only the villain didn't react to the attack in any way. That left the hero at a bit of a loss, "Well, that doesn't usually happen. Insulated rubber boots and rubber laced armor, right?"

"Never leave home without it," Red Hood said, holstering his pistols once again, "Can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to put on that armor again. The first one ran from here to get away from this city and second one was tortured by greatest madman this city has ever seen. If you're smart kid, you'll burn that costume get out of here while you still can. Here, let me give you a little encouragement to do so!"

The next thing anyone knew, Red Hood had appeared in front of Robin and buried his fist deep into his gut. Gasping for the breath, the boy had no time to recover before his foe smacked him in the nose, resulting in blood beginning to to flow freely from it. Robin knew he had to block out the pain, which he did before bringing his knee up to try and knock the wind out of the Red Hood. This attack failed as well, with his opponent easily sidestepping the strike. Red Hood grabbed Robin's neck next, picking him up off from the ground so that he could turn and dangle the boy over the ledge of the building. With how tightly the villain was squeezing his windpipe, Robin could hardly breath, "I…I c-can't…"

Hearing the boy gasping for air stirred a strange kind of joy inside the Red Hood, "What's a matter Robin? Catwoman got your tongue? Or are you just feeling what it was like for the last boy wonder when his lung collapsed and he couldn't suck down enough air?"

"If you've got a functioning brain, you'll put that kid down right now," Red Hood heard a distinct voice behind him say. He had a feeling it was the Red Fox before he even turned around, "Batman might be a hell of a lot smarter than me, but I'm the one you wanna avoid in a fight."

After punching Robin in the stomach one last time, Red Hood threw him off to the side and turned to face the barking hero, "Never fear, I know who I really need to be afraid of in this outfit. You always were the most loyal one out of them all, weren't you? Strongest too, maybe even back then. What you think Batman? Wanna see me and your lap dog here duke it out?"

Batman narrowed his eyes at the question, taking out a smoke pellet from his belt which he then threw onto the ground at his opponent's feet. As a grey cloud blurred the Red Hood's vision, the dark knight jumped into the fray, starting a fight that everyone around them was unable to see. The group listened in as a series of blocks and blows could be heard on the outside until someone came flying out, rolling onto the ground. It was the Red Hood, who was trying to push himself back up on his hands and knees. Next Batman walked out, completely unscaved, "Call him my attack dog again, and I'll shove that hood so far down your throat that you'll be tasting fabric till the day you die."

"Wow, you still know how to get your point across, don't you?" Red Hood said, now back on his feet and laughing once again, "Haven't lost your touch after all this time. I missed this, ya know? Fighting with you guys, it really takes me back."

This was when Batman began to notice something strange about this person. He was talking as though he'd meet them before, "You seem to have me at a disadvantage. I don't know you, but you clearly know me. Why don't you take off that mask so that we can remedy the situation?"

The Red Hood smirked from underneath his mask, relishing the idea of a reunion, "As enjoyable as I'm sure that'd be, I'm afraid I can't do it just yet. You'll find out though, I promise. In the meantime, think on your past sins old man. Start there, and then you'll find the answer."

"The only thing I wanna start right now is ripping off that stupid hood," The Red Fox responded, lunging at the his foe with the Soultaker Sword in his hands, "I think this oughta do the trick."

Hearing the blade slicing through the air as the hero ran, Red Hood took a colossal combat knife out of his belt and used it to block the oncoming attack of steel. In cruel twist for the villain, the Soultaker Sword cut halfway through his knife with only one slice. After a few more moments of struggling, the knife snapped in half, forcing Red Hood to jump back, "Well fuck me, that's a tough blade you've got there. Mind letting me take it for a spin?"

As tempting as the idea of letting the villain 'take it' right through the heart was, the Red Fox sheathed his sword and began to form an orb of his signature attack in his hand, "You'd love that, wouldn't you wack job? No, here's something you can take a spin on though!"

"A Rasengan? Pulling that out a bit fast, now aren't we?" The Red Hood asked, startling the Red Fox for a brief second. That remark, which showed that this foe somehow not only knew of the boy's attack but knew its name as well, was something he'd have to figure out later. Now was the time to come down on his opennet like a blitzkrieg. One sprint later, the Red Fox found himself right in front of the villain, shoving the sphere of chakra into his chest. It soon burst, sending the Red Hood flying into the nearby Batsignal. His armor was half torn off and he had large red mark on his chest where the blow had struck. Under the mask, a pleased look remained on his face, "Hehe...you made that look easy, now didn't ya? Good see you've only gotten stronger buddy. I can't wait to see the kind things you end up doing in this world. For the time being though, I'm heading home to get patched up for our future altercations. See ya real soon...Naruto."

The Red Fox's breath hitched as he heard someone say his real name. He could practically feel the joy the Red Hood got out of seeing his shock. Grabbing out a smoke pellet of his own, the criminal created some cover for himself that allowed him to exit the battle before anyone could grab him. Everyone on the team stood around in shock, uncertain of the implications that this new foe had for them. As he was always the calmest member of the group, Batman was one who broke the silence, "We've found a powerful enemy here tonight, or more accurately, he found us. We need to head back to cave to sort out his mess. The computer should have all the data we need to comprise a list of possible suspects."

It was difficult for the Red Fox to focus at the moment, as the Joker had once again appeared in his mind and was over looking at the shattered pieces of the broken helmet, "Huh, I used to wear a get up a lot like that. Mine was better though, looked a lot nicer and it showed everyone how refined I was. I'm not just a psycho, I'm a pyscho with taste! Hehehe! Hahahaha!"

"That freaking hood must be bad luck for us or something," The Red Fox muttered, thinking about all of the ways it had brought them misery through one way or another, "Hey Batman, what do you think he meant when he told you to think on your past sins? Think he might be a villain you pissed off a while back?"

Batman had no way of knowing for certain, but that seemed like a good place to start, "That's the first thing I'm going to check once we get back to the cave. We've angered a lot of people in Gotham, so hopefully his skill set will be enough for us to narrow down the people we need to be looking at. Come on, let's get moving while our memories are still fresh."

The various team members, except for the Red Fox, jumped off from the rooftop and into a nearby alley way. As stood there almost motionless on the roof, the hero could still hear the voice of the Joker taunting him, "So someone knows your deep, dark secret? Well, one of them anyways. We still don't know if he knows about the great furball of fury rolling around in your gut. He'd probably ridicule you for it, but me, I only care about what's on the inside...oh wait, haha, the Kyuubi is one the inside! Hahaha! And so am I! Hahahaha! Damn boy, you may as well be shaking hands with Lucifer now! Hahahahahahaha!"

* * *

"My my, that was quite the little scuffle," Orochimaru said to Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul as the three of them sat together at a table, each of them with their guards standing vigilantly behind them, "I was hoping for a touch of bloodshed somewhere, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. That being said, I still don't understand why you wanted us to see this battle. Granted, I can easily tell that this Red Fox character was trained by my ex-teammate Jiraiya, but I could've given you that information if you had simply described his fighting style. How does any of this deal with issues we presented to you before?"

Scarecrow leaned back in his chair, taking a small puff of toxin before carefully considering his next few words. He'd shown the group the fight from a camera feed not far from the police station, and he's done so for a very specific reason, "I knew nothing of the Red Fox being trained by anyone other than the Batman, but I suppose it doesn't surprise me. He had skills I've never been able to explain. The reason that I wanted the two of you to see that fight was two fold. First and foremost, if you're worried about the team of heroes interfering with our work if you agree to my deal, you should know that the Red Hood will be present to divert their attention for the foreseeable future."

The idea of one man keeping the attention of an entire team of heroes seemed mad to Ra's Al Ghul, but having seen the Red Hood's skill, it didn't seem impossible, "That does put a small bit of my worries to rest, though with the detective I'm sure he'll find a way to be nipping at our heels as well. It's better than nothing I suppose. Now, what was the second reason you spoke of?"

"Ah yes, the second reason," Scarecrow continued, pleased with Ra's answer, "The second reason was that I wanted you to see what the Red Fox was capable of. Not only because of how powerful my nemesis has become...but also because I believe I've found a way to replicate that power. Not just within others like him, but within those who have no abilities whatsoever."

Instantly the room grew silent, with no one being able to process what the villain had just claimed. Both Orochimaru and Ra's Al Ghul knew what chakra was, and this man was acting as though he could create it where none was present. As far as the snake sannin knew, this was not the least bit possible, "Creating chakra? Dr. Crane, I must say, and I mean this is the most respectful way, you're out of your deranged mind! It's been tried a thousands times by minds who understand chakra far better than you do. There's simply no scenario in which you could've figured out how to do something like this when I never have!"

Ra's found himself in relative agreement, "Your expertise is in chemicals Scarecrow, not something as mystical and incomprehensible as charka. It's like a force of nature. If you could manage to manufacture it, I think I'd sign on without any other questions."

"Well then, prepare to do just that," Scarecrow responded, grabbing a vial from his coat and setting on the table, "That is a chemical compound known as Titan that I've been developing for the past 3 or 4 years. It was during my development of this substance that I was able to discover a way create all the 'chakra' I could ever desire. Both of you must know by now that the Red Fox contains much larger amounts of this power than any of the other's like him that I've ever come across. By using his blood, I was able to replicate his genetic material and get a larger sample of it. With that much material to work with and such a large amount of chakra in the genetic material, it was child's play isolating the aspects I needed. Poison Ivy's work with those cells Orochimaru provided us greatly simplified the processes. Well, that and the RNA recompizior anyways. You may test that sample if you like, you'll find that I have accomplished everything that I claimed."

There was no need for Orochimaru to test it. The mad scientist knew as he listened to Scarecrow describe that process that it could actually work, "Don't try to create the chakra, create something that already has chakra in it...brilliant. If I'd had the technology you did, I could've been using the First Hokage's cells to do this years ago. Dr. Crane, I've underestimated you! You're far more intelligent and devious than I've given you credit for!"

Scarecrow gave a small bow to the sannin as a form of gratitude, "Thank you my friend, but I'm afraid that I've come as far as I can with my understanding of chakra. You see, while I can inject the average man with said power, I'm unable to give them the ability to control it. Titan doesn't kill the user like it did before, at least in most cases, but all it can do is allow someone to become a sort of behemoth. To go further, I'd need to find a way to change the very genetic makeup of an individual. That is where you come in, my slimy cohort."

"Ah, you want me to turn people who have no affinity for chakra into someone who can wield it like any shinobi could?" Orochimaru correctly guessed, "I can't promise that will be easily done, but I'll have a great amount of fun trying!"

While that did settle why sinister snake was there, it didn't tell Ra's Al Ghul why he was present, "This is all exhilarating to listen to, but where do I fall into this confusing mess of yours?"

It was at last time for Scarecrow to fill in the last member of his plan on what they needed to do, "Ra's, the part you play in this may be the most important of all. As much as I know you treasure it, I need access to your stores of Lazarus, or at least a chemical analysis of it. I need to get a better grasp on its regenerative properties so that Poison Ivy can complete her work in making plant humanoids with the cells of the 'First Hokage,' as Orochimaru put it. They're still deteriorating before completion, and I believe the same process that maintains your youth could help her. Not only will this keep me on good terms with Ivy, but it will also likely that these creatures she's creating could be safely injected with Titan without many altercations at all. Imagine the possibilities that presents to us."

"I'll never give the chemical composition of Lazarus to anyone, for any purpose," Ra's said indignantly, making the Scarecrow scowl under his mask, "However, because I know it's useless without enough to submerge yourself in, I'll give you small samples of it to complete your work. Don't try replicating it with plants either, because it kills any plant it touches. Analyzing it would take you years as well, by which point I could have you killed. In a nutshell, you pose no threat to me even if I do give you a small bit of Lazarus."

Anyone could've seen that was the madman's way of insulting the villain, but Scarecrow ignore the thinly veiled jab. After all, he was going to end up fucking the man over in the end, "Whatever makes you feel safer Ra's. That's all I needed from the two of you tonight, thank you both coming. Allow my associate to show you out."

"I'll be with you in one moment master," A commanding voice said, which the villain recognized as the long time missing Hugo Strange, "I have some concerns of my own I must address."

Ra's had brought the ex-psychiatrist, who'd been working for him for many years now, in the hopes that he would be able to get a read on his old colleague. If he felt there was a need to stay behind, the head of the demon would accept that for now. The criminals left Scarecrow and Strange to stare each other down, the former speaking first, "Concerns of your own to address? And here I thought you were the man's puppet. Good for you that you're not I suppose. Alright then Dr. Strange, what has you thinking you need to be questioning your trust of me?"

The psychologist would need little time to explain, "I'm not question my trust of you, because I have no trust of you to begin with. Don't take that in an insulting manner, I wouldn't trust anyone in your position. You have the potential to become a threat the likes of which the world has never seen. You'd be a fool not to take a chance like the one you've been given, and I know first hand that you're no fool Dr. Crane. All the cards are in your hands my old friend, but I will do everything in my power to predict what you intend to do with them. It's a battle of minds that I'm greatly looking forward to. May the best man win."

"I couldn't agree more," Scarecrow replied, shaking the man's hand. There was no malice in either men's words. These two were relishing in the idea of fighting someone they felt was truly worthy, "I wouldn't want the road to glory to be easy, now would I?"

* * *

Deep within the confines of the Batcave, Bruce was typing desperately at the Batcomputer, cross referencing the children of every mob boss or member that he'd ever put away to see if they had the skills needed to pull off the types of feats seen on the rooftop the night before. Stephanie stood next to him, assisting with the process with some slight confusion, "I don't get it Bruce, why are we starting with people in the mob? Wouldn't make more sense to look at villains we know can do things like this and see if they have anyone they've been training? Where would guys like these get the training to pull off what the Red Hood was doing?"

Being the world's greatest detective, there was a precise method to Bruce's madness, "Any villain who could train someone as well as that could just escape Arkham themselves to get their own revenge on me. I need a criminal who's either locked up in prison for good or one who's died a number of years ago before they could finish me off. My first thought was Lady Shiva, but Cassandra was certain that she had no siblings. With that being checked off, I'll have start with the mobsters and work my way up. I've got a couple of minor possibilities right now, but no major frontrunners."

"Same thing on my end," Stephanie responded, with nothing but a few standouts to look at, "How does this guy knowing who Naruto is play into the situation?"

Bruce was still rather unsure of that himself, "Honestly, that's something I've yet to piece together. It almost has me thinking it's someone from the Great Ninja Nations. That wouldn't explain why his beef would be with me though, and I can't think of reason he wouldn't use chakra either. The only other explanation I can think of is that the League of Shadows could be involved, but there's no logical purpose for them being behind it. My head's spinning today trying to iron out all the details."

"Making Batman's head spin? That's a pretty impressive feat on its own," Stephanie joked, backing away from her keyboard, "Well, there's a 100% chance we're not gonna figure this shit out today, so I may as well go get a milkshake. See ya later boss."

Knowing that it would upset Bruce, Stephanie left with a skip in her step and a smile on her face. Bruce had pegged her as a more pessimistic Dick Grayson at this point, with tech skills and joking manner she carried herself in. That part was fine with him, it was her tendency towards thrill seeking that frightened Bruce. Unlike Jason who had been out to prove himself, there would be times when Stephanie would go out by herself simply for the rush of knowing she was all on her own. This put her in many dangerous situations, and it was half the reason Bruce had taken her under his wing in the first place, "I swear, that girl loves trouble more than the Joker did. Thank god Tim's there to keep her from going too crazy. I'm not sure what her Spoiler persona would've done if Robin hadn't been there to watch her...Wait, Robin, that's it!"

Alfred had just entered the room with Barbara, prompting the man to ask, "I'm sorry Master Bruce, but what is Master Tim exactly?"

"It's not necessarily Tim, but rather the Robin identity itself," Bruce replied, which didn't really tell the butler or the red head much, "The Red Hood showed a large amount of animosity towards Robin, far more than he did with anyone else. There has to be a reason for that, so if I cross reference the possible criminals with people who have a reason to hate Robin, I can narrow my search down even more. Oh, I almost forgot to ask you Barb, how's your last few session of physical therapy going?"

The therapy session he mentioned were designed to try and reduce the amount of pain Barbara felt in her legs after the Joker nearly left her paralyzed. After three years she was almost finished with them, not that she'd gotten what she'd wanted out of them. Granted, Barbara's legs did hurt less than they used to, but they hadn't improved enough to let her go back to her vigilant work, "Good as they can be I guess. They're kind of a drag at this point, but it makes dad happy and they help me at least somewhat. Anyways, we came down here to tell you that you've got a couple visitors up stairs. I can finish this up for you if you want to go talk to them."

Bruce needed more info before he could make that decision, "Is it people I like or people I'll have to keep from strangling?"

"Well Hinata's adorable, so I can't imagine why you'd try and strangle her," Barbara said, which got a small laugh from Bruce, "As for Amanda Waller, well…"

That name certainly gained Bruce's attention, "Amanda Waller's here? Usually she at least calls if she's planning on stopping by. Must be something urgent. Alright Barb, I'll let you finish this one up. Hopefully I'll be back down before too long. Alfred, do you remember how she takes her coffee?"

Alfred felt a little hurt that Bruce would even ask him that, "Two sugars and a dab of cream, sir. You should know by now Master Bruce, never question me when it comes our guests."

* * *

"Don't duck so far down Cassandra, it doesn't give you enough time to recover from my next swing," Naruto recommended as the two heroes spared with one another in the training room. He'd just went in for a hard right hook, which Cassandra had gone a tad to low to try and avoid. It was during these spar sessions, which they had once or twice a week, that the two would talk about the things going on in their lives, "You know, most guys would love the idea of having two girlfriends, especially ones as good looking as mine, but it's driving me crazy. Seriously, what did I do to get two girls this awesome chasing after me?"

Cassandra, being the rather blunt person that she was, gave Naruto an honest answer, "You're handsome, charming, a good person, and can fight better than most people twice your age. As the phrase goes, you're quite a catch. The full package as it were."

The stream of praises made Naruto rather red in the face as he jumped over a sweeping kick from the girl, "Thanks, but I'm not the wisest person in the world and I've got stone cold killers chasing after me like there's a billion dollar bounty on my head. Kinda kills the whole romance thing if you ask me."

"Perhaps they see these flaws as a small price compared to all the good things about,"

Cassandra suggested, again leaving Naruto on the flustered side, "Take me for instance. I know being around you puts me in danger, but at the same time, I feel safer than I ever have. You make me feel like I'm one of the good guys, despite my past, and that I'm going to make it out of all of this okay. That means staying around you is more than worth any downsides I can think of. Also, I find you pleasant tolook at...and to think about at night."

Naruto stopped mid jab when he heard that, his fist hanging mere inches from Cassandra's face. This moment felt like a pivotal one to him as he asked nervously, "Cassandra, you're not always aware of what you're saying, so I'm going ask you this next question carefully. Are you saying you have romantic feelings for me?"

For a moment Cassandra didn't move, her face showing as little emotion as always. With speed that would make the Flash jealous, she tackled Naruto into the mat below them, pinning his arms to the ground. She leaned so close to him that he could feel her warm breath as she whispered longingly, "I'm saying that if you weren't dating someone right now, I wouldn't be wasting this time talking. I'm saying that since you can't choose between these two girls, I'll give you third option that you might like even more. I'm saying that you have me in a state I never imagined I'd been in Naruto, and I'm very glad I came to Gotham so I could meet you."

"I...um," Naruto started to stutter before Cassandra stood up and walked away without saying another word. The boy watched her leave, noticing for the first time how nice she looked her he tight athletic shorts, "These girls are gonna kill me, I swear. But what a way to go…"

A familiar voice calling his name over the intercom made Naruto jump back up, "Naruto? Naruto, w-where are you? I've got a s-surprise for you!"

It was clearly Hinata's voice, which made him call back before he walked out of the room, "I'm in the training room. Give me a second, I'll meet you out in the living room."

Naruto walked from the training room to the living room, which were a little too far away from another if you asked him, and soon saw the blue haired girl there waiting for him. She had a sort of black bundle in her arms, "Naruto, come here! I c-can't wait for you to see this!"

"Um, do you realize that whatever you're holding is moving?" Naruto asked as something fury began to wriggle in her arms. It burst from her arms and tackled the boy, with him just barely catching it. The creature began to lick him, making Naruto realize what it was, "That's some serious puppy breath right there. Hey, stop that! It tickles!"

The girl giggled as she watched the tiny black puppy lick her flames face, "Aw, he likes you! What do you think? He's pretty cute, huh?"

Naruto pulled the dog away from his face long enough to get a good look him. It almost looked like Akamaru did when he was a puppy, but with black fur, blue eyes, and a sort of star shape on his forehead. There was no doubt, this was an adorable puppy, "He's so cute I think you'd better be worried about Barbara trying to steal him from you. She loves animals to death."

"Why should she steal him from me? He's your dog," Hinata said, to which Naruto responded with a confused look , "You g-guys kept saying you wanted a guard dog who could tr-rack scents for you out in the field, but you didn't think you could find one t-that would be safe to bring with you out there. An Inuzuka dog should be safe enough, don't you think?"

Finding out that this dog was actually going to be his made Naruto's heart jump, but the fact that it was an Inuzuka was even better, "You're kidding me? We've got our own Inuzuka pup! This is so awesome! What's his name?"

Hinata had remembered exactly what she needed to name him from her last visit to Wayne Manor, "What you s-said you'd name him of course. Ace!"

"Ace the Bathound," Naruto said, which earned a yip of approval from the puppy, "Wait till dad gets a load of you!"

Though Naruto didn't know it, his father was already right behind him with Tim, watching the whole thing unfold, " A dog huh? That was just about the only thing this family was missing. Thank you Hinata, this is a wonderful gift you've gotten us."

Tim had followed his adopted father because of the noise and come in to see what was going on. He was delightfully surprised when he saw the little canine in Naruto's hands, "Sweet, we're getting a dog now? That's the best freaking news I've heard all day. Barbara's gonna freak out when she see's him."

"Dogs really are man's best friend. You'll never find a creature more loyal to you than they are," Sounded out the voice of Amanda Waller, who had sat silently on the couch with Alfred, sipping on a cup of coffee, "Did any of you notice that I was even here until just now? I'm sure Bruce did, but that's because he stepped out to go find Naruto. Looks like found us instead."

Admittedly no one but Bruce had, which Naruto confessed as he sat down in the chair next to the couch with Hinata, "Sorry, the two cutest things in the room had my attention at the moment. It's good to see you Amanda. How come you're here?"

She would need a bit of time to elaborate on that, "I actually have a proposal I wanted to run by you and your father before I ran it by the rest of the Justice League. Seeing as Alfred was nice enough to get me some coffee, I'm assuming you have a second to chat?"

"For you, we can always make a little time," Bruce replied, still greatful to her for introducing him to his son, "What sort of thing did you have in mind?"

Pulling out a few files from the bag next to her, Amanda began to show them a series of pictures she'd had her men take over the past couple of weeks, "Scarecrow's been keeping your team exhaustingly busy as of late, so much so that it's only expected that a few things fell through the cracks on your watch. You're the world's greatest detective, but you're far from perfect. I've been keeping a close watch on Crane because of this, and I noticed he's gotten a new friend. Does the figure in these photos look familiar to you?"

Naruto took one glance at the photos and recognized the orange and black masked man, "Deathstroke...what's ol' Slade doing talking to one of the Scarecrow's top men?"

"This is just one meeting of four they've had over the past month," Amanda explained, gaining everyone in the rooms attention. All of them, even Hinata, who knew only of the Bat Family's top rouges, understood how dangerous this was, "They've been smuggling large crates out of Gotham for him, though I don't know what's in them. Deathstroke's always been good at keeping a low profile, so it's not unlikely that he figured out some way to move them right under your nose. You don't have the unlimited manpower I do to keep such a close eye on things."

Indeed, Bruce didn't have all that large of a team, even now, "Quality over quantity, that's my way of thinking. That's not important right now though. What we need to figure out if what these pictures have to with Amanda's proposal."

Waller was just getting to that, "Based on the intel we've got, it appears that Deathstroke's number one goal is still what it has been for the past decade; he wants an apprentice. If we had someone who was skilled enough to meet his standards, the military would've used them as an undercover years ago. Sadly, we have no one near that level. However, you do."

"You want me to go in there as an undercover agent," Naruto deduced, to which Amanda nodded, "Sounds good on its face, but there's a few problems with your plan. How do we explain Naruto Uzumaki and The Red Fox disappearing from Gotham for a matter of months? Hell, who says I even wanna be gone that long?"

Bruce didn't care for the idea of his son being away for an extended period of time either, "He's got training to do Amanda, and lots of it. We can't have him taking a break right as he's on the verge of finishing his most powerful attack yet."

These roadblocks were ones that Waller had been expecting, "I'm aware of that, and I have a solution. Naruto will have a month to finish up anything that he needs to do before we send out there, and school will be out in a month as well, so no one outside of the family would even notice he's missing. As for the Red Fox, well, it wouldn't be the first time one of your teammates went missing and then came back later on."

"Hm, not bad," Naruto responded after thinking it through for a moment, "How can we be sure I'll get Deathstroke's attention though? He's not an easy man to impress, and I'd probably have to hide my powers so that he wouldn't figure out who I actually am. He's heard of the Red Fox before."

Hinata looked at Naruto in a dumbfounded fashion after he said that, "Even if you can't use your chakra, you're still one of the most dangerous people in this room. If he's interested in your brother, he'll be interested in you."

The girl had taken the words right out of Amanda's mouth, "Precisely. As I said before, this is simply something I wanted to run by you all before I presented it to the entire League. I'll give you more details then. Would this be something you'd all at least be open to hearing more about?"

"It won't be easy to convince me, but I'll let you tell me and the rest of the League your plan," Bruce said, to which Waller grinned victoriously, "We meet at the watchtower in two days. That's how long you've got make sure you've got everything in order."

Amanda wouldn't even need that long, "2 days? Please, I could do it right now if I needed to. Trust me Bruce, by the time I've made my case, you'll see this plan is our chance to finally get into both Deathstroke and Scarecrow's operation. It's time to show these villains just how sneaky the heroes can really be!"


	36. Distractions Pt 2

Hello everyone, and welcome to another chapter of the crossover fanfic that is quickly becoming much longer than I intended it to be, The Red Fox. Don't worry, it's only getting longer because new ideas keep stemming from it. I always love seeing how my stories evolve into something far different than what I originally intended them to be. This chapter will slightly revolve around finishing up the things that I set up during the last chapter, but will be much more focused on giving the story some time to breath while having a bit of fun. Nothing fancy, but we've got a lot to cover, so let's get right to it. Let me warn you now, I was under a tight schedule, so expect some grammatical and spelling mistakes. Also, happy Valentines day to all the people like me out there who are single and just wanna enjoy it on your own like myself. Congrats if you have significant other though, enjoy your time with them. Thanks for reading and please review!

Chapter Soundtrack-Miranda Lambert: Gunpowder and Lead

* * *

"Hold on, we don't know how long Naruto would be gone for?" Mei asked as laid next to her husband in bed, the two of them about to settle down for the night, "How can Waller expect us to just give our son to her when we don't even know when we'll get to see him again?"

Bruce understood her frustrations, as he was feeling almost the exact same way, but did feel the need to point out something to her, "As the Mizukage, you've ordered more than a few people to go undercover for you. How is this any different?"

The woman gave a sort of pout before replying, "Because...because this time it's my son. I'm aware of the double standard here, but that doesn't make this any easier on me. Slade Wilson is monster based on every story I've ever heard about him. No matter how strong or how good of a person I know that Naruto is, it's hard to think of him being away from us like that with someone so horrible. Sure he's in danger on those rooftops at night, but I can reach him in no time in Gotham. I can't do that if he's off in Jump city or god knows where else. I'm...well I'm afraid."

"Believe me darling, I am too," Bruce said, squeezing her hand reassuringly as he knew this was a difficult thing for her to admit, "It's not for sure yet, but Amanda has a way of convincing people. I was hoping Naruto could be here for the birth of sister. Speaking of which, have we come up with a name yet?"

Mei put her head on her husband's shoulder, grumbling a bit, "I've got nothing other than the ones we already came up with. We could go with Martha, after your mother, Futusha, after my mother, or we could up with something original...if I could think of anything."

"Can't say I blame you for that. I can't think of anything myself," Bruce replied, as Mei began to rub little circles on her husband's chest, "Careful there sweety. You're gonna end up getting me in the mood."

That was perfect, seeing as it was her intent, "My love, that's precisely what I was going for. You know how a woman's hormones get when she's pregnant. Besides, I'm stressed and need a distraction. You aren't going to leave me high and dry at a time like this, now are you?"

Being the good husband that he was, Bruce had no intention of doing any such thing, "Sweetie, if I ever say no when you offer me sex, it'll be a good sign that it's time put me down. Now, let's get you out of those clothes!"

"Only if we get you out of yours first," Mei said, climbing on top of him and kissing his neck feverously, "I've been waiting all day for this!"

* * *

Naruto had never been the kind of person who took a someone's feelings lightly. He had his own heart crushed so many times that he took great care to make sure that he never left anyone else in that short or situation. Cheshire was an exception to this, as she'd done something horrendous enough that he genuinely wanted her to feel the kind of pain that he felt. Cassandra Cain however, was someone that he considered a close friend, and maybe even something akin to a sister given enough time. Now she'd confessed to Naruto that she felt a romantic connection between the two of them. Not wanting to lose the connection he'd found with the girl, he decided to take her out for a cup of coffee at a rustic cafe not from the mansion so that the two of them could talk the situation out. With him having gotten his cappuccino and Cassandra having gotten her plain black coffee, she was meticulous about choosing the things that went into her body, it was time to begin the discussion, "So, Cassandra...oh boy, how do I start this? About what you said to me yesterday, regarding your feelings..."

Sipping on her coffee, Cassandra replied in a small, almost embarrassed voice, "Yes, I may not have chosen the best time to admit them to you. I'm glad you know, but with your many issues enduring, it serves only as another problem to distract you."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm glad you told me so that we can figure this out," Naruto comforted her, "You're a part of the family now, and I always take care of my family. Let's try to keep this simple. First, just tell me when you started to like me, okay?"

Cassandra nodded, giving an uncharacteristic smile as she reminisced, "It was about 3 months ago I believe, after you saved me during that riot in Arkham. Zsasz nearly stabbed right in the back, but you stopped him just before he could. I felt so stupid, letting him get behind me like that. Yet, you didn't me wallow when we returned home. You sat there with me for hours, telling me stories of your slips ups, making me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry. I don't know if anyone has ever been able to do that for me. That was the first time I felt like I truly knew you. Seeing how wanted to help me, even though I'd barely said a word to in the three months I'd been there, it awoke something inside me. Does that make sense?"

Despite her usual struggles in communication, Naruto completely understood what she was getting at, "I think I do. Honestly, I'm touched that you feel that way about me, it's kinda the way I want everyone to feel about me. Don't think for a second I don't care about you, because I do, but I'm worried your feelings are stronger than mine. Seeing as how I can't pick between two girls as it is, adding a third one to the mix just doesn't seem right. Not to be a dick, but can we just stay friends, at least for now."

"Of course we can Naruto, I would be honored to be your friend," Cassandra said, holding out her hand as if she was going to shake his. He reached for it in return, but when their hands met, she pulled him into a soul searing kiss. After a pleasant few moments, she broke it, saying in a pant, "My apologizes. I needed to get that out of my system."

Naruto tried to respond to her apology, but he found a voice ringing in his ear more distracting. A dark, comedic, and all around twist voice screaming to him, "Did you feel that kiss boy? There was more tongue in your mouth than in hers, haha! Come on! Throw right on the table! Give these people a show!"

What was frightening about the Joker's rant was that this time, Naruto found himself feeling the urge to do as he said. The clowns idea was more tempting than it had ever been before. No doubt, it was getting stronger, and that rocked Naruto to his core, "Um...it's okay Cassandra. I'm sure worse things will happen to me today."

"Aw, come on! You're more boring than Batman's last colonoscopy," The Joker complained, a mental vision now having appeared right beside the boy, "When I take over, we are gonna have to something about your attitude towards the ladies! If a girl kisses you like that again, you'd better take the chance and make yourself a man already! Sheesh!"

Shaking the clown's voice out of his head, Naruto took another sip of his coffee and stood up, Cassandra following his lead, "Glad we've got that settled. Now, let's head home. Alfred's making cinnamon buns for Hinata, and if we don't get to the mansion soon, she'll eat them all herself."

Cassandra nodded, following closely behind Naruto as he made his way up the sidewalk. However, the loud, shrill voice of a teenage girl pierced his eardrums, "There he is! Naruto Wayne! I've been looking for him all day, ahhh!"

"Oh god, not this again," Naruto groaned, now used to having girls chasing him down at this point. He was the son of the most famous man in Gotham, so his image got around, "Look, whoever you are, can we just take this picture and be done with it? I'm kinda tired today."

When he turned around, he found a girl with bleach blonde hair about his age standing before him. There was something unsettling about her eyes though. They had a deranged look to them, "Picture? I don't want some silly picture. I want you, lover boy, and Kitten always gets what she wants! You've got yourself a pretty new girlfriend sweety!"

Naruto could hardly believe the words coming out of this girls mouth. To be fair, she was rather pretty, with a petite body many girls shoot for, but her voice was like something out of demonic squeak toy, "Look, Kitten is it? You're cute and all, but you're not the first girl to walk up on the street and start hitting on me, and you won't be the last. I don't date girls who throw themselves at me when they don't even know me. Just head home before you embarrass yourself, okay?"

"Oh no you don't," Kitten hissed as Naruto and Cassandra turned around, prepared to leave the girl behind, "I'm not letting you slip away when you're this close to me! You're coming home with me!"

Preparing to tell the girl how wrong she really was, Naruto had just turned around when he felt something smack against his side and begin to wrap around him. It was some kind of whip made from pure orange energy, and it prevented Naruto from moving his hands and arms. This was a new one for him, "What the hell? Not gonna lie, you're the first girl to ever do this to me! Let me go, now!"

Cassandra charged at Kitten, ready to snap the girl's neck in rage. In her haste, the hero failed to realize what her foe contained in her hand. Kitten threw an unknown powder into Cassandra's face, stunning her for a moment before she found herself getting hazy. She fell to the ground unconscious, leaving Kitten in complete control of her object of affection, "Hmph, did she really think she could take my lover boy? No way, Naruto is all mine now! Aren't you snookums?"

"If you get any closer to my face I swear to god I will headbutt you," Naruto replied, earning a small frown form the girl.

Kitten grabbed another handful of the unidentified dust from her pocket and tossed it on his face, causing him to have the same reaction Cassandra had. With Naruto out cold, and the small crowd that had been in the coffee shop having run off, Kitten could get right to work, "Good, I've got him all to myself. Now there's no one to stop me from dragging him home. Wait til you see what you've got in store for you!"

* * *

Though he had no way of being certain, Naruto felt like he'd been out cold for at least an hour. He woke up with his limbs unbound and laying ontop of rather comfortable bed. Naruto sat himself up, wiping some of the sleep from his eyes as he tried to glance around the room. It was pitch black, leaving him completely clueless. It felt inevitable that he'd mutter, "This is feeling way too similar to what happened with Cheshire a while back. Head hurts a little more though…"

"Did you say something snookums?" He heard a voice that made his heart sink call out, "I'm so glad that you're up! We can finally get to know each other now! Well, you can get to know about me anyways. I already know a lot about you…"

The lights flipped on, allowing Naruto to see just where he was. He immediately wished he'd been left firmly in the dark, "Holy shit…"

All around Naruto were pictures of himself, some of them shots he'd taken with his father for magazines, others had clearly been taken with a camera from a distance. Kitten beamed at her handywork, "Do you like it? It took me like a month to get it this far. Aren't you gonna thank me for all my hard work?"

As if the situation wanted to make itself worse, the Joker appeared out of the corner Naruto's eye, putting his two cents in, "Huh, a crazy blonde girl who's obsessed with everything you do and has a pension for violence...why does this feel familiar to me?

"I...well I," Naruto stammered, trying to ignore the Joker and suddenly realizing how free he really was, "Am surprised that none of my arms orlegs are tied up. What's that about?"

Kitten giggled, plopping down on the bed next to her 'boyfriend,' "Because silly, I know you'd never run away from me. Daddy would hurt you if you tried to do something like that."

This was first time she'd mention this 'Daddy' person, "Daddy? Who the heck's your daddy?"

"Oh my god, you haven't met Daddy yet," Kitten screeched, making Naruto cringe, "Daddy, come in here! It's time for you to meet Naruto!"

A set of massive footsteps echoed through the halls of wherever Naruto was being kept. Entering through the doorway was a creature standing on two legs like a human would, but it was covered in a sort of white fuzz with black tufts, had large set of insect wings, and had eyes that looked like something that belonged on a fly. It spoke in a raspy, almost demonic sounding tone, "Naruto Wayne, how nice to finally meet you. My daughter speaks the world of you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Drury Walker."

"Drury Walker? Last I heard he was still making cocoon guns or something. Called himself Killer Moth I think," The Joker said, adding in after he eyed him up, "Looks good though, like he's been working out. He could use some good skin cream though."

Naruto had heard that name before as well, "Drury Walker? As in the criminal engineer Drury Walker? Killer Moth, that Drury Walker?"

"I see my reputation proceeds me," Killer Moth responded, walking up and standing directly in front of Naruto, "Yes, I used to engineer weapons under that name, mainly the cocoon guns I'm famous for. However, due to Scarecrow's rise to power, my services have been needed less and less. He supplies his own men, cutting out the need for me. However, I was able to get a sample of that new miracle drug he's been practically handing out, Titan or something like that, and I attempted to use it with my moths to try and make them produce more silk for my work. Sadly, it worked far too well, and I ended up being attacked by a swarm of my new creations and was infected with some kind of mutating virus. With a little research, I was able to turn my new form into an advantage, using my pheromones to control this new highly deadly generations of moths. There venom is no longer transformative, thanks to some additions I've made, but they're still just as dangerous as ever. Would you like to see them?"

The apparition of the Joker began to jump up and down, "Oh, say yes! Please say yes! I haven't gotten to see a pet rip anything apart since one my minions tried to give Harley's hyenas a bath!

Considering that Naruto needed to assess the damage these things could do if unleashed upon Gotham, he quickly said that he would, "Okay Mr...Moth, I guess, I'll take a look at them. As long as you promise not to send them after me anyways."

Killer Moth grinned, or at least grinned as much as he could with his face being as disturbed as the rest of his body, and motioned for the two teens to follow him. Whatever his work was, the villain seemed rather proud of it. Kitten grabbed Naruto by the arm and began to drag him out of the room so that she could follow her father down to the lab. This was shaping up to be an interesting group of insects.

* * *

"How in the hell did you let her take him like that?" Hinata screamed as she stood next to a groggy Cassandra on the sidewalk, "A villain got the jump on him, I get that, but how do let this crazy bitch do the same thing to you?"

That was the most vocal the young Hyuuga had ever been in life. She hadn't even stuttered once in the entire sentence. Cassandra was almost impressed as she stood herself up, "I didn't expect her to have knockout powder with her! All I could think about was trying to save Naruto! How does you standing here yelling at me help the situation?"

Hinata opened her mouth to fire back, but realized Cassandra was right, "Fine, we'll figure out who to blame later. Do you have any idea who took him?"

"If she doesn't, I do," Came a female voice who'd just arrived. It was Temari, and she was holding a file in her hand and had the new pup Ace under her other arm, "Sorry I'm late, Barbara called me here last minute. Bruce is up at the Watchtower with the rest of the gang and Tim and Stephanie were supposed to be looking into the Red Hood thing, but they're not responding to their communicators. She got a hold of me in the hidden Sand and the Seal Relay System (SRS from this point foreword) got me here pretty quick. By the way, when did Naruto get a dog and why was I told to bring him with me?"

It took no time at all for Cassandra to scold Temari, as there were still a few lingerers around who may have been able to hear them. Admittedly, the fact that she was one of Naruto's current pursuits may have added to the flame, "Not so loud Temari, we don't want them to hear us! Hand Ace off to Hinata and then tell me who were dealing with here."

Temari did just that, which made Hinata ecstatic, as she got hold Ace once again, and then opened the file she'd been holding to begin showing them pictures of w young girl with an older man with white hair, "Her name is Kitten Walker, and she's the daughter of someone called Killer Moth. She has a tendency to be obsessive and occasionally even stalkerish. It appears Naruto's her object of obsession right now, and it might be her craziest moment yet. She's never gotten close to this level of madness until now. We need to find him, fast."

"That's what this little guy must be for," Hinata said, letting Ace her face as she laughed, "He's got a great nose, almost as good as Akamaru's. Give him something with Naruto's scent on it, and he'll track him down in no time."

Though Cassandra wasn't fond of the idea of putting Naruto's fate in the hands of a dog, she didn't see many other options. She picked up the boy's coffee cup for the dog to get the scent off from later and began to walk somewhere more private, "Guess we'll go with that then. Let's get changed and then we'll head out. Luckily I've got an extra mask for Ace with me."

"You're not really going to put a mask on dog, are you?" Temari asked in deadpan, "It's a freaking dog, he doesn't have any identity to hide."

Cassandra pointed to the star on Ace's head, "I disagree. This star is all the identity he needs. People will see that star and put it together that Gotham's heroes are using Naruto's dog to track people down, and it won't take it long for them to put the rest of it together. Ace wears a mask, and that's final."

At this point the group had entered an alleyway, allowing Cassandra to pull of the backpack she'd been wearing and take out a mask for Ace. After making a few adjustments to it, she placed it on the dog's face, covering his star and making his blue eyes impossible to see from the outside. Hinata brought the dog to her face skeptically, "I still don't' think he needs a...Oh my god, he's adorable!"

"Glad you approve," Cassandra said, lacing every word with sarcasm, "Now everyone get dressed already. I don't know about the rest of you, but I refuse to have Naruto lose his virginity to that blond bimbo. Let's move!"

* * *

Killer Moth's basement was lined wall to wall with class cases, maybe 3 dozen of them, each of which contained at least ten moths. Each moth was the size of a large mouse, with fangs that one would usually have guessed were on a spider. They were ferocious, looking ready to consume one another whole. It seemed that Killer Moth's influence was the only thing preventing the bloodbath, "Glorious, aren't they? I'm working breeding four hundred of them now. I've seen these things take a chunk out of steel when they need to. The group I've got here could Gotham a new one like it was nothing. Now this is an army!"

"Yup, it's an army alright," Naruto replied, tugging at his collar, "One Gotham definitely wouldn't wanna deal with. These things would rip a guy's throat right out. Oh boy…"

In Naruto's head, the Joker was right beside him, laughing his ass off at the situation, "Killer Moth, I underestimated you old boy! I would've killed to have a prank like this up my sleeve. I'm in love with these things! They're like little deliverers of winged death!"

Kitten, who had no idea the kind of twisted things the Joker was whispering to Naruto, started to giggle with glee, "Teehee, daddy works real hard on these little guys. It's thanks to the them that I can get whatever I want. If someone says no to me, I can send some of these guys to literally eat their heart out. Oh, and there dust from their wings knocks people right out, so that's fun too! These guys are awesome, huh sweetie?"

"Yeah, they're um...really something," Naruto replied, sweat beginning to protrude from his forehead. It was clear to him now that, until someone came to rescue him, he was going to have to do whatever this girl wished of him. There was no way to calculate how many people these things would end up killing if they were set loose. It was time to bust out whatever acting chops he had, "So Kitten, what would you like to do? I wouldn't wanna let down my _snookums._"

Another screech escaped Kittens lips as she began to list off ideas, "You could take me shopping! Or we could binge The Blacklist on Netflix! Better yet, we could go to my room and have some _Alone time! _Hehe! That one sounds the best, huh lover boy?"

Naruto forced himself to smile, noticing the way Killer Moth was eyeing him, "Of course, Kitten, if that's what you want, that's what we'll do. Mr. Moth, what's your plans?"

"Keep breeding more moths until I get enough of them to take down Scarecrow and all of his men. You're job is to keep Kitten happy while I'm finish up my little project," Killer Moth replied, walking over to one of the cases, "You kids run off and have your fun. I've got a lot of work to do."

The girl nodded to her father, grabbing Naruto's hand and dragging him back up the stairs, "I'm so glad we can finally do this! Oh boy, I hope you're a good kisser!"

Just the thought of that made Naruto a touch sick to his stomach. Still, he'd do it for the sake of his city. He was having a few hopes of his own, "Kissing better be the only thing this girl wants to do today."

* * *

"Ace is leading us into a nasty part of town," Cassandra mused, noting the crumbling brick and chipping paint on every building she passed. If she got through this alleyway without seeing a splatter of blood, it would be a miracle, "It appears Killer Moth has seen better days."

Temari had seen plenty worse in the Hidden Sand, "Back home every neighborhood looks like this. We tend to focus more on military spending, so how a building looks doesn't matter much to us."

The Hidden Leaf tended to be more in the middle, as Hinata soon pointed out, "Military is important in our village, but we spend a decent amount to keep the citizens happy as well. Too much if you ask my father."

"Under normal circumstances, this conversation would fascinate me, but right now Naruto must be our main concern," Cassandra scolded as she noticed that Ace had stopped dead in his tracks in front of set of cellar doors, "Looks like we've found him. Hinata, before I go breaking into someone's home, are you sure that Ace is right about this?"

Hinata had complete faith in the pup, "I've never seen an Inuzuka nose be wrong. If that's where Ace says Naruto is, then that's where he is."

Even if she was competing with the girl for Naruto's affection, Cassandra still trusted Hinata. There were few people in the world who had a kinder heart than she. Cassandra picked up Ace, gave him a little kiss on the nose to show some gratitude, and placed him gently next to the cellar doors, telling him stay right where he was. Cassandra then took out a Batarang, throwing it at the pathetic padlock holding the cellar doors closed and breaking it in two, "Alright ladies, here we go. We get in, get Naruto out, and leave without causing anymore trouble. Everybody got that? Good, then let's move!"

* * *

"Alright, we are almost ready for our first big kiss," Kitten said, checking on her recently applied eyeshadow and putting on some neon pink lipstick, "I have to look perfect for this moment."

It was fine with Naruto if she took as long as she liked, "No rush, it's not like I'm going anywhere, right?"

"Nowhere but right here to lock lips with me," Kitten said, putting her makeup down and turning to Naruto and grabbing his face with her hands, "Now, pucker up!"

Naruto tried his damnedest to look like he was excited about this, "Alright then. Get over and kiss me already."

With a squeal of delight, Kitten pulled the boy towards her and smashed their lips together. Acting like he was getting into it as much as she was, Naruto grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him. She broke the kiss after a few long moments, panting with a smile plastered firmly on her face, "Wow, that was one hell of a kiss. Hehe, I got lipstick on you!"

"Yeah, real funny," Naruto replied, trying to sound normal. The kiss had been sloppy at best, but he still acted as though he enjoyed it, "You're a good kisser."

Kitten slinked her arm around the boy, licking her lips, "You're not too bad yourself. Keep this up, and who knows how far you might get tonight! Since you did such a good job, I'll make you any kinda food you want me to."

That was a surprisingly nice gesture, considering she was an absolute nut. Naruto wasn't about to turn it down. He tried to think of something that would buy him some time. Something she likely wouldn't have on hand, "Well, my favorite food in the world is,"

"Ramen," Kitten exclaimed, throwing Naruto for a loop, "You're favorite food is ramen, I know! I made some before I you came just in case you wanted any. Aren't I the best?"

Naruto had no real choice but to agree with her, "Yup, you're the best. I thought it would take you forever to make that...but you have it for me right now...that is just great."

Kitten ran off to get him his food, leaving the teen to think to himself, "_Please guys, hurry up and get here already! This bitch is nuttier than the Joker!"_

"The hell she is," Mumbled the clown inside Naruto's head. He threw himself into the bed, wondering what he's done in a past life to deserve having to deal with these mad men. Odds are, he'd never know.

* * *

Descending down into the basement, Batgirl could hardly see a thing. She clicked on the night vision on her mask, which enabled her to see the bland concrete walls surrounding her. The two girls behind her wore similar suits to the one she wore, only without all the symbols. Batgirl called back to them, "The little switch on the left side of your mask is night vision. Turn it on if you need it. Hinata, you can just use your Byakugan if you want. From what I understand, it works on a similar principal."

Hinata did just that, preferring to use her own powers rather than some technology she didn't trust. Temari, however, was forced to use the mask. It worked in both cases, and they were able to see that the corridor was about to end. Her eyes allowed Hinata in particular to see that hundreds of small creatures moving around in a cage while a large man tended to them. She could see it was time to warn the others, "I don't know if you guys can see it yet, but we've got someone right ahead of us. He looks big too. Do we have some kinda plan?"

"Kick his oversized ass comes to mind," Temari offered, confident the foe would be no match for them, "I don't think anyone in this city is tough enough to beat all three of us. It's probably Killer Moth anyways. He didn't sound like much of a threat in the file I read about him.."

That was a statement Batgirl was less than sure of. She skidded to halt, holding out her arms to stop the other girls as well, "Gotham's home to many of the most dangerous criminals in the world, and they've had a tendency to get massive boosts of power lately. I don't want us to go in there only to find out we're outmatched."

Temari found it hard to believe that anyone without chakra could outmatch her, "Look, I get that you don't have any powers, which means you have to be careful and all, but I've seen the kind of people you've got around here. You've got some tough ones, I'll give you that, but no one who can ever compare to Hinata or myself. If you're scared, step aside and leave it to me and Hinata."

"Perhaps it would be b-better if you let us handle this," Hinata added in, "You know, for Naruto's sake."

Batgirl had anticipated something like this occurring soon. Temari and Hinata had always seen her as the threat because of how much time Naruto spent with the girl, and they could tell she had a thing for the boy. Girls have a sort of sixth sense about that. Batgirl understood their distrust of her, and that it was true that they could likely take anyone Gotham had to offer, but that didn't mean she could let them do something that could lead to their demises. Naruto cared for them after all, "I realize that your feelings for Naruto make it challenge to work with me, but it would be wrong of me not to remind you a certain fact. We've had dozens of ninjas more powerful than you come to this city, including Kurenai Yuhi and Kakashi Hatake, and both of them have said they weren't sure they could've beaten their opponent without the help of Batman and the others. You may not need my help with this villain, but on the off chance that you do, I'm going wherever you go. Feel free to try and stop me."

The two kunoichi's glanced at one another, considering everything the girl had said. Neither of them could deny finding themselves respecting Batgirl more after the speech. Temari and Hinata both nodded to her, accepting that she'd be with them till the end on this one. With that settled, they all made their way back down the corridor, this time silently so that they didn't alert Killer Moth. As they drew timidly closer, Hinata noticed something about the way the flying objects moved. They reminded her of something her bug obsessed partner Shino had once described to her about the way different insects moved. Hinata could see they moved with a short of flutter, which she remembered meant it was most likely either a moth or a butterfly. Considering who they were going up against, she knew which one it was, and that the hundreds of small life forms were far bigger than they should be, "Guys, I think those things up ahead are actual moths, and they're huge! As in big enough to take a bite out of us huge! I think that guy has wings too!"

"Shit, if we go in there those things are gonna tear us to shreds," Temari cursed, her mind swarming with ideas, "We're gonna have to take him out before those bastards can get to us."

Batgirl pulled out three smoke pellets, getting a little glint in his eye, "Taking someone down before they realize it is one of my specialities. Hinata, follow my lead. Temari, we're gonna need you to wait back at the other end of the hall. I've got something special planned that only you can pull off. Have your strongest wind attack at the ready. Don't worry about the two of us, I'll make sure we're safe. Believe me, you'll know when to use it."

A wide grin spread across the girl's face as she turned around to return to the cellar entrance. Once she was on her way, Batgirl threw the pellets down the corridor. They immediately burst, causing a gruff voice to call out, "What the hell? I can't see a damn thing!"

"Now Hinata! Move, move," Batgirl cried, sprinting the short remaining stretch of the hallway. Her mask and the lavender haired girl's powers let them see through the mist, knowing right where Killer Moth stood. They could see that villain was headed straight for a switch on the wall, one that would likely realse a cloud of hell upon them and Gotham. That was exactly what Batgirl's had been hoping he'd do, as she knew exactly how to release the moths. Her next order of business was to stop Killer Moth, so she took out her thread with the batarang at the end and threw it around the villain's wrist, pulling him towards her and allowing Hinata to sweep for his legs. He came tumbling down right at Batgirl's feet, "Like a moth to a flame!"

Killer Moth groaned at the horrible pun before Batgirl smashed her fist into his skull. It hurt like hell, but his increased strength allow him to stay conscious. He began to push himself back up on two legs, but Hinata put a stop to that with a well placed hit in between his shoulder blades. This time Killer Moth stayed down, giving Hinata the chance to ask once she was done panting, "How did you know that would go so wel-ll? What if we'd been too slow and he'd gotten to that button on ti-ime?"

"I've seen you fight before, and one of the deadliest aspect of your arsenal is speed. I was reasonably confident that you could out speed a man his size who likely still hadn't gotten fully used to his new body yet," Batgirl responded, dragging Killer Moth body to the entrance of a stairwell the seemed to lead to the rest of the house, "With a team like the one we've got here, I think we could likely defeat 80% of the people here in Gotham. We simply have to plan ahead and make sure our emotions don't get the better of us. Would you kindly stand next to the release switch?"

The girl nodded as Batgirl looked at the control panel by the stair up and down, trying to discern which button did which. Hinata soon realized what the endgame here was, "We release the moths, let them fly down the corridor, then have Temari rip them to shreds with her wind attacks since they'll have no place to go. Is that d-door going to be able to protect us for sure though?"

Batgirl prefered not to say she was sure of anything, ever, simply because that was asking to be proven wrong. In this case however, she felt more than confident enough to say, "Most definitely. This panel appears to control a pair of blast doors that even Temari's wind couldn't cut through. The moths will be destroyed, while we're left perfectly unharmed. Whenever you're ready, press that button and get yourself over here as fast as you can. Once our blonde friend is finished with the insects, we'll go find Naruto."

"S-sounds solid," Hinata said, her hand hovering over the button, "Alright, three...two...one… now!"

She pressed the switch and dove into stairway entrance as quickly as she could, Batgirl closing the blast doors behind her. Once they were safe, the army of moths broke free, with the sound of wings flapping and fangs gnashing making a twisted short of music. Temari must have heard it all, because only a few moments later they heard her cry, "Summoning Jutsu: Great Sickle Weasel Technique!"

The sound of something akin to a hurricane went off behind the doors, and hundreds of screeching insect let their voice be heard as well. Things went on like this for nearly a minute before the sound died down, allowing Batgirl to reopen the doors and see the carnage that had been left behind. First thing to hit her was the smell, something like the most pungent mothballs scent ever created. Then the yellow guts and tuffs of fur caught her eye, lining the room as if they were its paint. Before she could take in any more of it, Temari came into view looking pleased with her work, "And that's how you kill a small army with one attack. This whole day is turning out to be much more fun than I thought it was gonna be. What do you say we go rescue Naruto and make it perfect, eh girls?"

"That is precisely what I was thinking," Replied Batgirl, turning to head up the stairs, "Let's make this bitch pay for thinking that she can literally steal Naruto away from his family!"

* * *

The ramen was almost gone, her lipstick was being reapplied, and Naruto could almost feel Kitten's tongue being forcibly shoved down his throat. The thought of that nauseated him, and he wasn't sure how much more he could take before he did something stupid and pissed the girl off enough to make her father release the swarm. Naruto looked at her eyes, noticing the demented look in them growing, "You okay Kitten? You're looking a little, well…"

"Excited?" Kitten asked, which was far from the word Naruto would've used, "That's because I am! I'm thinking about all the fun you and I are gonna have as boyfriend and girlfriend! We're gonna get married one, day, make love, have _babies! _Isn't it all so wonderful?"

Wonderful was the last thing that came to Naruto's mind, but he kept his happy demeanor. He needed someone in here, and fast. The very talk of all this was making him want to puke. Right as he was about to sit the bowl down next to him, he heard someone running down the hallway. Naruto though it was Killer Moth, making him groan under his breath, "Oh god, what now? How could this situation possibly get any worse?"

Kitten looked at the entrance to find Batgirl and the others bursting through. She was lived, while Naruto's heart sored, "Hey, who are you guys? Daddy! Get in here right now!"

"Daddy's not coming to save your ass this time princess," Hinata growled, her fist flying at light speed into Kitten's nose. It broke instantly, blood squirting everywhere. Temari then kicked her in the stomach, making her fly back onto her bed. Batgirl finished the whole thing off with a strong left hook to the jaw, knocking her out instantly. The crazy bitch wouldn't be getting back up this time, "And that's what you get for trying to hurt Naruto!"

The three girls high fived as Naruto jumped up, pulling them all into a group hug. He'd never been happier to see them in his entire life, "Thank god you're finally here! I thought she was gonna try to kiss me again. You three look more beautiful right now than you ever have to me."

They all hugged him back, Batgirl pleased as could be that he was okay, "We reached you in time, that's all that matters to me. Thank you, Temari and Hinata, for helping me save him. I couldn't have done it without the two of you."

"Hey, we couldn't have done it without you either," Temari replied as they all broke the hug, "You're tougher than you look girl. I'm glad we had you by our side instead of anyone else."

Naruto was happy to see the girls were getting along, but figured the time for talking would come later, "Let's finish being sentimental later. I don't want to give these nutbags time to wake up. What do you guys say we drag them off to Arkham and then spend the rest of the day relaxing at the mansion, huh? Maybe watch a movie?"

That was a plan that all of them could get behind. It had been one hell of a day, one that hopefully wouldn't repeat itself anytime soon. There had been some good things to come out of it, sure, but they didn't wanna press their luck that things would turn out so well a second time. This day as a whole had turned out to be one hell of a distraction...


	37. Second Chances Pt 1

Welp, I'm back ladies and gentlemen, and so are the major plot points. Glad everyone enjoyed our little detour from the main plotline in the last chapter of the Red Fox, but now focus must be returned to our regularly scheduled program. This chapter will have some character development for Stephanie, cover Waller's pitch to the League, and feature some interactions between Naruto and Kurama. Should be fun, right? It'll be a little slower, but these are some major issues being brought up, so it's rather inevitable. Well, I'm gonna go watch the Oscars now, because I'm an obsessive film buff. Anyone else rooting for Ennio Morricone? Thanks for reading and please reveiw!

Chapter Soundtrack-Ennio Morricone: L'ultima diligenza di Red Rock [Versione Integrale]

* * *

The view of Earth from the Watchtower was one of the greatest things that any human could ever experience. From space it seemed so much smaller, making the stars around it seem like a canvas God himself had painted the planet on. It was a sight that Bruce never grew tired of. He and his beautiful wife Mei stood next to one another, taking the sight in as they waited for Waller to arrive, "You know, I think this is second most gorgeous sight I've ever laid my eyes on. Right behind you, of course."

"I'm married to you and I'm having your child Bruce, there's no need to use those corny lines on me," Mei replied, giving him a small kiss on the cheek, "Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't love hearing it."

Dinah (Black Canary) watched the two with a small smile on her face, thinking about her lover Green Arrow, "You know, of the people I figured would manage to find love like that, Bruce would've been at the bottom of the list. Yet, there he stands, about to be the first core League Member with a kid of his own. Kind of adorable, don't ya think Oliver?"

The famous archer put his arm around his longtime lover, whispering to her, "To be fair, I've been trying to get you to have kids for awhile now. You keep shooting me down, remember?"

"What can I say? 'Justice doesn't take maternity leave'" Dinah fired back in her best Batman impression, making them both chuckle, "I promise baby, someday soon, we'll have a couple little birdies of our own. I love you Ollie."

"I love you too, my little songbird," Oliver said, the two meeting for a gentle kiss. Once he looked up, the man noticed two more women entering the room, "Amanda Waller and Selina Kyle. Two of our greatest enemies turned two of our most useful allies. Glad you guys could make it."

Both women smiled as they walked into the open end of the horseshoe shaped table as the League members all sat down. Selina used her felina like abilities to jumped over the table and sit down next to Bruce and Mei, "Well hello you two. Glad to see both of you are still alive and kicking. What about the baby? She kicking too?"

Mei leaned over and gave her friend a tight hug, which Selina returned, before responding, "Oh, she's kicking alright. Kicking my bladder all night long just to keep me awake. What about you? How've you been?"

"Alright I guess. Haven't been having much fun lately, since you people won't let me steal from museums and rich pricks anymore," Selina responded, putting her feet up on the table and arching her back in a little stretch, "I do get to steal from other thieves though, which is more of challenge, so I get my kicks somewhere."

Yes, the great Catwoman had given up her thieving ways in order to help her friends in the League. It was a major sacrifice by Selina's standards, but not one that Bruce didn't appreciate, "It's the only way we could have work with us and keep up appearances with Gotham's underworld. I'm not sure I can count the number of times that's saved our asses. Believe me Selina, we're all grateful to you for it."

Waller's plan was actually counting on the very relationship Catwoman had with the villains in her home town. Once everyone was sat down and focused on her, Waller began to explain why, "Hello everyone, glad I could get all of you here for this little sit down. I'm sure you're all wondering why I invited Selina Kyle here with us. That would be because I needed her to put many of your minds at ease. You see, I knew that all of you already have reservations about Slade Wilson's influence on Naruto during the time he'd spend undercover with him. No matter what points I brought up here, that is what all of you would come back to in the end. My proposal to counteract that point is to have Ms. Kyle here act as Naruto's handler, keeping an eye on while pretending to be a close associate of Naruto's identity. I trust that puts some of your minds at ease, does it not?"

"There are only a handful of individuals I would trust with my son's life. Selina Kyle is in fact lucky enough to be one of those people," Bruce admittedly, making Selina send him a small smirk, "If she's there to watch Naruto, that puts a couple of my worries to rest. Not all of them, but some of them."

Most everyone else nodded in agreement, though a few heroes still had their reservations about the ex-villain. Waller moved on to her next point, "Next, allow me to tell you all how I plan to have Naruto gain Deathstroke's attention. I'm sure all of you have heard of a little experiment we tried last year known as the Suicide Squad. Seven criminals were assembled and placed on a team together to take on missions I considered too dangerous to send my soldiers out to do. Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang were a few members that come to mind. It, admittedly, failed miserably. Even with explosive chips implanted in their skulls, we were unable to control them. After that disaster, we vowed that we need try something like that again. Recently, I believe I found a reason to revive the program, if you catch my meaning."

Clark Kent caught the meaning, and was ready to tear it down in no time at all, "You want us to have Naruto go undercover with a team full of super villains? What in the hell have you been smoking woman?"

"I expected a reaction like this, so let me explain a bit further," Waller continued, making sure she wasn't shut down before she even got to begin, "There will only be two, maybe three actual villains on the team, ones that I personally trust. The rest of the team I intend to make up with ninjas from the Great Ninja Nations. Using their jutsus, we'll pass them off as super villains with very specific sets of powers. As long as there's a few people the real criminals can recognize on the team, they won't question the rest. We have them go out for a couple of mission, get Deathstroke's attention, and then disband it once he's gotten in on the villainous operation. Simple as that. Any questions?"

Of course Bruce was the first one to respond, "What ninjas did you have in mind? Are the people we know or someone new?"

Waller saw that coming as well, "I've got a list of possible candidates made up, ready for your approval at any time. I believe you know all of them, but there I prepared files for each one just in case."

"That's something I'm sure both of us will love reviewing," Mei said, being sure she got Waller's attention, "What villains were planning on joining the squad?"

Yet another question Amanda had seen coming, "Catwoman of course, possibly Killer Croc, as he's always willing to work with us in exchange for making sure the research to fix his condition to continues, and I'm not certain on any others just yet. Mr. Freeze perhaps. I believe you trust him, do you not?"

Bruce trusted him to a certain extent, though maybe not enough to put his son's life in his hands, "I'll keep the idea of him being there in mind. Honestly, I don't think there's any criminal I want near my son for that long, so I might just have to settle for one that's good enough. At the moment I don't have any major objections to this plan."

"Actually, I think we both have some major objections to this plan, but we're putting them aside because we know most of them stem from nothing more than Naruto being our son," Mei admitted, taking Bruce's hand in hers and squeezing it, "What about the other League members? Is there anything big enough to make you unwilling to at least spend a few days considering Amanda's proposal?"

After racking their brains for a bit, nothing came to anyone's mind. Clark could see that the issue, at least for the time being, had been solved, "I'll take that as a no. Okay, we'll reconvene in one week to vote on whether to move forward with the plan or not. Now that all of that's settled, what do you all say we have a little fun? I've got a deck of cards here, and I wanna see if any of us can finally beat Bruce at a game of Texas Hold Em'."

A collective, 'Helly yes' rung out around the room. They'd been playing these card games for years, and no one had been able to read Bruce's poker face, making him virtually impossible to beat. To make things even worse, he was a master of understanding body language, so bluffing him was nothing more than a pipe dream. He always gave the money he won from them back, as Bruce had no need for any more cash, but that wasn't really the point. One of the Justice League members needed to beat him for principals sake. This time, no one planned on leaving until Bruce got taken down...it was going to be a long night.

* * *

"You stupid little...ugh! I can't even think of a word for what you are right now," Barbara screamed at the top of her lungs, her rage directed at Stephanie as she stood in the center of the Batcave, "You turned off your communicator? Your only line of communication, and you just switch it off! If I hadn't been able to get ahold Temari, who knows what could've happened! Even worse, you turned of Tim's communicator without even telling him! Actually, I can think of a word for what you are right now, but it's a word I promised I'd never call another woman!"

Stephanie knew what that word was, (We all know what the word is, I just don't like using it) and she was tempted to use it herself, "Oh boohoo, I decided to go off the leash for a bit! Who the fuck cares? Me and Tim wanted to have a little fun. It's not like you and Nightwing didn't fool around sometimes."

"Not while we were on a mission," Barbara screamed back, her rage growing, "You were supposed to be looking into the Red Hood! Did you at least get anything while you were out patrolling? Something that'll make me wanna strangle you less?"

The teen responded proudly, "Oh, we got something alright, but not on the Red Hood! We went after the Penguin, the guy who killed Tim's father, because none of you lazy asses would!"

Barbara grabbed the girl by the shirt, growling to her, "Are you kidding me? We've been spending all that time trying to get him to forget about revenge, and you're fueling that fire? We've taken down the Penguin before, we'll do it again! Just because we refuse to kill him doesn't mean we don't care about Tim!"

"Ugh, you asshats are impossible to talk to," Stephanie said, throwing her hands up in the air, "Sure, you care about him, but you're too stupid to know what's best for him! Eventually, one of you is gonna have to sack up and admit some people deserve to die!"

That brought Barbara back to something Bruce had told her many a time, "That's one way to look at it. Another is that if you kill a murder, the number of murders in the world stays the same."

Stephanie couldn't take any more of this conversation. She turned around and walked up the stairs, screaming as she left, "That's only true if stop at one!"

"Well isn't that some solid logic," Barbara screamed back in the most ironic tone she had. She turned the intercom button the Batcomputer and slammed on it, "Tim, get down here, now!"

Rather than talk to both of them at the same time and likely start a threeway argument in which no one really got a chance to be heard, Barbara decided to talk them individually. Unfortunately, this meant Stephanie had her seething as Tim walked down the stairs to greet her, " Barb, I know you're probably not too happy with me right now,"

"Not to happy does not begin to describe how I feel about you right now," Barbara snapped, "You left Naruto in a terrible situation because you wanted to feel up your girlfriend? I understand that you're a young, hormonal, and occasionally stupid teenager, but how do you let her get ahold of your communicator like that?"

Tim shuffled his feet as he admitted, "I was focused on something else. Stephanie was, you know…"

No, Barbara didn't know, and she really didn't want to, "Don't give me any more details, I feel like I know too much already. Honestly Tim, I don't know what you see in that girl. She would've made Jason Todd look calm," she exclaimed, counting after a brief pause, "You don't buy all that stuff she's saying about the Penguin, do you? After all the time you spent getting past your anger at the Penguin, I don't wanna see you go backwards."

"Come on Barb, you know I wouldn't be stupid enough to go after Cobblepot myself," Tim responded, adding in almost as an afterthought, "I just can't help but think about it sometimes, what he did to my father. One stupid mistake, one messed up gun trade, that was all it took for the Penguin to put a bullet in my dad's head the throw him out onto the street. No fancy body disposal, no big cover up, just toss him out on the street. No cop's gonna bother to look into the murder of Jack Drake, right? Kinda hard to defend a city when it seems like it doesn't even care."

Barbara put a gentle hand on the boy's cheek, noticing his eyes had begun to water. She pulled him in for a hug, whispering to him, "Gotham's a city that can chew you up and spit you out, but it has good people in it Tim. You're dad just ended up with the wrong people. That's why we're so careful with you. You've got so much good in you, all you need is a push in the right direction and we know that you'll be something great. I get that you care about Stephanie, and that you just wanna help her like we helped you, but please, when you're out there patrolling the streets, take it seriously. We lost enough people in this family as it is."

After hearing all this, the boy couldn't help but feel twinge of guilt. He hugged the girl back, grateful to have been found people like these. Tim was still a work in progress, and he knew that, but at least his new family made him feel like all that work was going to be worth it in the end.

* * *

_The landscape of Naruto's mind had changed a great deal over the years, and it had changed to reflect his changing view of the gigantic beast the dwelled within him. Kurama was something the young man had once viewed as his greatest burden in this world, the thing that had destroyed any chance he could've had at a normal life. Yet, after living with him for just shy of 16 years, Naruto found himself realizing what the Fox actually was to him. Kurama was both a guardian and mentor to him, keeping him alive and showing him how to grow even stronger. At first, Naruto had simply believed he did this out of self preservation. After all, if the container died, it's contents went with it. That was an argument that no longer made sense to Naruto, as Kurama, like all tailed beasts, was made up of too much chakra to merely die. Over the course of several years, enough of his chakra would find it's way to the place where he'd been born and would reform him in the same state that he had been before. Essicantly, Kurama was free to let Naruto die and then be free himself, granted after an extended period of time. True, he would be hunted down and likely sealed away again, but it seemed to Naruto that the time spent on the outside world would've been worth it to him. Once he realized this, Naruto began to wonder if freedom was what Kurama wanted at all. Perhaps what he'd really wanted over all these years was for a someone to reach out and make a real connection. It seemed to Naruto that, after centuries in isolation, Kurama desired nothing more than an honest to goodness friend. Of course the Fox feared that humans would only befriend him for his power, as it was tantalizing proposition, so Naruto had to earn his trust before they could think of another as more than mere partners. Three years later, after spending countless hours inside his own head talking with Kurama, the young man was starting to believe that could be a reality._

"_This place is really starting to shape up, isn't it?" Naruto asked, looking around at the forest that had taken the place of sewer the Kyuubi's confinement had once been. The forest wasn't the most lush one he'd ever seen, but it was certainly better than a damp prison of cement and steel. Rather than metal bars, Kurama was now held back by a cage of intertwined roots. It was quite the transformation, "Took us a few years, but we got here. Anything else I can start trying to make for you when I meditate?"_

_Kurama laid inside the cage, mumbling in response, "Eh, not really. Just make it greener and I'll be good."_

_The boy nodded, noticing how short the reply had been, "You okay? If you're tired, I can leave, give you some time to rest or something."_

"_Nah, nothing like that kit," Kurama said, rather liking having the company. There was something else on his mind, "I've been watching you try to court those women of yours, and it's brought up some interesting thoughts. Humans are part of the less than five percent of creatures on this earth that commit to a mate for life. It baffles me, seeing you do something like that. You find yourself strongly attracted to three different females, so why not mate with them all? Why restrict yourself to one? Why do they only want the one mate as well? It doesn't seem logical to me. You humans are such strange creatures."_

_Naruto chuckled at the observation, "I get why you might think that, but humans have this little thing called jealousy. Try as we might, we end up finding a person a we like so much that we don't want to see them with anyone else. If both humans feel that way, they end up agreeing to stay with one another for life. You've been watching humans for a long time, how does it still confuse you?"_

_The mechanics weren't what threw Kurama for a loop, "I understand that, but the jealousy is foolish to me. If you love something, wouldn't you want it to have as much pleasure as possible? Take your potential lovers for instance. If you could have all three of them without any objections, wouldn't you take that chance?"_

"_What? No, that'd be wrong," Naruto said, blushing a bit, "Sure, it'd be fun and all, but I couldn't do it without hurting one of them. I'd end up loving one more than the others, no matter how hard I tried not to. If I loved them, I wouldn't want to put them through something like that. You've got emotions, you must have had a mate that you cared about like that."_

_Kurama gave a small 'hmph' before replying, "A mate would require another member of my species, which I don't have. I can't mate with the other tailed beasts, because we aren't the same kind of animals, and I can't really mate with a regular fox either. They're too small, both in body and mind."_

_That was something that Naruto had never considered, "Wait, so that means that you can't have a wife and kids? Couldn't you transform your shape or something? I heard you can do that based on a bunch old legends. Maybe you could find a human you cared for?"_

"_Sure, if I ever got free, that might work in theory," Kurama started, raising Naruto's hopes a bit, "But we couldn't' be a genetic match for children, and I'm an immortal, meaning I'd outlive her. I don't like the idea of falling in love with something only to know I have to go one without it one day."_

_Naruto could understand that, even sympathize with it. He didn't know if he wanted to find a lover because of the kind of danger he would put her in. However, he didn't want to live life alone, and he didn't want Kurama to have to either. So he suggested, "What about one of the female tailed beasts? If you two transformed into the same thing, then could you maybe have a family?"_

_The first response Kurama wanted to give was to tell Naruto how stupid he was. After thinking about it for a moment however, a sudden realization hit him, "I've never considered that. I mean, we're made of the same immortal chakra, it's only the reproductive systems that differ. Though I don't know what kind of children we'd have, and there's only three female tailed beasts for me to choose from…"_

"_Hey, it's not for certain, but who knows? Maybe this could all work out for you?" Naruto offered, continuing for good measure, "If you guys can't have kids, considering you can become anything you want, it'd still sure be fun trying!"_

_A burst of laughter left Kurama's throat, "Haha, well you've got me there. Perhaps it's something I'll have to try. You know, if I was to be truly free, and didn't have to worry about someone trying to captured me for the rest of my life."_

_Both Naruto and Kurama's faces turned more somber at that last remark. The teen looked his larger friend in the eye, saying with absolute sincerity, "I promise you, if the day ever comes where I feel I can safely let you free, I will. I'll let you have the life you've been denied almost since you were born. I don't blame you if you don't believe me, but, you still have my word...and I never break my word."_

"_Heh, you really are something else kid," Kurama said, a small smile on his face, "Now get the hell out of here. I've had enough philosophical talk for one day. Besides, your weak ass needs to get training."_

_Naruto nodded, glad to see Kurama hadn't lost he need to give him shit. This conversation had been one of their best ones yet. If things kept up like this, maybe the Fox's mind could be changed in regards to all humans. It was a longshot, but hey, Naruto had a way of making these things happen._

* * *

The boy's eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the dimly lit living room more quickly than he expected. Naruto gave a small yawn and uncrossed his legs, stretching a bit as he stood up. Wayne Manor was silent as he listened to see if his father or one of his friends was present. This started to worry the boy, so he called out, "Hello? Anyone home? Come on, I know wasn't meditating for that long."

"Look at you...making friend with that monster," Growled the voice of a woman Naruto didn't recognize. As if from thin air, said woman appeared in front of him, with red hair and face that reminded him of his own. It hit him that it was Kushina Uzumaki, his biological mother, as she continued her rant against him, "We're dead because of that thing, and so are hundreds of other people! Yet you're trying to help it? What kind of son are you?"

Naruto began to back away, his heart racing ever faster, "Mom? What's going? How are you here right now?"

He bumped into another person behind him. Naruto turned to find his biological father, Minato Namikaze, staring into his deep blue eyes, "I sacrificed myself to save the village from that monster. Your burden was to protect him Naruto, not to act as though that creature has feelings or emotions like you and I do!"

"This can't be happening, you both died almost 16 years ago," Naruto said, watching as bloody holes appeared in both of their torsos, "I'm dreaming! I woke in a fucking nightmare!"

The next thing the boy knew, another figure appeared on the couch. It was the purple clad clown prince of crime, the Joker, and he was having the time of his life, "Hahaha! This is priceless! It's like the best tv show ever! Watching you squirm, with your sins crawling down your back! Oh, I could do this for hours! Who's next in this little party?"

Naruto didn't know, and he didn't plan on staying to find out, "Forget that! I'm waking up before I have to put up with any more of this."

"Oh go ahead, try to wake yourself up," The Joker said nonchalantly, "You'll get no resistance from me."

When the Joker planned on letting you do whatever it was you wanted, that was typically a sign he knew exactly what was going to happen next. Still, Naruto didn't want to stay here any longer, so he brought his hand up to his mouth and bit down as hard as he possibly could. He expected the pain to wake up, but instead his teeth pierce through the skin and made the boy bleed. Naruto yelped in pain, looking up at the Joker, "Ah, son of a bitch that hurt! Why can't I wake up? What'd you do to me you sick clown?"

The Joker cackled, throwing his hand over his mouth as though he was trying to control himself, "Haha, don't you get it boy? You're not asleep! Just like with me, those two ghosts you saw were all in your head! Look around, you'll see I sent them back to the twisted little corners of your mind."

"There's no way," Naruto began, but saw the clown was right before he could finish. The visions of his mother and his father were gone now, "What the hell? I bumped into him. That dad was real, I felt him!"

Now the villain had his chance to explain, "They were real, but they were only real to you. I, using my beautiful artistic vision, made them. That's right brat, I'm officially the maestro of your mind! The Joker's getting closer and closer to being behind the wheel! From this point forward, I can create things in your head that you actually perceive as reality! Just think of all the fun that you and I are going to have from now on! What should I conjure up next?"

Naruto didn't respond. He'd gone pale, his mind going mad at the thought of this new threat. The Joker had been bad enough when he was just talking to Naruto, now he could actually make alter things as well? This was more than just bad, it was possibly the worst thing the clown could've figured out how to do. Water began to fill the boy's eyes as he plead in a bitter voice, "Please, don't do this. After everything I've been through, and every last person I've had to prove wrong to get here, don't destroy what I've built. Just crawl back into whatever dark, endless chasm you climbed out of and stay there. For once in your miserable life, make a decision that doesn't ruin someone else's future!"

"He...hehe," The Joker began to laugh, letting it build up slowly before his chuckle became more demented, "Haha, you know something boy? Hehehe, you, ha, you sound just like your father! Hahaha! That really is rich! Hehehehe! Hahaha! Oh...oh man...I'm going to enjoy beating that out of you."

And just like that, there it was. The gauntlet had been thrown down. Naruto had no plans on giving his body away to this monster and the Joker had no intentions of going away quietly. This meant things could only end one of the two ways. Either the Joker was destroyed once and for all, or he would gain the power of beast so strong nations had warred over it. If events turned to the latter...then God help Gotham.

* * *

Edward Nygma had never pictured himself as lapdog for anybody. In fact, he thought Gotham should've been smart enough to figure out he was best suited to be the man in charge years ago. To him, being the top dog seemed inevitable. However, after hearing the Scarecrow's plan to take the city back so they could return it to the people it belonged to, the criminals, he had to concede that it was the best possible course for Gotham. More importantly though, it was the best possible course for the Riddler. If the Scarecrow's plan came to fruition, which it likely would by Nygma's calculations, it would be best to stay on the man's good side. Being his strategic adviser and one of the few people who knew the full plan was most certainly the Scarecrow's good side.

"Oh come on you brutes, speed it up, will you?" The Riddler called as he watched the strongest men his boss had to spare try to move 4 long metal crates, "I don't want to stay in this city any longer than I have to. Honestly, who names their home 'Jump City?' What does this place even have to do with jumping? I'm in possession of one of the highest IQ's in the world, and I can't even wager a guess as to what that's supposed to be about."

Standing next to Riddler on the loading dock was Deathstroke, who cared little about the origins of the city's name, "This city may call itself whatever it likes, so long as I get to pick its bones clean. Please send Scarecrow's friend my regards. What did you say his name was? Orochi-something?"

"Orochimaru," The Riddler corrected him, pronouncing the name as best he could, "His experiments are twisted, even by my standards, but they yield some impressive results. If you don't mind my asking, why do you need these four anyways?"

Before he could answer, Deathstroke heard five sets of footsteps landing behind him. He turned around to find Nightwing standing before him with the rest of the Teen Titans. It was the only thing this picture had been missing, "Ah, Nightwing, so glad you could join us. I hope you don't mind that I invited an old friend of yours from Gotham to come visit."

Nightwing scowled at the Riddler, who smirked back at him, "Long time no see Nygma. Haven't heard your condescending voice in a long time. You have another puzzle you wanna send my way?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. As long as Slade here is okay with it that is," Riddler fired back, glancing over at Deathstroke for confirmation. The man nodded, so Nygma began, "Riddle me this! 'The man who made it, doesn't need it. The man who bought it, doesn't want it. The man who needs it, doesn't know it.' What is it, my ex-boy wonder?"

He never gave a riddle without a reason, so Nightwing did his best to figure it out. Being as smart as he was, it wasn't long before he said, "A coffin. The answer's a coffin. Are you saying that's what we're going to be needing tonight?"

The Riddler laughed, reaching up on his cane for a small button just below the top, "You will be needing a coffin tonight in all likelihood, but that's not the reason why I bring it up. Men, you may put down your cargo. It's time to show these foolish little heroes to see what we've got for them in these metal coffins."

"So I get see them in action," Deathstroke said to himself a the men dropped their metallic crates, or coffins as they apparently were, and Nygma pressed his switch. The coffin's shot open, "Excellent, I was hoping for a chance like this!"

Instantly the team got into a fighting formation. Nightwing was at the head to asses the situation, Beast Boy and Cyborg were on the side to defend against possible oncoming attacks, Raven was in rear to scan for any hidden threats, and Starfire hovered in the air to protect them from possible aerial attacks. The first of the metal coffins began to shake until something shot out of it like a missile, a trail of flame behind it. It was a man, heavily burned, with various mechanisms connected to his flesh. Two wing like devices came were strapped to his back, acting as jetbacks of sort. His face was covered with a metal helmet that had two orange eye holes, and lastly he held a flamethrower in his hand. A raspy voice emanated from his scorched throat, "Like moths to the FLAME! AHHAHAHAHA!"

Nightwing had heard that voice before, and it belonged to a dead man, "Firefly? You died after Two-Face blew up your fuel tank! How are you still alive?"

"I shouldn't be the one you're worrying about pretty boy," Firefly spat back, pointing his flamethrower at Starfire, "You should be worried about your cute little friend there! Let see how firey this redhead is!"

The girl's eye went wide as she flew out of the way of a jet of the flame that shot from the barrel of the villain's gun. She tried to fire one of her energy bolts in retaliation, but Firefly dogged it in a flash. Starfire began to worry, "Friends, this previously dead man seems to have reflexes that are better than the living. He may prove troublesome for me."

Cyborg got out his sonic cannon and prepared to fire at this new foe, "Don't worry Starfire! I got yaAHHHHHHHHH!"

"You aren't gonna have anyone metal ass," Came an electronic voice from behind the hero as electricity shot into his system, "Cause the Electrocutioner is back, and better than ever!"

Beast Boy turned just in time to see his best friend being shocked to near unconsciousness. He'd heard of the villain before, but he looked different from the descriptions Beast Boy had heard, along with being alive when he supposedly killed years ago. The Electrocutioner was now covered in conductive plates of all different kinds, and he had mask on that appeared to be a respirator of some sort. Before the criminal had only been able to run electricity directly through his hands, but just now he'd shot it several feet across the air. It was apparent this undead foe had gotten a power boost as well, not that it stopped Beast Boy from charging at him, "No one does that to my buddy! Get ready to get owned sparky!"

After a brief metamorphosis, the boy turned himself into a hulking gorilla and charged at the Electrocutioner. He never got the chance to reach the villain, as thin metal chain wrapped around his neck, yanking him backwards. Flying several feet in the air, he landed in human form directly in front of a woman whose skin was covered in snake like scales. Their color tone was almost like that of a hispanic person, but there was a noticeable tint of orange to them. Based on the tattoos, it was definitely Copperhead, who had once been one of the greatest female assassins in world before meeting her demise at the hands of Kakuzu. Her changes looked to have been more on the genetic side, with her newfound powers having made her physically stronger and even more flexible. It was likely her poisons were now even more effective as well. Copperhead beamed at getting the chance to show off her newfound abilities, "And I thought I was dangerous before! All you idiotas are about to be in a world of pain!"

"Well this could be going better," Raven deadpanned as she prepared an attack of her own, "Guess I'd better take things up a notch if we wanna get through this. Azarath metrion zinthos!"

One of the metal coffins began to glow with a black aura from Raven's magic and flew off from the ground, headed directly towards Copperhead. Just as it was about to reach her, a woman jumped in front of it, slashing it in half with a larger than average katana. Once Raven got a good look at her, she discovered who the final member of the undead quartet was. It was Lady Shiva, the last person Kakuzu had murdered that night with Black Mask. Yet, the look on her face, it wasn't like the others. She didn't seem pleased to be here, quite the opposite actually. Lady Shiva looked downright pissed, "Oh lovely, I'm about to have a brawl with the last daughter of Azarath. Being woken up from my eternal sleep is bad enough, but now I have to take orders from an ex member of the League of Assassins and narcissistic fool as well. What a lovely existence this will be."

Raven had been able to gather a large amount of information from those few sentences. Lady Shiva, who was more muscular than before and had visible stitches in the gaps of her armor, was here against her will and was being controlled by Deathstroke and the Riddler. This meant these people's action weren't entirely their own, but their personalities could shine through. The picture was starting to become much more clear to the heroin, "Whoever Orochimaru is, he's found a way to reanimate the dead and give them enhanced versions of their previous powers while also retaining complete control over them. He must be using some sort of forbidden magic that even I wasn't aware of to pull this off."

"I don't care how he did it, all I wanna know is how we can stop it," Nightwing called back, noticing the Riddler was attempting to escape with his men, "Hey, get back here you little weasel!"

Lunging to stop the villain, Nightwing came to an abrupt halt when something caught him hard in the chest. It was Deathstroke, who smacked his bo staff into the hero's chest, using it to send him skidding back several feet. Slade Wilson was far from done with him, "Now Nightwing, I can't let you leave so soon. I need to make certain you watch your friends perish first. Once I've gotten to watch your worthless hero's heart crack in two, then you're free to chase after the Riddler. Come on, try and stop me so you can save your weakling comrades!"

Nightwing realized then and there what Deathstroke's plan was. He'd revived these villains so that they could kill his teammates, leaving the hero vulnerable to his mind games. It was getting to the point where Deathstroke didn't even seem to care if he survived or not, just so long as he made Nightwing turn over to the other side. The Dark Knight's proteges were getting an eerie habit of following in his footsteps in the worst ways. Now the only question was; could Nightwing follow the example set by his teacher?


	38. Second Chances Pt 2

Ladies and gentlemen, it is March and I am back! We've got an action packed chapter for you today, picking up with the state of the Teen Titans in Jump City! We'll also be getting a nice peak into Naruto's mind for a battle with the most twisted jester of all time. This chapter's going to have a faster pace to it, which is a nice contrast to the last chapter. Take note, Choice will be a heavy theme in this chapter. Also, some of you may have noticed that I went back and added soundtracks to all my chapters, and if you'd like to, please suggest a song to use as a chapter soundtrack in a review or somewhere like that. I can't promise it'll get in, but I'll do my best. Enough talk, let's get to the explosive battles! Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter Soundtrack: AC/DC-Highway to Hell

* * *

The Teen Titans had prided themselves for the longest time on being one of the most courageous teams of heroes ever assembled. Jump City had been almost as bad as Gotham for a time, and they'd known they needed a hero to save they. Yet, they'd gotten not one hero, but five, and they were five of the greatest heroes they could've asked for. Now those heroes were running with their tails tucked between their legs, praying that Deathstroke's team of reanimated villains didn't catch them. Nightwing had his arm around Starfire, helping her limp through the alleyway with Beast Boy in lion form behind him. Cyborg was slung over the green boy's back and Raven watched all of their backs, seeing the group of villains they were running from right on her tail. She used her powers to collapse the walls of the alleyway, hoping it would stop the foes in their tracks. After a few moments of silence, Raven thought she was safe, so she turned around and picked up the pace with her friends. Mere seconds later, the Electrocutioner busted through the wall, firing his searing bolts at the heroes, "Stop running you punks! When I kill you, I'm gonna start up your heart so I can kill you again!"

"Don't toast them up to good," Firefly called back as he flew ahead of his comrade, "Burning up little goody goodies is my game! BURN BABY! BURN!"

Cyborg raised his head up, raising his sonic cannon up as best he could, and fired a shot off at Firefly, hitting the villain dead on. It sent him crashing into a wall, making him fall behind the rest of his team. This caused another villain to feel the need to step up. Lady Shiva jumped foreword, using the Electrocutioner's back as leverage. She took out three throwing stars, chucking them at Nightwing. Starfire wasn't going to let her lover get struck in the back like that, so she used the last of her strength to pick him up and let them fly for a few feet, making the throwing stars go right under them. Nightwing was grateful for the assist, "Nice move Starfire, now bring us back down. I think I know a way we can lose these guys!"

Reaching into his utility belt once they landed, Nightwing pulled out two pellets that contained a foam Batman had created years ago. He threw them directly at the Electrocutioner, as they were especially effective against attack of an electrical nature. They went off the moment they hit the metallic chest of the villain, exploding into a wall of adhesive foam. The Electrocutioner shot off the largest current of electricity he could manage in attempt to burst the wall. What he didn't know was that Nightwing had been counting on him doing just that. Each spark caused a chemical reaction within the foam, hardening it near instantaneously. No matter how hard he thrashed, the man was unable to move. Firefly and the Electrocutioner were down for now, but Lady Shiva, Copperhead, and Deathstroke all jumped over the wall of harden foam, meaning they were still in the game. Deathstroke's actions during all this had been bothering Nightwing, as he'd seemingly been holding back to let the other villains make their strikes. There must have been a reason for this behavior, so Nightwing decided to have Beast Boy help him run a little test, "Beast Boy, there's about to be two dumpsters on your left! You know what to do with them!"

"Gaahhhh," Roared the lion formed Beast Boy, who then morphed into a gorilla and grabbed the metallic dempster's as he ran by them. He threw them directly at his pursuers, forcing them to slow down and dodge the attack. Nightwing had been paying close attention to the assault, and noticed that both the remaining undeads had become more sluggish the moment Deathstroke had been forced to react. That was a bit of information the Nightwing was sure would come in handy later. With them distracted, the heroes now had the chance to figure out what to do about quickly oncoming wall. Knowing that Starfire was too heavily burned to fly again, Beast boy decided to take action. Once they were ready, he transformed once more, this time into a pterodactyl, and grabbed Starfire and Nightwing, making sure to keep Cyborg on his back.

They all began to fly up to the rooftop of the building they'd been stopped by, Starfire calling out as they flew, "Nicely done friend Beast Boy! Now we can lose the bad guys and regroup."

"Don't be so sure about that Starfire," Cyborg called back, watching as Copperhead used the chain she'd choked Beast Boy with as a grappling hook to climb up the building. Deathstroke and Lady Shiva used a similar technique, meaning that they would be right back on the hero's tail before long, "We gotta figure out something quick, or we're gonna be dead in the water!"

Nightwing had an idea, but he knew his team wasn't going to be crazy about it, "Beast Boy, I want you drop me down on that roof so that I can take on Deathstroke one on one. Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine. I think I might have figured out a weakness to these toy's Slade's got."

There was no world in which Starfire was willing to let that happen, "Have you gone mad? If you're wrong about this theory of yours, you end up seriously injured, or worse! I forbid you to go through with this."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that," Nightwing replied, giving her his trademark smirk before moving into a position where he could slide out of Beast Boy's claw, "Because now we're gonna get into a big fight when I get home. Wish me luck."

Starfire was too burned to stop her lover from sliding out of her friends grasp. She screamed as she watched him activate the glider on his suit and descend onto the rooftop below, "Nightwing! Friend Raven, you must go after him!"

Even though she'd never been one to go against Robin's wishes, Raven decided that it might be a good idea to chase after him this one time, "Don't worry Starfire, I'll keep him safe. You guys get home and get rested up. Something tells me gonna need to be at full strength if we ever have to face these guys again."

"Be careful," Starfire pleaded, "Those fiends want nothing more than our demise. The three of them will stop at nothing to defeat you!"

After a somber nod, Raven began to fly down to the battle ground, hoping that Nightwing really did know what he was doing there. Their leader was largely the glue that held the team together, so she doubted it would survive if he didn't. This battle was going to mean a lot to not only the team, but the entire city as well.

* * *

It had been a long and tedious process for Bruce and Mei to choose the team they wanted to send their son to Jump City with, and that was for a damn good reason. One wrong move, even a small one, would undoubtedly lead to end of their operation. The moment that the real villains found who Naruto was and that he had any link to Batman, they would rip him limb from limb. If he was anywhere near the Scarecrow, it would likely end up a nightmare. Indeed, the ideal team was needed, and the couple felt like they'd finally found it as they went through the team one last time.

"Alright, so from Gotham we're only planning on having Selina and Killer Croc, correct?" Bruce asked, looking through the file they'd made for the two of them, "Of course we can trust Selina, and Croc will do whatever we ask him to as long as it's in his best interest."

Mei nodded in agreement, "Those two are pretty much perfect for what we're looking for. On my side of things, we'll have Zabuza and Haku. We've done an excellent job keeping it a secret that they're no longer a missing-nin so that they can go undercover if need be. This seems like the perfect time to use that asset. It's not like we have to worry about whether or not we can trust them."

That brought the total up to four as Bruce pulled out another file, this one containing various designs for things like costumes and fake names, "With Haku's ice based powers, we'll obviously have to give him an ice themed design. Let's see, how about a name like Frost Bite? Give it a sort of wolf overtone, tie it into Kakashi's theme somehow."

"Oh, so we are for sure sending Kakashi then?" Mei asked, not realizing that they'd made that official yet, "Good, I thought he was one of the better choices we had. What theme were thinking with him? Something revolving around his his lightning jutsu's I'm guessing?"

Bruce had that particular name already picked out, "Thunder Fang was my first suggestion for Kakashi. Then for Zabuza, I'd round off the canine theme with a name like the Mist Mutt or something. None of those names are perfect, but we can work out that detail later. Having them as a team from some far off land will make it more believable that none of the other villains have ever heard of them. The last two we were thinking were Kankuro and Sasuke, were they not?"

The latter of the two names earned a small frown from Mei, "Sasuke, I'm still not sure I trust him. From what I've been told, he almost ended up working for Orochimaru. If hadn't been for that talk he and Naruto had during the battle with the Hidden Sound, he probably would've gone. Are we sure that's the kind of person we want Naruto with on this mission?"

"He made a mistake, we all did when we were younger," Bruce responded, thinking back to his own desires for revenge at that time, "He's gotten better, or at least that's what Kakashi said the last time I saw him. Besides, I think he'd help set up my cover story for Naruto. I was planning on playing him off as a test subject of Waller's in an experiment of young superhumans. Having Kankuro and Sasuke there to act like they're from the same test would make it seem even more believable."

Mei could see that plan working fairly well, though it did raise another question for her, "Why are we sending Kankuro over Gaara? Kankuro's talented, there's no doubt about that, but we both know Gaara's stronger and he's seems closer to Naruto. We could send Gaara instead of Sasuke, and I'd be fine with that too."

"Sending Gaara would've ideal, and I even offered him one of the first spots on the team," Bruce replied, surprising his wife, "But apparently he's about to be named the next Kazekage. He didn't want anyone to know just yet, but he still wanted to have someone to keep a watchful eye on his best friend, so he suggested we take Kankuro instead. Temari would've been a possibility, but we all agreed that it would be best not to have any of Naruto's current flames on the team. You really don't need to worry about Sasuke darling, Kakashi should be more than capable of controlling him. If I thought he would put Naruto in danger, I'd never let him on the team."

She knew that fact well, though Mei wondered if her husband underestimated the degree of Sasuke's arrogance. Bruce's instincts were typically good though, and she'd have Zabuza there to keep things under control, so she felt comfortable enough to let it go, "I suppose things should turn out alright in the end. Now, let's move on to their themes as well…"

* * *

"You've improved quite a bit Nightwing, more so than I expected," Deathstroke quipped as he narrowly avoided a strike from the hero's palm, "Not enough to beat three separate villains with just yourself and Raven, but a lot nonetheless. What can I say? You haven't exactly gotten any smarter, now have you?"

It felt to Nightwing like his enemy was using the same technique he'd been using for years; talking to his opennet so much that he got inside their head and made them make mistakes. The fact that he was using this technique actually got the hero thinking he had the upper hand in this fight, "Really Slade? Trying to out smack talk me? You must be getting desperate to go for something like that. Your hits and dodges are slower than usual, which I bet you were hoping I wouldn't notice. Only problem is, I did, and I bet I know why you're out of sync too."

Deathstroke didn't get the chance to responded right away, as Nightwing's right elbow met the left side of his face and nearly broke off his mask. A little blood spilled from the man's mouth, which he was glad said mask covered up. He didn't want his enemy to know how much that had hurt, "Perhaps I've merely grown bored of kicking your ass time and time again. Did you ever think of that my boy?"

"That's not your style, and we both know it," Nightwing replied, backing away as he watched Deathstroke take out his combat knife, "No, my theory is that you overlooked one fatal flaw in these new toys you got here. When you've got to control this many people, it forces you to divide up your attention. You have to keep sending mental signals to your toys so they can make adjustments."

As the ex-boy wonder said that, the 'Toys' we're going at Raven with everything they had, which included Copperhead spitting clouds of poisons and Lady Shiva attempting to strike any pressure point she could find. Both of the villains seemed slower as well, which Raven certainly didn't have any issues with. She'd been using her powers to break off pieces of the roof and launch them at the fem fetals, as well sending any projectiles they fired at her right back at them. With his two partners on the losing end of things, Deathstroke was beginning to look worried, "I stand corrected; you have gotten smarter. Sadly though, you're still not smart enough. Allow me to show you the ace I've got up my sleeve."

The contract killer made as though he was going to slash at the hero, making him jump back even further. Nightwing was about to find out he was tricked, as Deathstroke flipped the knife over in his hand and pressed a switch on the end of the handle. Both Copperhead and Lady Shiva cried out seconds later, their eyes glowing a neon reddish color. Small cracks appeared on their faces and they began to charge Raven heistrically. There were only seconds for the girl to spare as she flew up into the air, avoiding the slice from Copperhead and the kick from Lady Shiva, "Good god, what did you do to those two? They were like a couple of raging bulls!"

"That was what I like to call the world's most dangerous autopilot," Deathstroke said with a grin under his mask, "I send the power that's keeping them alive into overdrive, which makes them go berserk on the first thing they see. I don't have to control them anymore, so I can focus all my attention right onto Nightwing here. Sadly this means they'll self destruct in about 20 minutes, but I suppose you left me with no real choice. Oh dear, and your friend there probably can't keep up with those two for much longer. Either Copperhead will poison her, or Lady Shiva will hit right pressure point and take her out of the game for good. Of course you could send her away, but then you'll have all three of us coming right for you. My my Nightwing, what on earth will you do? You'd have to beat me at my best to save both yourself and your friend. So, do you want to sacrifice yourself and be sure your friend lives, or gamble and risk the both of you dying? Choose quickly my friend, because you're running out of time."

The mercenary wasn't wrong; Nightwing was indeed running out of time. Raven was good, but not good enough to keep up with them forever, and she'd never run if it meant risking her leader's safety...unless he told her to. Nightwing knew who he was though, and he was nothing if not a protector. It was who Bruce had taught him to be, "Raven, get out of here! That's an order! I follow you as soon as I can, I promise."

Raven gasped at the very thought of abandoning him, "Are you nuts? You'll end up dead for sure! I'm not leaving without you!"

"Dammit Raven, there's no way we can shake these guys with both of us running! All we'd do is lead them back to our base," Nightwing yelled back, startling the heroine, "I'm not letting the woman I love or my friends die because I was afraid to pay the price! Now go, and if I don't make it back...tell Starfire I'm sorry."

Silence was all that could be heard once the heroes speech was done. Even the two revived berserkers had stopped. The heroes soon found out why as Deathstroke started an ironic slow clap, "How touching. I was so moved, I pressed the kill switch on my little friends. Of course I can have them up and moving again in a second if your magical buddy tries to jump back in. Fly away now little birdy. Leave before I change my mind and decided to simply take my chances with the both of you."

Raven wanted desperately to stay and fight alongside her friend, but she knew he was right. Her staying there would only serve to put both of them at risk. If Nightwing could last 20 minutes with Deathstroke though, then he could run and get reinforcements, and everything would be fine. Of course, that was assuming Deathstroke was true to his word, "I'm leaving Slade, and you'd better keep your word! Just you and Nightwing! No bringing in the other two!"

"I won't need them to beat this naive fool," Deathstroke responded, waving Raven away, "No begone little girl. We've got a score to at last settle."

Begrudgingly, Raven flew off to head back to the team's base. That left Nightwing and Deathstroke standing face to face, rage filling both of their eyes. This rivalry had gone on long enough. It was time to see who the true fool was.

* * *

It had been almost a month since Naruto last visited the Hidden Leaf village, so needless to say, the boy was happy to be back in his homeland. However, nostalgia wasn't the only thing that had the boy happy to be returning. The Joker's power over him had become far too great, and he needed someone who could go into his mind to put an end to clown's life once and for all. Naruto had actually realized there wouldn't be any need to kill him, as the Joker was essentially already dead. All that remained of him was a twisted virus that had once been the bastard. That virus's hold over its host's mind could be severed, or at least suppressed, by someone like a Yamanaka. Weather he'd choose to ask Ino or her father to do this was something he was still debating as he walked the streets of village with his parents by his side, attempting to listen to Bruce speak while maintain his train of the thought at the same time, "You're sure you're satisfied with the team we've picked out Naruto? You could be dealing with these guys for a matter of months, so they need to be people you can at least somewhat get along with."

"Hm? Oh, I know that dad, and I like everybody you picked out pretty well, so it's all good," Naruto responded, only half paying attention, "So did we just come to pick up these guys for the team or did you have some other things you wanted to do?"

Bruce took a moment to think, then shook his head, "Not that I can think of. If you wanted to go visit with some friends, I'd be fine with that. That is what you were getting at, right?"

It wasn't absolutely correct, but it was close enough for Naruto to say, "Pretty much. I wanna see the Old Lady, probably Ino, stop by Ichiraku's for some ramen, and maybe a few other things. What are you guys gonna do?"

"The first thing we was going to do was go visit Tsunade, so all of us can do that together," Mei suggested, which made sense to everyone involved, "And after that, your father and I will round up the team members and start introducing them to this plan of ours. Which reminds me, make sure your back in the Hokages office around 2 o'clock, because that's when we're starting the meeting. Before that though, seeing as how you mentioning ramen gave me a craving for it, let's go to Ichiraku's and get something to eat. I think my little girl's hungry."

Naruto was never one to turn down his favorite food, "Sounds great. Hey, you guys think of a name for her yet?"

Sadly, they still drew a blank in regards to that issue, as Bruce soon pointed out, "Nothing we've come up with so far sounds good. Maybe once we see her in person, something will come to us. I've had plenty of people tell me that's how it went for them."

"I could see that," Naruto replied as he lead the way to the ramen stand, "I mean, it is kinda to pick out a name for someone when you've never even seen their face. Hey Mom, who do you think can eat more ramen right now, me or you?"

Mei loved that Naruto had taken to calling her mom, as she knew the boy was truly her son, blood relation or not. She smiled as she replied, "Usually, I'd give you the edge, but right now, with how hungry your sister's been making me, I think I could give you a run for your money."

Now that was something Naruto wanted to see, "I'm gonna make you eat those words!...I swear to god the pun wasn't intentional. Never mind! Let's get eating already!"

* * *

_"Huh, well this place changed an awful lot since I last took a stroll through here," The Joker mused, as he walked through the somewhat green meadow that was Naruto's mind, "Let's see, where's the giant furball? Fido, where are you? Here boy, uncle Joker wants to play!"_

_A rumbling came from a few hundred yards off, making the Joker turn to find the massive wooden cage the held back Kurama. He was growling, as this was the last person he wanted to see inside Naruto's head, "I'm not a dog you dense jester! What are you doing here? If I wanted to talk to you I have plenty of ways to do so!"_

_The Joker grinned his wicked grin and sauntered over to the tailed beast, ready to do more than nearly shoot the breeze, "There you, in all your legendary, horrific glory. How are you old boy? Enjoying this swanky place the kid went and set up for you?"_

_"I'd enjoy it much more if you weren't in here bothering me," Kurama snarled, gnashing his teeth, "Get out of here, before I make you regret it. I can make life miserable for you, more miserable than simply being stuck in this kit's head anyways!"_

_That threat did nothing to sway the Joker. In fact, his grin grew even wider, "I believe a more accurate statement would be 'We can make each other's lives miserable.' Neither one of us can get rid of the other, but boy can we have one hell of a prank war. With my control over the kids mind getting better, I can do lots of fun new things. For example…"_

_Rather than finishing his sentence, the Joker pulled a lighter out of his sleeve and held it up for Kurama to see, letting a little flame flicker from it. The Fox had no idea what to make of it, "Where did you get that and what do you think you're going to do with it?"_

_"I'm not going to do nothing with it, at least not yet," The clown responded, waving the lighter back and forth to taunt him, "Of course, I could always drop it and let everything Naruto worked so hard to make you burn in matter of minutes. That would be a laugh, wouldn't it?"_

_Kurama failed to see the humor in the suggestion, "And then I retaliate by sending all the chakra I can muster to the virus you're living in. The best it'll do is slow it down a bit, but it'll also hurt you like hell, so I'd say we'd be even."_

_"Of course we would be, but neither of us wants to go down that road, now do we," The Joker fired back, having anticipated every response the Kyuubi would throw back at him, "Here's what I propose. I put this lighter away and we pretend as if I never had it, because that's what friends do. Do you know what else friends do? They help each other take over the body of person who's holding them captive."_

_Subtlety was obviously not the Joker's strongsuit. No one could miss what the villain had meant, and Kurama wanted no part of it, "Are you insane? For god's sake, look who I'm talking too! Listen close you psycho, cause I'm only gonna say this once. Naruto's the most tolerable container I've ever had, and you're the most unbalanced person I've ever met. Given the choice between you and him, I'm always gonna pick him! Don't bother trying to persuade me otherwise."_

_This was yet another reaction the Joker had planned for, "Ah yes, your trust of blonde brat. I thought this might come up. Do I need to remind you of all the horrible things humans have done to you? The numerous times they tried to steal your powers? What about them sealing you away for these years? Basically they did every monstrous thing they could but kill you!"_

_"I could never forget those things," Kurama said in a low, dangerous tone, "But I sure as hell know working with you wouldn't be any better! This isn't a phrase I say often, but I think it's rather fitting here. A little something I picked up from Naruto's time in Gotham...Go fuck yourself!"_

_The Joker had no response for that. Not because it was something that he hadn't seen coming, but because he'd found the Kyuubi's choice of words simply too damn funny, "Haha! Fido's got some bark to him, doesn't he? Hahaha! Oh man...well, I guess you haven't seen the light yet, but I think you will. I'll give you a chance to reconsider. I warn you though, make the wrong choice, and I'll put this place up in a blaze so big, it would make Firefly have to go change his pants. Anyways, see ya!"_

_With a bow, the Joker disappeared into a pile of what was looked like muck. The muck sank into the ground, leaving Kurama to ponder everything that'd just happened, "Of all the people Naruto could've gotten stuck in his head, it just had to be the one person in the world with a more sadistic mind than mine. Kit, you'd better find that Yamanaka fast, or you're gonna end up ten times worse than any monster that village thought you'd become."_

* * *

"What is that imbecile doing?" Orochimaru spat as he watched Deathstroke and Nightwing duke it out through a camera feed Scarecrow's men had hacked the night before, "I told him only to use that self destruct function only if he felt it was absolutely necessary! He could've killed that fool by now if he'd only use my new Edo Tensei puppets! How am I supposed to test if the results of the improvements I made to them if they're destroyed so soon? Why must he set back my work?"

Scarecrow, who was the only other person in the room with the sannin, responded with a calm tone, "For the same reason you told me you had to be the person to kill your teacher and not one of your minions, and for the same reason I must break the Red Fox myself; it's a matter of principle. You want to see the hope go out of their eyes yourself, otherwise the victory feels hollow. Yes, Slade sacrificed your reanimated villains to make sure that he could kill Nightwing himself, but those ones were merely experiments anyways. I recall clearly you saying that you still had much work to do before this new version of the reanimation technique you have could be complete. If after all the work he's done, our friend Mr. Wilson wants to see this thing through himself, he's earned that right. Now please be silent, I wish to watch the remainder of the fight. Nightwing doesn't seem to be doing too well…"

* * *

When in a fight for one's life, the human body is able to create insane amounts of adrenaline in order to keep itself moving. Pain becomes meaningless, and horrible things like broken bones can simply be powered through. Animal instincts take over, and a person will do anything to survive. More than once this phenomenon had saved Dick Grayson's life during his outings under his various hero alter egos. The first time it had been against Bane, during the period after he'd broken Batman's back when they were trying to find people who could come in take over while the hero recovered. Second had been against Poison Ivy, who'd given him a pheromone laced kiss that pushed his body to it's limit to break free of her control. Finally, there had been a battle against Blackfire, the demented sister of Starfire. She came to earth in an attempt to pin the many crimes she committed on her sister, but Nightwing had been able to hold her off long enough for the people who were chasing to realize Starfire had done nothing wrong, and that it was Blackfire they were after. Now he was in that state again, fighting with his heart and soul to stay standing against one of the world's greatest combat specialist.

Deathstroke had spent the last fifteen minutes pounding the life out of Nightwing in every way he could think of. He'd buried a katana into the hero's shoulder, shot him in foot, broken his nose, dislocated his arm, though Nightwing had managed to pop it back into place, and had punched him in the stomach so hard that he fractured multiple of the hero's ribs. The fact that he was still standing on that roof was a testament to how tough he was as far as Deathstroke was concerned, "Nightwing, my friend, you have more fight in you than almost any man I've ever met. The Batman has his flaws, but he's taught you well. If only he could've given you the ability to comprehend the sort of things that you're truly capable of. A few months with me, and I could show you how to take the world! Don't make me kill such a talented individual like yourself!"

"Any kind of world where I have to kill to get ahead isn't one I wanna take," Nightwing fired back, spitting out a glob of blood, "Don't sit there and think you're gonna kill me just yet. I could still make it these last five minutes."

Using his good arm, and calling it a 'good arm' was stretching it a bit, Nightwing took another hard swing at Deathstroke, which was easily deflected by the villain. This gave him a chance to pull out his combat knife once again and stab Nightwing in the abdomen with it, being careful not to hit any vital organs, "I'm only going to give you one last chance. Either you agree to side with me, or I kill you, here and now. If I can't get through to you, then I need to be done playing games and move on, no matter how valuable you could end up being."

Nightwing tried his hardest to speak, but his mouth was pouring out blood. The adrenaline was wearing off, and he was almost ready to pass out. He dug deep within himself, finding the strength to say, "I've come too far...to let you take away...what I've done...so shut up…and do whatever it is...you need to do…"

"What a pity," Deathstroke sighed, pulling the knife out as Nightwing panted out every word, "I suppose I have no one but myself to blame for all the time I wasted on you. At least now I can collect all those various bounties you've got on your head."

No words left the hero's mouth. He remained stoic, refusing to give Deathstroke any satisfaction by saying anything else. Slade at last admitted a sort of defeat, slashing the blade in one fluid motion across Nightwing's throat. Blood shot from his veins like something out of the Sweeney Todd musical and covered the villain, making some of the black portions of Deathstroke suit match the red portions. Nightwing fell the ground on his knees, then collapsed to his side. With his work complete, the contract killer threw the knife over to the side, as he had no desire to keep it. Other than the money he'd be getting for the hero, the years he'd spent trying to convince this hero to join him was wasted time. Seeing as his undead puppets would disintegrate soon, and the hero's team would be along shortly after, Deathstroke decided to make his exit. He could hear a faint scream as his puppets followed him off the building, the voice of a woman that he assumed was Starfire calling out, "Nightwing, no!"

He was correct that it was Starfire, along with the rest of the Teen Titans, who were now all huddled around the no longer breathing Nightwing. Beast Boy didn't even noticed Deathstroke as he began to shake his leader, thinking that would somehow wake him up, "Nightwing, come on dude, wake up! Please, get up! This isn't funny!"

"Don't do this to us man, we need you," Cyborg pleaded, looking over his wounds as if there was something he could do, "Maybe if I cauterize some of these wounds, or get some blood into him or something."

Starfire couldn't hear the word that they were saying. Her face was buried in her lover's chest, crying into it, "Please my love, you can not be gone! It is not your time to go! You're too strong, too kind to leave! This world needs you! I need you…"

While the rest of the team was teary eyed over the loss of their friend, Raven was silent. Not silent in a manner that implied she didn't know how to react, but in manner that shown how hard she was thinking. She placed a hand on Starfire's shoulder, pulling her off Nightwing, and placed her other hand on the man's chest. The other three heroes gave her a confused glance, noting that she seemed as though she was looking for something inside of Nightwing. Raven was about to take command of the situation, "Cyborg, I need to start sealing up all the places on his body that he's bleeding from. Starfire, I want you to set any of his broken bones. Beast Boy, get the Red Fox on the phone, now. I need him on board with this if I'm going to make this work."

"Make this work? Raven, the man's dead," Cyborg said, feeling the lack of a pulse in his friend's wrist, "I hate to break this to you, but there isn't a whole lot we can do for him."

Normally he'd be right, but with someone like Raven there to help, there were some other routes they could take, "That's not entirely true. There's a spell I know that can slow down a person's trip to the underworld. If can keep him from being brought to the Judge too quickly, I can travel down to the underworld and bring his soul back myself, as long his body is in a usable state. It's dangerous down there though, and I'd be willing to bet Lucifer isn't too happy with my progress. The Red Fox has all kind of spiritual powers that can be used down there, and I think the Kyuubi could make sure he was properly transported too."

Cyborg nearly fried his circuits trying to comprehend what Raven had just said, "Wait, Lucifer, as in the Devil Lucifer? How does he know you? And who the hell's the Judge?"

"Let's just say Lucifer and my father used to be friends, and yes, I do mean that Lucifer," Raven explained shortly, as Nightwing's body began to glow with her dark magic, "And the Judge is the creature who decides if you're sent to Paradise or Damnation. Look, I don't have time to explain it all, just get to work right now, and maybe, just maybe we can pull this thing off! Needless to say though, we don't have much time...Naruto, you'd better come through for me here."

* * *

Ino was certain at this point that she must be dreaming. What Naruto had just requested of her was the sort of thing you'd expect to hear from someone writing about the end of days on the walls of a mental institution. There was no way in her mind what he'd just said could be what he really wanted, and she felt the need to repeat it simply for the sake of her own sanity, "You want me to go into your mind and hold off the Joker with the help of the Kyuubi, because your brother was murdered, but his sorcerer friend can take you down to the underworld to get his soul back before it's too late? And when you get back, you plan having me and said tailed beast repress the killer clown enough so that you can stab yourself with a magical sword, which will make the virus the Joker's living in leave your body?"

"It's a little more complicated than that, but yes, that's the idea," Naruto responded, totally aware of the irony of what he'd just said, "I know how crazy this sounds, and that's why I didn't go to your dad for this. You're my friend Ino, and I need you to come through for me here. I promise on my life that Kurama won't hurt a hair on your head, but I can't say the same for the Joker. I wouldn't ask you to do something like this if I didn't absolutely have to, but Dick's life is on the line. So, are you going to help me or not?"

Despite the madness of what the boy had said, Ino found herself incapable of saying no to him. Naruto was one of her closest friends, and was part of the reason she'd worked so hard to become the skilled ninja she was today. She owed it to him to do this, "Alright dammit, I'll do it. You only get one chance to be a part of the story this crazy, so I may as well jump at it. Oh, and you'd better put in a good word for me with Lady Tsunade. I really want that apprenticeship with her!"

Naruto felt Ino was a good enough ninja that she didn't need his word to get the job, but he gave her his word nonetheless, "I promise to do just that. Whenever you're ready to begin, we'll enter my mind, have Kurama send me down to whatever Underworld Dick's been sent to, and then pray to whatever god is listening that we make it out of this in one piece. Think you can handle it?"

"Well when you put it like that," Ino deadpanned, putting her hands up to Naruto's head in a triangle formation, "Alright, here goes nothing!"


	39. The Things We Don't See Pt 1

**IMPORTANT: **Spring break is coming up for me, and between that and some papers I have to write, I will not have the time to finish my next chapter on my typical schedule. Yes, this means it'll be a whole three weeks until my next chapter is ready for posting, unless I get some assistance which I don't see happening. I'm infinitely sorry and wish this wasn't the case, but things simply are what they are. This is a one time thing, and thank you guys for sticking with me!

Ladies and gentlemen, we're here for another chapter of the Red Fox, and I think it's going to be an interesting one to say the least. With DC comic's Underworld changing so often, whether it be its leaders or who all is in it, I pretty much just took the most consistent things I could find, mainly from the Sandman comics, and did my own sort of version of it, adding in what little we know about the Naruto universe's version of the Underworld. We'll be getting to that shortly, but first I'll give you all a brief update on what's going on inside Naruto's head. Wow, this chapter is going to be absolutely nuts, but in the best possible way. Also, my friend acw28 recently released a new fanfic called 'The Bat and the Cat' which takes place in the Batman Beyond era. If you're fan of Batman, which I'm guessing most of you are, I'd highly recommend checking it out. Thanks so much for reading and be sure to review. Happy Easter!

Chapter Soundtrack-Roy Orbison: There Won't Be Many Coming Home

* * *

"_So...um," Ino began to say awkwardly as she stood next to the Kyuubi's cage, "Naruto said your real name is Kurama. That's a neat name."_

_It was clear the girl was attempting to be nice, which Kurama appreciated, but hearing her try to do this simply felt odd, "As good as it is that you're putting in the effort, you don't have to talk to me little girl. I'm fine if we simply wait here in silence for the Joker."_

_Ino breathed a massive sigh of relief, "Oh thank god. It took me like five minutes to think of the thing about your name. I don't have any idea what you and me would talk about, but I didn't wanna be that bitch who just sat next to you silently."_

"_If you don't do a single thing to me while you're here, you'll still be treating me better than most humans have," Kurama replied, "I'm going to warn you right now, the Joker's gonna hit us with everything he's got. This is his last chance to find some way back to the mortal realm. If we're lucky, the Kit's parents might have put a few failsafes in his seal that could hold the Joker back. I suppose all we can do is wait and see at this point."_

_That uncertainty kept things a bit scary for the both of them. They didn't know what to prepare for with someone as unpredictable as the Joker. Even Ino knew how mad the man must have been, given all the stories Naruto had told about him. The silence was a tense one, as nearly ten minutes passed before something finally happened. Underneath their feet, the ground began to shake, and a voice could be heard all around them like some sort of echo, "When Naruto is away, the Joker will play! You poor saps are stuck here while the brat's soul is off somewhere else, so I shouldn't have any trouble getting control of this sad excuse for a body. I'll have to make some changes to it of course; pale up the skin, green up the hair, things like that. What do you say Fido, you interested in helping?"_

_Kurama called out to the twisted voice that surrounded them, "I said it before, and I'll say it again, fuck off Joker! If you stand against me and the Kit, you won't get the chance to regret it!"_

"_Blah blah blah! You know for a guy with such a scary voice, you really having a lot of boring stuff to say," Replied the disinterested voice of the Joker as unfilled balloons began to fall to the from the sky and onto the ground, "What do you say we skip to the good part of this showdown, eh? The part where everyone's bleeding and on fire!"_

_The moment the clown said that, all the balloons that had been falling began to inflate, a squeaker version of his laugh emanating from them as they did so. They took the form of the Joker himself, and before long they ceased to look like plastic and began to look like actual flesh and blood. All of them began to pull out various weapons, from blowtorches to switchblades, as there laughs began to normalize. Each of them turned towards the heroes, signifying that the battle was about to begin. Ino hung her head as she muttered to herself, "I really fucking hate clowns…"_

* * *

The Underworld was one of great equalizers that all humans, no matter race, wealth, or gender, had to go through. When you faced the Judge and answered for the sins you committed in life, you had to do it on your own. Naruto knew his brother would end up in the better of the two places he could go, but that didn't change the fact that he was still needed on Earth. Raven had given him a chance to save Dick's life, and he was going to do everything in his power to do just that. He tried to focus as best he could, but at the same time, he couldn't help but get caught up in wonder of the place he was in. It was, in essence, Purgatory; the place between Heaven and Hell. For his money, it was about as close as it could've been to what Naruto pictured in his mind.

It was a forest with trees as far as the eye could see, and one couldn't see where they ended when they looked up. A thick fog covered the landscape, one so thick a person could hardly see more than a few feet in front of them. The dirt below their feet was cold, likely near frozen, and there was a nip in the air. Speaking of the air, it did something to a person's soul. Something about it could give a person a feeling of peace. Not a feeling of happiness by any means, but one that eliminated both the fears and the joys they had from their minds. Peaceful was the only way that one could describe it.

"Man, this place is so calming," Naruto said to himself, walking with Raven while his hand was kept close to the Soultaker Sword, "Is it like this for the souls that come through here too, cause this wouldn't be too bad?"

Raven had heard stories about people who tried to escape to Purgatory for all their days, but none of those tales had ended well, "From what I understand, it starts out nice, but before long the lack of any kind of emotion makes you go hollow and it becomes a state that's just a different kind of hell. That's why Lucifer rarely bothers to try and capture someone who escapes from his domain. He knows they'll just end up becoming Hollows, so they'll get theirs."

This all really did fascinate Naruto, but he could tell he would annoy Raven if he asked her many more questions. He decided he'd only ask two more, the two that he found the most vital, "So have you actually met Lucifer? I'm only asking because it really sounds like you have. After that, and this is the last thing I swear, can you explain to me how it is I can take the Soultaker Sword down with me when it's a physical object and this is a spiritual plane?"

"I met Lucifer a couple of times, when I was younger. Almost too young to remember it really," Raven elaborated as she felt the presence of several dark creatures surrounding them, " When your father is the overseer of one of the provinces of hell, you're bound to run into him. Believe it or not, Lucifer's not as bad as you'd think. The Devil's a little more complicated than most people are willing to admit. As for the Soultaker Sword, it's both a spiritual and physical object. Between the curse that was put on it and the souls it's taken, it makes sense. By the way, you'd better get it ready, because we've got some company. A group of Hollows all around us."

A mixture of fear and intrigue shot through Naruto's body. After having these creature built up so much in his mind, it was going to be fascinating to fight one, "How dangerous are they exactly? What are they trying to fight us for?"

Raven knew what they wanted as she got into her battle stance, noting the pale white figures emerging from the fog, "They want our souls so they can feel something other than hunger. They're strong, and willing to do anything to get what they want. Our advantage is that a Hollow's skin is as thin as paper. As long as we can take them out before they can a hit on us, they won't be too much of threat. Strike hard, and strike fast."

"I think I can handle that," Naruto said flipping his blade around in his hand as the twelve, at least by his count, figures came into clear view, "First fight in the Underworld. This should be fun."

The Hollows were humanoid figures, lanky in size, that were completely white. They were all smooth, with no defining features on their skin, and little muscle on them. In place of where their mouths should be was dirt that had been crudely drawn on to appear like a real mouth. The same went for their eyes. A freakish sort of howl was released from one of the monsters as they all charged Raven and Naruto like a pack of starving wolves. Knowing he only had half as much chakra as usual, and that he'd be stuck in the underworld forever if he ran out, the boy decided to stick with the Soultaker Sword for the time being.

With his sword at the ready, Naruto could see that one of the Hollows was already upon him. The creature's hand started to come down, but it was sliced in half before it's strike could finish. Naruto then took his blade sliced off the Hollows head. Only problem was, his blade had gotten caught briefly on the paper like neck of his opponent. If had taken one second longer to decapitate it, Naruto likely would've been crushed by the hands of another Hollow. Using the Hollow he'd just killed, he kicked off from its chest and jumped above the other monster, coming down to stab it in the head. With a carefully selected amount of chakra, Naruto channeled a current of wind through the Soultaker sword. Before long the Hollow began to inflate until it became so bloated that it popped with a great boom. Two down already seemed like a good start to Naruto, "Pop goes the bad guy! How're you doing over there Raven?"

"Not too bad at the moment," Raven replied, using her powers to grab two hallows and force their bodies to cave in, turning them into nothing more than a worthless wad, "We're a third of the way there, think we can keep up the pace?"

Naruto was about to give a typical boast to show how confident he was about this fight, but he ended up distracted by a stream of fire that was shot right past his head. He spun around to see it's origin, seeing it came from something that resembled a squat, muscular man with yellow skin, horns, red eyes, and ears resembling bat wings. Whoever it was wearing a red cloth suit with a blue cape. His voice matched his demonic appearance, "Begone Hollows, lest ye wish to face the hellfire's of Etrigan! I'll burn you all to ash if that's what you wish!"

That one blast of flame, which seemed to to come from Etrigan's hands, had incinerated two Hollows. The remaining Hollows may not have been able to feel fear, but they did have a basic instinct of survival. Each one ran off as quickly as they could, keeping their heads down to make sure to avoid any last bits of oncoming fire. With the Hollows fleeing, Raven took the chance to introduce Naruto to their newfound ally, "Thanks for the help. Naruto, this is Etrigan, an incredibly powerful demon who works with a man named Jason Blood. Honestly, you two are a lot alike. Not that we're complaining Etrigan, but what are you doing here? Last I knew, you didn't spend much time in purgatory."

"I was sent here at the request of the blond one's father," The demon replied, making Naruto cringe, "He went looking for you when you were late for some meeting. The man really is an excellent detective. Just what he could find in the room and a few calls were all he needed to figure out what your quest was. I doubt he's too pleased with you, but he wants you home safe and wants you to complete your mission to find Dick Grayson's soul. That's why he called for Jason Blood and told him to send me here to give you some aid."

Naruto knew he was going to get chewed out big time when he got back to the mortal realm, but he was sure his father would understand why he'd done it at least. Having Etrigan sent here was a good move on his part, "Sounds like Dad had a pretty good idea. With half my chakra with Kurama to make sure the Joker doesn't take over, we'll probably need you. So, now that things have calmed down again, how exactly are we gonna find Dick's soul?"

Raven had been tracking Dick's soul for some time, Naruto just didn't know it, "When I put that curse on his soul, I put a marker on it as well, which I've been following since we got here. You didn't think I was just leading us around blindly, did you?"

"Honestly, the shock of where I was kinda got to me," Naruto admitted, putting away his Soultaker Sword, "Well Etrigan, your company is more than welcome. I don't know what kind of monsters we're going to see here, but I feel a little better about facing them now that you're with us."

The demon gave a sort of bow before responding, "The feel is mutual. Lady Raven, please lead the way. I'm not sure how much time we have left before the Shinigami reaches the Judge."

Raven nodded, leading the way with Etrigan not far behind her. Naruto stood motionless behind both of them before screaming in utter terror, "WE'RE GOING AFTER A SHINIGAMI?!"

* * *

"_Hahaha! Oh baby, I haven't had this much fun in years," The Joker cackled as he fired off as many rounds as his tommy gun could manage at Ino, "Come on blondie! Haven't you ever seen a bullet before?"_

_Ino wanted to make some kind of snappy comeback, but found herself in no state to do so. She placed a hand on the soft ground below her. With a wave of her arm, she created a wall of dirt that stopped the bullets in their tracks, and once they were gone, she thrusted her arm forward and sent the wave of earth hurdling at clown. It crushed the Joker, one of many that had invaded Naruto's mind, and left Ino panting for air. In the real world she never would've been able to pull off that move, at least not with such ease. However, when you understood the mind as well as a Yamanaka did, fighting inside someone's head became a whole new ballgame. Much like the Joker, Ino could create things and use them to her advantage in battle. Despite how skilled she gotten with this ability though, the fight was still proving to be quite the challenge for her, "Oh man, how long have we been at this? These things keep coming like there's an endless supply of them!"_

_That may have been true, but Kurama couldn't say for certain, "Odds are, we've only seen the tip of the iceberg! I'm hoping he'll run out of steam soon, but I'm sure as hell not counting on it."_

"_Running out of steam? I've only begun to warm up," One of the Jokers declared, removing a seltzer bottle from his coat, "Speaking of warming up, having a little taste of this foxy!"_

_The bottle, which should have shot out a stream of water, fired a jet of highly burning acid directly for Kurama. This seemed a rather feeble attempt to the fox, who took in a deep breath and then proceeded to blow as hard as he could into the crowd of clowns. Not only did the acid spray back and disintegrate one of the Jokers, but the wind also picked up many of the others and sent them flying off into the distance. It had been such an easy attack, Kurama almost felt insulted, "Come on Joker, I expect more from you! Hit me with something a little harder than that!"_

_Joker wasn't about to take that one lying down. One of the many villains that surrounded the area raised his hand up and pointed it at the seal on Kurama's cage. He seemed to be aware of what would happen if the seal was removed, though the Kyuubi had no idea why he would want that to happen. There wouldn't be any need for him to wonder much longer, as the Joker began to monologue, "You know something Kurama? I thought that you and I were the same. That we understood that this world wasn't worth saving. I guess the kid got to you, didn't he? Filled you up with hope. Well, I'm not going to deal with you fighting me for this kids body anymore. I'm gonna set you lose, force you out, and take this sack of flesh all for myself! We could've been something together fido, but I guess we're out of options now. If only it'd been nice knowing you!"_

_A loud click went off and the Joker's hand shot away from his arm with the help of some sort of spring loaded mechanism. The hand was wide open and ready to rip off the seal, setting things in motion for the Joker to have Naruto's body clear of all obstructions. Right when his fingers were mere inches from their goal, something came whizzing through the air. It sliced clean the through the spring, cutting it in half and leaving it lying on the ground, the hand's goal unfinished. Kurama's eyes went right for the source of the object that'd stopped the Joker, seeing that it was a three pronged kunai he was all too familiar with. Only one person would be using those in this situation, "Minato Namikaze. For once in my life, I'm glad you're here."_

"_Glad to be here, even if I do have to deal with you," Called the voice of Minato as he landed in front of the Kurama and Ino, "Never thought I'd say this, but nice job Kurama. You've been doing well protecting my son. Before I died, I left a part of my soul in seal in case someone ever tried to remove it. I thought it would either be you or Naruto who did it, but I guess it was the clown. It's good timing either way, because you guys need my help. Let's get this bastard out of my son's body!"_

_While Minato and Kurama were clearly quite familiar with one another, Ino was in complete awe of who she was standing before. This was the Fourth Hokage, one of the greatest shinobi the Hidden Leaf had ever produced. She was about to fight alongside the famed Minato Namikaze, "You're...you're the Fourth! Wait, Naruto's father is the Fourth Hokage? Part of him was in the seal, and wait, WHAT?"_

_Kurama could understand her confusion, and would be happy to have it explained to her later, but now was far from the time, "Yes, it's all amazing, now make with the fighting! Do you want all your time with the Fourth Hokage to be spent explaining things? I don't think so! Get moving and kick ass girl!"_

"_Right, I'm on it," Ino said, her confidence returning, "I'm about to have the kinda battle you read about in history books! Let's do this!"_

* * *

It had been years since Jonathan Crane had looked into his own reflection. For the longest time, he'd despised the way he looked. Not because of the way the inmates had ripped his face apart, or because of the small device in his neck that he had to use simply to breath. He hated the way he looked because of distinct scars the Red Fox had left on his face. Claw marks that he could never remove because of the power the boy possessed. They served as reminder to him and anyone who saw his ugly mug that there was someone out there who had bested his greatest weapon. The Red Fox was the Moriarty to his Sherlock, the Luthor to his Superman, and the Joker to his Batman. Scarecrow needed to be rid of his rival once and for all, and the first way to do that was to get rid of the mark he'd left on him. Poison Ivy claimed that her work in creating plant-human hybrids could help him. Supposedly, the material she created her friends with could be used heal his face, even the chakra burned sections. After all, this botanical material had chakra in it.

"Let's see if Ivy's new abilities are anywhere near as good as she claims they are," Scarecrow said to the mirror in his room, slowly removing that mask that he only ever took off when absolutely had to, "We've been doing these treatments for a month. The time had damn well better be worth it."

The burlap left his face and allowed him to see every crack and crevice in the glass. It took him a moment to register what he was seeing, simply because of the shock of it. Crane tentatively put up a hand to his face, feeling it in order to confirm this wasn't all a dream. He found he was firmly in reality, which was strange, seeing as he looked like he did when he'd been fresh out of college. Put simply, he looked young, strong, and, dare he say, handsome? "The scars are gone. I look 25, maybe younger. My god, I can't believe Ivy managed this. I just may have to kiss her next time I see her."

Ivy, who'd been standing in the doorway for several seconds, got Scarecrow's attention with a silky voice, "You're free to try to Crane, but it hasn't worked out too well for certain other men."

"Other men don't have my immunity to chemical compounds. That'll happen when you spend their entire life around them," Crane replied as he spun around, grinning ear to ear, "You've undone the Red Fox's work my dear, and I cannot thank you enough for that. The closer I get to my goal, the more I begin to feel like this is who I was meant to be. Heaven above, I feel so alive!"

His enthusiasm was infectious, spreading the Poison Ivy and putting a smile on her face, "Ironic, that you look more like a human as you become less of one. I never have liked men, so it's only appropriate that my view of you has improved lately."

Scarecrow sense something in her last few words, "Poison Ivy, are you trying to seduce me? If you are, you'll have to do far better than that."

"I'm not seducing you, I'm planning on make you an outright offer," Ivy said seductively, swaying her hips as she worked towards her boss, "What I said before is true. You're immunity to my chemicals and you're lack of humanity is rather...alluring to me. I like the idea of being the Queen of Gotham, not just because of what I could do for my babies, but because it will put me above all those other pathetic meat sacks as well."

She got to the point where she was standing right in front of him, her firm breasts pressing against his chest. Scarecrow would be lying if he said it didn't get his blood stirring. Ivy leaned up, her lips mere inches from his, when he asked, "You intend to use me for your own gain, don't you my dear?"

Ivy grinned, her hot breath caressing his face, "I do, but I like to think of it as we're using each other. We both know if you die or decided to pull out the rug from under me, my research is done. You want protection, and you know I can provide that for you, even more so than I have been before."

"Yes, but why the offer of sex?" Crane asked, his hands sliding down to his her waist, "What do you stand to gain from pleasing me?"

The villainess grabbed the man's wrists and slid his hands down to her ample behind. She felt his breath hitch, a sign she was going to get what she wanted, "Perhaps I just really like you? Perhaps it's been a long time and Harley just can't quite scratch that itch for me anymore? Perhaps I know that there are few things that will earn you more trust with a person than a night of passion?"

"Just one night," Scarecrow quipped, bringing his lips down and kissing her neck, earning a genuine moan from her. He'd studied body reactions long enough to know it was real, "Is that really all you want?"

Ivy couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed the top of her costume and pulled it down, quickly managing to become completely nude. Her green tinted skin did not retract from the beauty of her body. Crane quickly removed his shirt when he saw this, along with his pants. The two were more than eager, "It might be one night, it might be permanent arrangement. We'll just have to see how you do."

That seemed like a challenge to Scarecrow. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her naked body against his and giving her a searing kiss. It was the beginning of what would be a sleepless night for the two of them. By the end of it, there was no doubt in either of their minds that they'd be doing this for a long time to come.

* * *

"We're getting close. I can feel Dick's soul getting stronger," Raven told her two companions as they inched ever closer to the Shinigami, "We'd better be careful. I've never fought one of these Shinigami things myself, but no one's ever said they're anything but tough."

Naruto came from a culture that feared Shinigami's in the worst possible sense. The fact that they were going to face with one in the Underworld had him wishing he'd studied up on them more in school, "I've heard a lot of legends about the them, but they're kind of inconsistent. So they're like transporters for the dead?"

There wasn't much Raven could add to the job distraction, "That's more or less all they do. The Judge sends one out when a soul leaves its body, the Shinigami collects the soul, brings it back to the Judge, and the Shinigami goes into rest until it's needed again. They're known for making deals with people in exchange for their souls, because they're rewarded each time they bring one to their master. With what, don't ask me."

"Sounds likes a real piece of work," Naruto replied, noticing a spike of dark energy directly ahead of them, "You guys feel that? We've got something nasty dead ahead."

Etrigan sensed it the moment the boy said it, "Indeed, a vile creature is closing in. It's too heinous to be a Shinigami, but it's power does feel familiar. Wait, this power, it feels out of place here. This is a being not from this realm."

"You always were a perceptive one Etrigan," Came a bellowing voice. A red flash went off in front of them, and a man with skin as black as ash appeared in front of them. He wore a suit of dark blue trojan style armor with his red glowing eyes visible through his helmet. Intimidating didn't begin to describe the nearly 7 foot man, "The last time I faced you was when Wonder Woman sicked the Justice Leauge on me. You're were strong then, but still no match for a god. I doubt that you ever could be, my demonic enemy."

The reference to Wonder Woman and his appearance made Naruto realize who was standing before them, "You're Ares, the god of war from the Amazon realm. The more war that's going on in the world, the more powerful you become. You spend every second of your life trying to think of ways to throw countries into chaos so that you can somehow benefit from the bloodshed."

Ares grinned at the description, "A grand introduction indeed, thank you my boy. Now, do you know why I'm here, slumming in a place as disgusting as this?"

"Whatever it is, it's going to lead to more death and destruction," Raven spat with a scowl to rival all others, "Whatever you want Ares, we're not interested! We've got a job to do, so get out of our way before we have to move you!"

A burst of laughter came from the villain, finding the idea of a fight with them comical, "You're stronger than most little girl, and Etrigan here can hold his own, but the only one here I'd ever be nervous against is the boy, and that if he's at full strength. Yes, I've been keeping tabs on you Mr. Uzumaki-Wayne, and I see great potential for destruction in you. The one I'm here for though, is Raven. You want something I can get for you, and I want something you can get for me, so I believe a trade is in order."

Raven would sooner eat pile of worms than work with that war monger, "There's nothing I want that would be worth anything you'd ask for! I'd almost rather work with my father!"

"From you, those are some harsh words" Ares mused, "You shouldn't repeat them if you want what I'm going to offer you, which I will. The entire reason you came down here was to get Dick Grayson's soul back, correct? Well, I can get it for you in a matter of moments, if you agree to return the favor to me shortly down the road."

That favor was no mystery to Raven. She knew exactly what he wanted, "Dick is my friend, the first person who ever believed in me. I love him like a brother, and he's one of the kindest people I've ever met. However, if you think he'd want me to save him at the cost of me having to cause the apocalypse so you could have the greatest war the world has ever seen, then you're even crazier than I thought! Leave, now!"

Ares had only ever been spoken to that way by Wonder Woman herself. Hearing Raven do it was rather new to him, "Well would you look at that? Trigon's daughter inherited his iron will! If that's what you wish, then so be it. Should anything ever come up where you would like my help, I'm sure you know how to contact me. For instance, if you weren't in time to retrieve your friend's soul because you were too slow,"

"We'll make it in time," Raven snapped, "I told you to leave, so do it, before I get any angrier!"

Again, a chuckle emanated from the god of war's mouth. It was the dark kind of chuckle that no hero wanted to hear, "Of course you will. I'm sure nothing will get in your way...well, almost nothing anyways."

Another red flash nearly blinded the group and when they looked back up, Ares was gone. The space in which he'd been standing was not vacant however. In his place was a creature so large the it knocked down several of the trees around it. It was an enormous muscular hound dog, with red fur and three heads. Naruto knew enough Greek mythology to identify the beast, "Cerberus, the three headed demon hound. Looks like dad was right about Greek legends being based off from Wonder Woman's realm. Any strategies, or are we just going with the 'hit it till it falls down' plan?"

"I believe taking the beast head on is the best course of action," Etrigan said, hellfire beginning to coat his hands, "Or rather 'Heads on' as it were. Face me, foul creature!"

Etrigan leaped at Cerberus, grabbing his center head and bringing his thumbs to the eye socket. He gouged them as hard as he could, earning a pain filled cry from the beast. Naruto figured if he was gonna pile on, now would be the time. With the Soultaker Sword in hand, the boy jumped to the head on the left and slashed as hard as he could, blood squirting everywhere as he did. The three headed hound began to walk backwards, but Raven had no plans of letting him get away. A black aura surrounded a group of nearby trees, all of which soon fell directly onto Cerberus. Now it could hardly move, making Naruto feel like they'd begun to win this thing, "You know, I expected a monster this powerful to have a little more strength to him. I guess Ares underestimated us."

A fleshy noise caught all of their attention, making them turn to see Cerberus's wounds healing themselves. Raven hung her head, realizing this was only going to eat up more of their time, "We don't have time for this. If we take much longer, the Shinigami will reach the Judge and this will all have been for nothing!"

"No, I'm not letting things end like this," Naruto cried, knowing that there was one way he could end this now, "Lets how he handles something with a little more power!"

He jumped to position where he was adjacent to all three heads. Naruto channeled chakra into the blade to the point where it was surrounded by a red wind. With one slash, the gust of the wind left the blade and was sharp enough to cut through all three necks of the beast. A typhoon of blood came from the three heads as they left the body, killing Cerberus. The same red flash that allowed Ares to vanish before now allowed Cerberus to disappear, likely to return his master Hades so that he could be revived for later use. Both Etrigan and Raven watched, astounded by what they'd seen. Hell, the demon even wanted to clap, "My boy, that was one of the greatest displays I've ever seen! With this victory, we can continue foreword to save your brother!"

Raven could see the way Naruto was panting, and she knew that attack had taken a lot out of him, "Risky move there, but it saved us a whole lot of time. Hopefully you won't need to use too much more chakra while we're down here."

"If it means we get to save Dick, I'll use however much I need to," Naruto said, taking a deep breath and regaining his composure, "Let's pick up the pace. Don't wanna keep him waiting much longer."

The heroin didn't say anything else. She stood up and continued to the lead the way towards her old friend, this time at double pace. Her companions had little trouble keeping up with her. A quiet had come over the forest. All other forms of life had scattered at the sound of a battle. This meant the groups path to the Shinigami was a clear one. It was a matter of minutes before they saw spectral white cloth the covered the blue transparent limbs of the creature. Its hair was white, and it had a human face with fangs, though they couldn't see that yet. There were no legs, but the arms had unidentifiable marking all over them, along with claws on the end of its fingertips. Horns emanated from its head, making it a frightening sight for even the bravest of men. Ravne had it locked in her sights, and knew exactly what she needed to do, "Don't worry Dick, you won't be stuck with it for much longer! Come here you ugly bastard!"

A line of black magic shot for the Shinigami, wrapping around it's neck and pulling it toward the girl. The creature was clearly shocked, with a loud grunt following the yank. One it was near them, the Shinigami grabbed the lasso shaped magic and ripped it off, turning around with an intent to fight his attackers. When it saw Raven however, it stopped, grumbling in it's cackly form of speech, "Oh, it's you. I figured you were the one who made this soul so heavy when I felt that Azarthian magic. What's the game here, Seed of Trigon? You know I can't give you back a soul once it's left the mortal plain."

"I do know that," Raven admitted, but followed with, "But I also know that The Judge can agree to send it back if there's someone there to make a case for it. We had to reach you before you gave Dick's soul to the Judge to make sure it wasn't too late."

The Shinigami was intrigued by the idea of an appeal to the Judge. They hadn't had one of those in a long time, and the Shinigami got its reward either way. This meant it was happy to lead the way to its master, "If that's the situation, don't let me stand in the way. Come, we're not far now from the Judge."

There were several questions that Naruto wanted to ask, mainly about why Raven seemed so well known in this realm. Sure, she was daughter of the demon Trigon, but that didn't seem like enough for all this attention. That remark that had been made earlier about her having the power to create an apocalypse was strange to him as well. Once they were back home, he was going to have a lot of things to inquire about. In the meantime he followed the Shinigami until he saw a figure that could've only existed in a realm like this. It was a human abdomen the size of a two story house, with tentacles beneath its waist instead of feet. Grey was the only color on its body, and it's skin was shriveled like an old man's. Not a single eye on him, at least Naruto thought it was a him, but there was a mouth with oddly white teeth. Etrigan knew who he was, "The Judge in all his glory. He's the only being in the universe who can tell what lies in person's soul. One rap from one of its slimy tentacle is all it will take. A strange method to be sure, but one that does not lie."

"Hm, let me see here," Came a the voice of the Judge, deep enough to shake mountains, as he wrapped one of his tentacles around a blue orb another Shinigami had dropped in front of him, "This woman was no saint, but I've sent worse sinners to a better place. She may ascend."

With his words, the blue orb began to float into the sky and the Judge tossed a bead of some sort to the Shinigami, who accepted it happily. The heroes reached him soon after, the Judge seeming to sense their presence. Reaching into its robe, the Shinigami pulled out another blue orb, showing it to the Judge. It quickly said something before the Judge could get his tentacle up, "My master, these people wish to contest the taking of young Dick Grayson's soul. I'm afraid you'll have to hear their case before passing any judgement. May I have my bead now?"

The Judge laughed, forming said bead in his hand and tossing it to the Shinigami. Much happiness came to the creature before it vanished off to wherever that sort of creature lived. This was regular occurrence for the Judge, "Those foolish creatures wish for nothing more than beads to improve their status. Greedy to be sure, but useful as well. So, the three of you would not like me to take this soul, is that what I am to understand?"

"Yes sir, we want to return it to so that its host can live on," Raven explained, gaining a nod from the Judge, "We're willing to do whatever is needed to accomplish this."

Tapping on his chin, the lumbering figure needed a moment to decide whether or not he'd grant the request. There was a process that needed to be followed for something like this, "Because the soul which was taken was so young, I'll allow you to contest the death. Naturally, there needs to be someone here to make a case against it as you make one for it. Wait one moment while I retrieve someone."

The Judge's hand went down the ground below and he held it there for a few second. A soft rustling sound began, and when the hand was removed, a man rose from the ground below. He wore all black, held a cane that was the same color as his clothes, had blond hair, and a face that was so attractive it felt rather sickening to look at him. Raven gasped as she saw him, "Lucifer!"


	40. The Things We Don't See Pt 2

Well would you look at that! Ladies and gentlemen, I managed to get the chapter out on time even with everything that was going on! This chapter will be a little bit on the short side, but not by too much, so don't worry about a lack of content. We've got plenty of story to go around! I had a great time during Spring Break and my papers are all finished. Hopefully, they turned out as well as I thought they did. Now, back the to chapter! I had a little bit of delma about weather I should start with Lucifer or in Naruto's head, but seeing as I made such a big deal out of his reveal, I'll open with the Devil himself! As stated previously, it'll be based off from the version found in the pages of Sandman. Also, we'll be checking in on something in Gotham during this chapter as well. Nothing else I can think to add at this point, so I'll jump right in. Thank you guys for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack: Billy Bob Thornton-The Boy is Gone

* * *

Lucifer walked over to Raven slowly, letting his presence sink in with the others. He lived for things like this. Moments like these were when he got to have his fun. He addressed the girl like in old friend in an accent that seemed closest to British, "Ah, Raven, my little bird, how wonderful it is to see you again! My, you've grown since our last meeting. Last time I saw you, you were with your father, and we were discussing your fate. You were such a cute child, all pouty and full of fire. Of course, you were too young to understand anything we were saying. Things like fate and the end of days likely went right over your head, didn't they?"

"I knew enough to know that my father was bastard," Raven growled, "I figured out I needed to get away, that's all that matters."

Twirling his cane around in his hand, Lucifer responded, "Yes, and your father paid the price for it. Banished, for his failure to carrel you. Nothing more than another demon in hell, albeit a powerful one. You have no idea what he'd bee willing to do to finally make his plan become a reality. To be fair, I don't think anyone would've been able to stop you. Anyone could see how you wanted so desperately to be free of your destiny."

He was right. Raven had wanted out by any means, and she didn't honestly care what happened to Trigon because of it, "My father can keep burning in hell, where he belongs. What are you doing up here Lucifer? You don't tend to meddle in affairs like this. Last I checked, they bored you."

"Usually, you'd be right," Lucifer confirmed, taking a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with a small flame that lit up on his finger, "Proceedings like this are highly tedious, so I avoid them whenever possible. For a chance to see you again though, it'll all be worth it. Judge, I trust you don't object to my being here."

The Judge saw no reason to make him leave, "You will be sufficient for the opposition Lucifer. Now, onto the matter at hand. One group wishes for the soul to return to mortal realm, and one group wishes for it to remain here. I'll allow those who arrived first to present their argument first. Whichever one of you in the group wishes to speak, please do."

Raven still didn't trust Lucifer's motives, and she could've sworn she a saw twisted glint in his eye, but she decided to go with the flow for now, "Sir, I know that returning a soul to its body isn't something you usually do, but this is one those rare cases where you need to make an exception. Dick Grayson died long before his time, and left dozens of people behind who care about him. That's typical of many people, but his death effects some of the most influential people in the mortal world. This includes many members of the Justice League, the Teen Titans, and his lover Starfire, who I know for a fact he planned to propose to! In fact...she's with child. Who knows what kind of reactions people will have to his death, or how his child will do without a proper father?"

"Hmmm...the effect would be large, especially for the mother and child," The Judge admitted, toying with the seniors in his head, "I'm not sure if that's reason enough though, and we have no way of being certain that effect would be entirely negative. Anyone else?"

Seeing as this was his brother on the line, Naruto felt the need to step up, though he was still in a bit of shock about him having a kid on the way, "This man's a member of the my family, even if we aren't related by blood. Dick's one of the kindest people I've ever known, and he makes everyone who's around him better. Considering that the things up in the mortal realm keep getting crazier and crazier, we're going to need him now more than ever. Kind of hard to be the Judge if everyone dies and there's no one left to pass judgement to, isn't it?"

The Judge could appreciate the boy's use of the logic, "Things are getting a little chaotic up there, aren't they? Perhaps this young man could do some good. Also, if he and his lover were to properly raise this child, it could lead to some beneficial genes from cross species breeding. A child that's half human and half tamaranian, imagine the possibilities. I think I'll have that be the closing of the return arguments for the time being. Lucifer, please begin your arguments."

"With pleasure old friend," Lucifer said, straightening his clothes before beginning in a formal voice, "As I'm sure everyone here is aware, death is one of the great equalizers of the universe. You've all read that in a book at some point or have seen it in a film, and you're likely tired of hearing it. The reason it's said so many times though, is because it's the truth. There is no escaping death, no matter how long you manage to avoid it. This is the case for everyone else in the world, and it should be the case for Dick Grayson as well. He's more than likely heading off to paradise as it is. I say let him die, because sure the world is on fire, but this one man won't change that fact."

Those points were blunt ones, but they weren't ones that the Judge could deny, "Nothing you said is untrue, though the facts may be in more of a gray area than you presented them to be. Let me see...Dick's life ending would certainly have an effect on the world above, the question is would that effect be devastating enough to the point where I need to allow his revival. Lucifer, I'm fully aware of your code of ethics. You're a bastard, there's no denying that, but you call things as you see them. You never lie, at most you twist the fact to suit your view."

Lucifer acted as though it was compliment, which, in a way, it was, "Thank you, I take my honesty deadly seriously."

"I suppose you do," The Judge replied, turning to Naruto and Raven, "With you two, however, I don't your true intentions. In order to decided weather or not I can trust your words, I'm going to have to judge you myself. Hopefully this won't offend you, but I will need you both to step on my tentacles. After that, each of you will tell me what you feel your greatest sin in life is. From that, I will make my final decision about your friend."

Both of the heroes got anxious at this idea. Raven was the literal spawn of a demon and Naruto had been affected by the Kyuubi's chakra for years. He felt hostile towards the idea because he had no clue what the Judge find. Having to pour out his heart wasn't all that appealing either, "Hold on, our worst sin? Why don't you just wrap the tentacle around us like the other soul we saw?"

The Judge doubted they actually wanted him to do that, "Your souls are still attached to your bodies. If I were to wrap my tentacles around you, your connection to your body would break and you'd up a blue sphere like your brother, which means you'd be dead. I'm afraid you'll do things my way for now."

"Well, I guess we don't have much of choice," Raven said, a somber look on her face, "Am I correct in assuming I'll need to be in my true form for this to work?"

If the girl was altering her appearance, then the Judge needed her to stop that here and now, "I'm afraid so. Don't worry, your looks aren't what I'm judging you on."

Raven knew that, but it didn't make things any easier. She didn't think Naruto even knew she was hiding her appearance to begin with. As a half demon, that diamond on her forehead wasn't the only thing she'd been born with, as he was about to find out. Removing her hood, she lifted the spell that hid her more demonic features. Red skin, two more eyes on her forehead, and devil horns all appeared on Raven's body. The shame she felt was obvious in the way she refused to make eye contact with anyone. All she wanted in the world was for this to be over with, "Alright, let's do this already. For my friend…"

* * *

"_Oh come on, you people are not playing fair," The Joker screamed, furious at the fact he could never manage to hit Minato with the way he teleporting everywhere. He tried to throw a razor sharp playing card at the Fourth Hokage, but another yellow flash made the card go right through him. This reoccurring failure only made the villain even angrier, "You dirty good for nothing punks! I'm going to make you watch when I take over your son's body, I swear to god!"_

_Minato wasn't going to let that happen. He threw one of his three pronged kunai at the Joker's chest, piercing it and causing the villain to disintegrate into a pile of goo. It was a small victory, seeing as how there were plenty of other Joker's around that still needed to be taken care of, but still. Ino had been doing good as well, having crushed two more of the clown's clones in between two mounds of dirt. Kurama had been helping out as much as he could too, sending streams of chakra and strong gusts of wind from his cage to destroy the Joker's that he could. After placing a strong rasengan into another one of the villain's guts, Minato turned to the other heroes and called to them, "Nice job guys, I think we've got him on the ropes! We might not even need Naruto's help to force this psycho out!"_

_For as much as he hated the man, Kurama was finding himself in a state of camaraderie with Minato Namikaze at that very moment. Facing someone as sinister as the Joker had a way of bringing people together, "There's nothing I'm loving more right now than watching these guys squirm! Oh, I could do this all day long!"_

"_My friends are gonna be so jealous when they hear about this," Ino proclaimed, gaining a sort of second wind from this experience, "Not to mention getting to stick it to Joker is one of the most satisfying things ever! He deserves it after everything he's done to Naruto!"_

_The Joker was seething with rage at this point, "Would you people stop talking about me like I'm not even here! You know what? That's it! I'm ending this right now! It's time to double the trouble!"_

_Each Joker spontaneously separated into another Joker, meaning there was twice as many clowns now as there were before. A third of them jumped onto Ino all at once, immobilizing her beneath their weight. The next third did the same to Minato, though both groups of Jokers knew that this plan wouldn't immobilize the shinobi for long. They had done it in order to give the final third a chance to sprint towards the seal once again, hopefully to successfully rip it off this time. Kurama took in a deep breath and tried to blow them away like he had before, but the group was too heavy this time, as they managed to stay grounded by sticking together. This truly had the Kyuubi's attention, "Of course, the one time I don't want the seal to come off!"_

"_What's the matter Fido? You don't seem so cocky anymore," One of the Jokers yelled, the glee back in his voice, "Next time you won't run your big fat mouth, will you?Huh...Kinda feels weird being the one saying that instead of having said to me."_

_Kurama cringed from within his cage, waiting for the seal ripped off so that the real fight could begin. The seal never came off though. A chorus of all the Jokers in the group could be heard grunting and asking what in the hell was going on. When he looked to see what had stopped them, Kurama found that the clowns had been bound together by a golden chain made entirely of chakra. This was another power that he recognized, and also another one that he didn't expect he'd be so happy to see, "Kushina Uzumaki, my old container. Looks like you're still just as powerful as I remember you being. You're timing couldn't be better!"_

_The chain holding the group of villains yanked backwards, sending them all flying. Once they were gone, a red haired woman whose facial structure looked just like Naruto's was visible. This was his mother, here to do anything to save her baby boy, "It's been a long time Kurama. I didn't figure I'd ever see you and me on the same side."_

"_And I never thought I'd see you again," Kurama replied. He'd been a little bit surprised when one of Naruto's parents showed up, but there's no way he would've figured that Minato had found a way to put both of them in the seal, "Minato was supposed to pop up if someone tried to take the seal off, so what was it that signaled you it was time to show up?"_

_Kushina was at a loss for that question, with only a theory to give the Fox. She explained it as she used her chakra chains to get the other clowns off from Ino and her husband, "I was supposed to appear if you ever tried to take over Naruto's body, sort like a second line of defense. Maybe the Joker's last attempt was what set it off? He is trying to take over my son's body, so it would make sense if you think about it."_

_As she spoke, more Jokers were forming to try and take her out as well. One of them ran up behind her with a knife in his hand, but was promptly destroyed by a flying rock sent by the newly freed Ino. That was when the girl jumped over to see who the knew ally they'd gained was, "Wait, so you're Naruto's mom? Actually, now that I think about it, I didn't even know the Fourth Hokage had a wife or anything like girlfriend."_

"_I wasn't exactly a public figure," Kushina admitted, wiping her chains at a trio of villainous clones, "Due to me being the Kyuubi's container, we kept our marriage as secret as we could. It was my idea, not Minato's. If he'd had his way, he would've screamed it to the rooftops the second we got engaged."_

_With a yellow flash, Minato was right next to his wife, grabbing her bridal style and giving her a sweet kiss in the brief seconds between the Joker attacks, "I'd gotten the best woman in the whole damn village to say she loved me. I was proud."_

_Kushina accepted the kiss happily, but rolled her eyes as she flipped out of Minato's arms and kicked one of their foes in the ribs, "Glad to see your lines are just as bad as they were before. You were going up in your ninja career, and if they found out you'd been dating the village Jinchuriki, you would've gotten sandbagged with political bullshit. When you told the council about our marriage after you became Hokage, I thought they were gonna faint."_

"_This is the most romantic history lesson I've ever gotten," Ino joked, noticing that the number of Joker's being created was starting to go down, "Wait a minute, are we winning this thing? We're not just holding them off, we're kicking these clown's asses!"_

_The remaining Joker's must have heard that, because they started fuming at once. Saying the Joker was just a clown was like Picasso was just a painter! He was one of the greatest villains that world had ever seen. There was no way he was going to let his legacy end in some kid's head, "If that's way you want things to go, then fine! No more Mr. Nice Joker! Boys, it's time for a little teamwork!"_

_All of the Jokers began chuckling at once, melting into a pile of white goo. They shot together, merging into something that resembled Clayface if he was the color of eggshells instead of the color of mud. This new monster was the size of the Kyuubi, and resembled the form of a thin human, but with his limbs looking a bit more jagged. Its eyes were a piercing yellow with red pupils and its voice was that of the villain who created it, only slightly distorted. It was as though five Jokers were talking at once, "Hahaha! You know, I tend to prefer brain over brawn, but you haven't left me with much of a choice this time around! I'm going to destroy you all use this kids body to leave the world begging for mercy, no matter how many dead relatives decide to pop up! Here comes the greatest punchline you goody goodies are ever gonna see!"_

* * *

"Hey, Spoiler! Come on, cut it out," Robin said halfheartedly as his girlfriend kissed his neck, "We're supposed to be on patrol, and I don't wanna get chewed out by Oracle again!"

The two young heroes stood together on a rooftop in the heart of the Gotham, with Spoiler having her object of affection pinned against a nearby wall, "Aw, that's adorable. You actually still care what she thinks of you. Come on babe, live a little! We're two of the only three heroes in Gotham right now, and Batgirl isn't even out tonight. We're basically the kings of the castle at this point."

That may have been true, but Robin didn't see that as a reason to screw off, "We can have all the fun we want as kings and queens later, right now we've got a city to protect. WayneTech is getting in a new shipment of prototypes fresh off the factory lines tonight, and some of it's stuff Lucius Fox cooked up for the Batman. I wanna make sure it gets to its destination safely."

"Fine, ya big baby, we can go and keep eye on the tech stuff until something more exciting comes along," Spoiler said in defeat, though quickly offered up an alternative, "For instance, we can go track down the Penguin's latest hideout and see what he's up to?"

Robin knew why she'd suggested it, and scowled as they jumped from one rooftop to the next, "I told you, I'm not interested in getting revenge on the Penguin. I've come to peace with what happened to my dad. I'm only going to ask you one more time to drop the topic, okay?"

Spoiler huffed in response, "Go ahead, stay on Batman's leash for the rest of your life. Just don't expect me to be within reach of it for too much longer."

"Nice to know where things stand between us," Robin fired back sarcastically. Before long they landed on a building that was directly behind Wayne Towers. The two heroes could see men unloading crates in the alleyway below them, "Looks like the delivery is going off without a hitch. Maybe you were right Spoiler, we might not be needed here tonight."

Two more men came out of the truck that the tech was being stored in with a crate that was plated in metal and locked with some of the most heavy duty stuff in the city. A keypad was the only way to open it, and if the wrong 4-digit code was put in too many times, the crate would be locked forever. Batman must have been expecting something highly dangerous, which meant it was also highly valuable. As if to confirm that fact, both men who were carrying the cargo jerked forward with red blotches forming on their chests. The men fell to the ground, leaving Spoiler trying to figure out what the hell had happened, "Holy shit, did they just get shot? I didn't hear any guns go off anywhere!"

"It's looking like we've got a sniper with a silencer," Robin guessed, grabbing his girlfriend and pulling her down onto the ground, "Stay down, at least until we have an idea where the shots came from."

Another pair of men walked out of the truck, and were promptly gunned down like the workers before them. There had been no time for the heroes to warn them. The only silver lining was that it was a four man crew, so there was no one left for the gunman to kill off. Spoiler and Robin watched carefully for the next few minutes, knowing that someone would be along to claim their prize, but that they'd need time to disassemble their rifle and make their way to the location. A figure the heroes recognized finally entered the alleyway, a figure in a leather jacket and a red hood. Robin leaned over to Spoiler and whispered, "So, our mysterious friend returns. Looks like he's actually after something this time rather than trying to piss us off. Think he knows our heavy artillery is out of town?"

Spoiler had a feeling he wouldn't be trying something like this if he didn't feel safe, "We know that Red Hood knows who the Red Fox is, so maybe he knows who Batman and all of us are as well and has been tracking our movements. Think we should attack him?"

"No way. We could barely fight him off with the whole team," Robin recalled, "We'd get our asses handed to us if we jumped him. Let's keep an eye on what he's doing, then report it back to base later. That's all we can really do at the moment."

The heroine nodded, watching as the Red Hood approached the cargo and kneeled down by the keypad. It only took him two attempts to get the right code, "You've got to be kidding me! How does he know what numbers to put in? Batman doesn't tell anyone but his team and Lucius Fox how to get in there!"

Robin didn't respond, choosing to keep a close eye on their sneaky foe. He opened up the create and gently removed the typical Wayne Enterprises items. Usually these items would be envy of any criminal, as that level of technology would fetch a small fortune on the black market, but the Red Hood wanted the prize beneath them. Under these items was a hidden compartment Bruce only allowed Lucius Fox to handle where he kept all of his various gadgets for crime fighting. Batarangs, smoke pellet, flash grenades, so and and so forth. On that night, however, there was an even greater treasure among them. Out of the compartment, the Red Hood removed a small metal cylinder, only 8 inches in length and and less than an inch wide. He twisted the cylinder, ever so gently, until it clicked open, revealing a microchip inside. A gasp escaped Robin's lips as he realized what it was, "That's the prototype of the new decoding chip WayneTech has been working on for months. It's supposed to make our remoting hacking devices so powerful that there isn't any firewall we can't passed. That thing could bring the city to its knees if it ends up in the wrong hands! We can't let him leave here with it!"

"Finally, you say something that makes sense," Spoiler whisper, then was up and ready for action, "Let's go kick that guy's ass!"

As enthusiastic as they may have been, they were about to find out the Red Hood was well aware of their presence. He picked up another device from the secret compartment of the crate, this time a high frequency emitter. It was designed to release pitch that would immobilize foes who relied on their sense of hearing, such as Man-Bat, but it could be adjusted to immobilize humans for a short period of time. All it took was a few adjustments on the device and one click to send a noise towards the heroes that had them screaming in pain. Both Robin and Spoiler covered their ears and huddled over as the Red Hood merely chuckled, protected from the frequency by his helmet. He tossed the device on the ground and called to the heroes as he walked away unchallenged, "You know, the Bat really needs to get better help these days. A couple of kids who can't even keep from being seen? That's just pathetic. Don't worry, I'll be seeing you munchkins around real soon, when the boss gets home anyways. Until we meet again!"

The simple taunt was the last thing Robin heard him say. Once again, he'd been bested by the strange foe, and was left to return home with his tail in between his legs. He had no idea how he was supposed to explain this to his family, "Oh man, Oracle is gonna kill us."

"Only if Batman doesn't get to us first," Spoiler groaned. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Raven stepped onto Judge's tentacle and took deep breath. The tentacle was harder than it looked, almost like stone, and the air felt stale around the creature who was set to account for her actions. It was a nerve racking thing, pouring her soul out like this. She didn't need long to think of an answer to the question. All she needed to think of was how to best phrase it, "My greatest sin...well my greatest sin is my existence, honestly. I don't know how else to say it. Trigon, my father, raped my mother to conceive me, and then made a deal with the lords of the underworld to one day have me bring about the end of the Earth. Literally, the only purpose my birth was supposed to serve was to allow my father to rule a planet of ash and fire. He doesn't love me, I'm just a gateway to him. Yet, it gets even worse. As hard as I tried to isolate myself, to act like I didn't know what was coming, I still managed to find friends. There are people who care about me, people who I will someday have to try and kill because my destiny has already been chosen for me. Not only am I monster, I've spent so long pretending to be something else that I almost believed I was. So, there you are. From the moment I was born all the way up until now, my existence is my greatest sin. I am the child of the apocalypse, walking among man like I have some kind of right to do so. No matter how much I try and make myself out to be a hero, I'm no better than the monsters I hunt. In fact, I think I might even be worse."

Even Lucifer looked at a loss for words at the story the girl had told. Naruto could hardly believe she'd been through so much, "Raven...I had no idea."

"Hm...yes, I see," The Judge mused, those his reaction gave no clue as to how the speech made him feel, "You may step off now. Thank you Raven, for your story. I can tell that was difficult for you. Naruto, please, step on give me your take on what your greatest sin is. Remember, there is to be no lying in this matter. If you tell any sort of fib, I will know, and your brother will be as good as gone."

Naruto had no more of a desire to tell his story than Raven did, but felt he had to show the same level of bravery that she had. The girl gave him a reassuring smile and he stepped onto the firm tentacle, speaking as clearly as he could, "You know, I thought I'd have a hard time thinking of what my greatest sin in life might be, but once I start to think about it, you know, look into myself a little bit, it's pretty clear what it is. My greatest sin, and this goes back as long as I can remember, is my denial. I'm in denial about everything in my life. I try and deny the fact that villagers are always going to hate me, but let's face it, there's nothing I can do to change how they feel about Kurama. With Gotham, I try and deny that it'll always be a city riddled with crime, even though I know there's not a thing in the world I can do to stop constant stream of criminals that come through there. Worst of all, I'm in denial about having to go up against the kind of people who are going to chase after me. No matter how hard I train, or how much power that Kurama gives me, I'm never going to be strong enough to stop the storm that's coming, and the people I care about will end up dying. Yet, here I am, standing in front of you, in denial about my brothers death. I guess I'm just some kind of idiot who can't accept the way things are sometimes. Call me fool, but I'll never stop trying to change the world into a better place for the people I care about. If I was smart, I'd kill myself to make sure that Kurama's power doesn't fall into the wrong hands, but I wanna believe there's another way. It's a selfish way of thinking, but it's who I am. My denial, that's my greatest sin."

At first, no one in the realm said a word. A soft sound caught everyone's attention, as they looked over to find Lucifer had begun to laugh to himself. It seemed the ruler of hell was in utter disbelief, "What baffling creatures the two of you are. You have every reason in the world to be upset with the hand you've been dealt in life, and yet you still find ways to make yourselves sound responsible for it all. When most people have anything bad happen to them, they blame me for it all. The Devil, he caused it all, for years that's what they've cried. Can you imagine what it was like? Ten billion years providing a place for dead mortals to torture themselves? And like all masochists, they called the shots. 'Burn me.' 'Freeze me.' 'Eat me.' 'Hurt me.' And we did. Why do they blame me for all their little failings? They use my name as if I spent my entire day sitting on their shoulders, forcing them to commit acts they would otherwise find repulsive. 'The Devil made me do it.' I have never made any one of them do anything. Never. They live their own tiny lives. I do not live their lives for them. It's been maddening to me, and yet, here the two of you are, taking responsibility for actions that hardly anyone could blame you for! Haha! My god, you are fascinating beasts!"

"I'm glad our pain amuses you," Raven growled as Lucifer wiped a tear from his eye, "Now, can we get a final ruling on Dick's soul or not?"

The Judge was about to make a statement when Lucifer cut him off, "On second thought, my good Judge, I withdraw my objection to Dick's soul being returned to land of the living. I think I'll find his interactions with these two far more entertaining than I originally thought."

This choice didn't seem to phase the supernatural being, who merely shrugged it off, "I was going to allow them to take the boy's soul anyway, so it make no difference to me. Everyone here is free to go, so says the Judge!"

"Thank you for your time sir," Etrigan said, grabbing the blue orb and handing it off to Raven, "Here you are Lady Raven. I'm glad everything turned out well for your and your friend."

Raven holding the orb close to her, relieved everything had worked out. She did, however, feel the need to stop Lucifer before he could leave, "Lucifer, before you go, there's something I have to ask you. Why did you really want Dick's soul to stay in the spirit realm? You and I both know you weren't _that _keen on seeing me again."

"Oh, I suppose the cats out of the bag," Lucifer said in sweet voice, "Originally, I wanted him to stay here to cause you pain so that you'd finally begin the end of days. I think that'd be real blast to watch, or at least be more interesting than Earth as it is now. Like I said before though, I find the way things are going now to be far more entertaining. I can't wait to see the way things turn next. Have a nice trip home, my sweet birdy!"

Lucifer disappeared into a cloud of flame, leaving the heroes to fend for themselves. Naruto looked at the blue orb that was his brother's soul and declared, "We've gotta get moving. I don't want to have gone through all that only to get back and find out Dick's body is too far gone. We're heading home!"


	41. The Things We Don't See Pt 3

My friends, another chapter is upon us, and this one is going to have a whole lot of emotion. We'll open up with the Red Hood and Scarecrow, mainly to explain the purpose behind the villains stealing Batman's new tech, and we'll then jump right into the final part of the Joker's epic battle for Naruto's mind. A couple of other things will occur, but those are things that I don't wanna reveal just yet. I'm a sneaky little bastard, but hey, I can't give it all away in the beginning. Also, we'll be starting the undercover arc next week, so get pumped for that! Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us begin! Thank you for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack: Two Steps From Hell-Black Blade

* * *

Inside the depths of Scarecrow's lair, three villains had gathered together to discuss the final stages of their master plan. It was the previous mentioned leader of the group, Scarecrow, the Riddler, who was observing a microchip under microscope, and the Red Hood, who was mostly sitting around listening to the two men talk. Within the makeshift office, the Riddler gave his opinion on the new prize they'd received, "This is the real deal. It's by far the most advanced decoding chip I've seen to date. Red Hood, how'd you know Wayne was even making technology of this caliber?"

"I keep an eye on anything major Wayne's moving because I know he's always got the best stuff in Gotham," The Red Hood replied, choosing not to mention key details in the story, "On this one, we got a little lucky. Rumor had it Wayne had been working on some tech like this, and Scarecrow told me he needed it to finish up the Cloudburst Mark 2.0, so I watched for any heavily protect shipments he had coming in. When I saw that heavy duty crate coming out of one his truck, I figured there was a pretty good chance it was what I've been waiting for."

Scarecrow smiled under his mask, which he still wore because he wasn't ready for his men to know of his treatments with Ivy just yet, "This may be your greatest accomplishment yet my young friend. With this microchip, I'll be able to hack into every electronic based system in Gotham. Once Deathstroke is finished with things on his end, the setup will be complete. I can get rid of our 'partners' and focus on showing the world what lies in store."

The idea of Scarecrow managing to get rid of Ra's al Ghul and Orochimaru seemed far fetched to the Red Hood, "No offense sir, but in a physical confrontation, you're no match for our two associates, especially Orochimaru. I'm not sure that anyone on our payroll could take him. I've been telling Mother to steer clear of that maniac."

"Thank you for the concern, but I'd never be stupid enough to charge Orochimaru head on," Scarecrow assured him, "Just like with Ra's al Ghul, I have a trap set for him that'll make his powers irrelevant. I've got Ra's blood already, and used his men all that I need to. Orochimaru has finished perfecting the Titan serum and still believes I'm giving him the secret to creating chakra. It's taken much more trickery to make this plan work than I prefer to use, but soon it will pay off in spades. Fear's power is about to become known all over the world, and my name will be remembered forever as the man who brought about a new age in this world!"

Riddler was becoming increasingly glad he'd picked the side he had in all this, "You're about to have control over something that's equivalent to a small country. This is something the Joker would've pulled! Lex Luthor himself may even end up jealous of you!"

The compliments earned a head nod from Scarecrow, "You flatter me sir. Red Hood, you may feel to return to your mother now. I think I'll cancel our session for today I'm in such a good mood."

"Hold on, I have a question before I go," Red Hood said, startling his boss, "Mother still doesn't know what you're planning, and she's tired of being out of the loop. You said something about having control over a small country, now what did you mean by that?"

Scarecrow tapped his fingers on the table, thinking over his options in this situation, "What if I were to refuse your request for more information? Harley agreed in the beginning to getting as little information as possible about my plan. Seems unfair of her to change the terms of our deal now."

"I get why you might see it that way, but I think you may be forgetting something," Red Hood responded, to which Scarecrow raised an eyebrow, "You've been using me and Harley Quinn's men far more than you were supposed to. You taking up at least twice as much of their time, which means you owe us more information. It's either that, or we pull our men out of this project. What do you say?"

The Riddler leaned down, whispering to his boss, "We still need her raw manpower, especially if you plan on crossing Ra's like you said. Hate to say it, but he needs to know. This isn't the time to piss off him or Harley Quinn."

Nodding, the villain took a deep sigh and began to spell out his master plan, "What I'm about to tell you here never leaves this room unless you're speaking with Harley Quinn about it. I've created a weapon so powerful that it'll force the City Officials to do anything I say at the risk of me setting it off. They're going to give me this city so that my men and any of their friends can run around as they see fit. It's going to be a city in fear, with its citizens knowing what's at stake. If they won't give me my City of Fear, then I'll use my Cloudburst 2.0 to take it. I'm going to tell you how it works, but only if you give me your word that it stays in this room."

"I've never been blabber mouth Crane," Red Hood replied, his arms crossed, "But I'll give you my word anyways. Now, this Cloudburst 2.0 you keep referencing, what is it exactly?"

Scarecrow leaned back in his chair, explaining as best he could, "It all revolves around the various Gotham pipelines, mainly the abandoned ones. I've taken the designs of the Cloudburst and modified the pipes to mimic them. Harley and Ra's men have been able to move entire sections of pipeline right under the city's nose. Their speed even impressed me. With Ace Chemicals as my center where the toxin's power can be amplified, I've lined up the pipes to let my toxin loose in all of Gotham and a hundred square miles around it. My toxin has been laced with dozens of new elements so that it'll affect anyone who may come after us. I've even gained a supply of kryptonite to make sure that not even Superman can stop us. This toxin will end anyone it comes across."

"That's it?" The Red Hood asked, unimpressed with the plan, "Another plan to cover the city in a blanket of fear unless they pay your ransom? You're getting stale Crane."

Scarecrow laughed at the boy ignorance, "My boy, that was only one small part of the weapon. When the toxin is first set off, it'll cause an earthquake so large that it'll destroy the bridges leading out of Gotham, and many of the roads leading in. The city, along with a sizeable area around it, will be cut off from the rest of the world, and will be under my control. It'll be a beacon of fear and Batman's failure, along with a place where criminals from all over the world can do business without fear of the law. Only I will have the ability to give them supplements and masks capable of holding off my gas. They'll only get those things if they pay me a hefty fee. Them having to pay the fee will be true even if the city meets my demands. Gotham will still be my city, and I'll have an iron fist over it. There, my young friend, is our plan."

Considering how many lives the plan would likely destroy and the overall dementedness it presented, Red Hood felt confident he knew how Harley Quinn would feel about it, "Mass destruction? Sounds right up Mother's alley. That doesn't explain what you need the hacking chip, Ra's blood, Deathstroke's help, or the Titan formula for though."

"The hacking chip is to take out police security scanners so that they won't know about us putting the final pieces into motion," Riddler explained, having come up with that part himself, "Batman's upgraded their security system so much that it's nearly impossible to hack, but we've made sure we can do it now. The Titan formula, Ra's blood, and Deathstroke all relate back to Ivy's project. I'm referring, of course, to her efforts to make humanoid plants. The Titan formula strengthens their immune system so that Scarecrow's toxin won't kill them on contact, with the nice little bonus of making them immune to other toxins as well. Ra's blood will enhance their regenerative powers. Deathstroke, last but not least, will be their handler of sorts. He'll test how capable they are of learning advanced fighting techniques, and will lead them like he would a group of soldiers. We're hoping to have about fifty of them by the time the final stages of our plan go into action. Now that his obsession with Nightwing is over, thanks to the fools death, he's finally able to join the plan full time."

When the Red Hood heard of Nightwing's death, Scarecrow could've sworn he saw he saw the young man's body tense up for an instant. It was gone as soon as it came though, and with the hood on, Crane had no way to telling for certain what his reaction may have been. Everything that needed to be said had been said already, so the Red Hood decided to make his leave, "All of that should satisfy Mother. Excuse me, I'm off to go and tell her the good news. Have a pleasant evening gentlemen."

* * *

_The gelatinous monster form of the Joker inched ever closer to Kurama's cage, all while his friends did everything in their power to stop him. Kushina wrapped her chains around both of his arms at the shoulders and pulled hard, causing them to tear right through the appendages, ripping them off. Globs of strange, white, Joker paste fell to the ground with a splat, but then immediately shot back into his body and reformed his arms. He laughed, his voice just as demented as before, "Haha, nice try there Red, but this new form gives me all sorts of fun tricks! Feel free to try anything you want, I'm not gonna feel it!"_

"_Shut up you giant pile of goo," Ino screamed, summoning the biggest rock she could from the earth, which was about as big as herself, and firing it at the Joker, "Let's try this one on for size!"_

_Joker turned to face Ino, opening his mouth and catching the rock inside. He chewed up into little bits, spitting it back at the heroes at the speed of bullets. They all leapt out of the way, the monster laughing the entire time, "Oh man, this is too much fun! Maybe when I bust out, I'll steal some of Clayface's DNA so I can turn into this all the time!"_

_This situation was starting to get out of hand. Minato lept into the air with a rasengan in each hand, hoping that he'd figured out some kind of week point on the monster. He reached the Joker's head, shoving both of the attacks into the villain's face. Chunks of white flew everywhere once again, giving Minato some hope that he'd won this fight, "Not so smug now, are you?"_

"_Oh, you'd be surprised how smug I can be," The villains voice fired back as the Joker matter formed back together and remade his head, "There's really no point in you fools trying! I'm kicking fido out, and this place is gonna be all mine!"_

_The enormous, gooey white hand reached the seal on the cage, digging its claws underneath the paper and preparing to tear it off. Kurama looked the Joker straight in the eyes, "Listen to me clown; you don't want to do this! It's not going to pan out the way you think it is!"_

_Joker highly doubted that, "Right, that's why you've been acting like you're afraid this whole time! Please, just shut up and let me get to work!"_

"_Joker, I'm warning you," Kurama started, but it was too late. The seal came off, and the branches began to crumble away. For the first time since he could remember, Kurama was free of shackles. At first he shook, as if he was uncertain of what came next. He didn't need to wonder long, as the Joker's clenched fist came around and smacked him in the face. It took a moment for the pain to register, but when it did, Kurama's reaction was not what one would expect. A burst of laughter left his maw, "Hehe...You idiot!"_

_Reaching up with his human like paws, Kurama grabbed the Joker by the shoulders, roaring in his face. The look of amusement left the Joker's eyes, "But you're supposed to be terrified! This is the part where I skin you like cat while you tremble in fear!"_

_Kurama had never trembled in fear in his entire life, "If you saw terror on my face before Joker, it was only to ensure that you'd remove that seal. See, if you knew that I wanted the seal off, then you wouldn't have removed it. You thought I was afraid, so you did exactly what I wanted you to. Now comes the part where you find out what I can really do."_

"_Wait, let's just hold on for a second," Joker said, thrashing as he saw some sort of light forming in Kurama's mouth, "Our deals still on the table! We could still take this body together!"_

_That was the last thing Kurama was going to do. He held on the Joker as tightly as he could, "I don't like sharing. Say goodbye, this time forever!"_

_With no more chance to protest, the Joker could only watch as a stream of orange glowing flame shot from Kurama's mouth. The intense stream of fire covered the monster from head to toe, heating whatever substance his body was made out of. He began to harden, making it impossible for him to struggle and escape. Joker screamed as he fate began to become sealed, "You can't do this to me! I'm the Joker! Dammit, stop baking me like a chicken!"_

"_All right, I'll stop burning you," Kurama said with a sneer, the clown's body essentially a rock at this point, "I'll crush you instead."_

_Kurama smashed his palms together, crushing them right through the monster's body. Bits of the hardened Joker fell to the ground, crumbling into pebbles when they hit. Among those pebbles, only one Joker remained. This, Kurama knew, was the core of the virus that plagued Naruto's body. Destroy it, and you'd destroy the problem once and for all. The Joker ran for his life, or what was left of it anyways, crying as he did, "Please, don't do this to me! I can't be forgotten! I can't let it end like this!"_

_Snatching him up with one flick of the wrist, Kurama grabbed the Joker and brought him to his face, snickering at the terrified look on his face, "The Joker, crying in fear. Now isn't this funny?"_

"_It's a real riot. A million laughs," The Joker spat, looking up at Kurama with hatred in his eyes, "If this how you want it to be, then fine! Have it your way! I just want you to know though, that you're a bigger sap than anyone I've ever met! You actually believe that brat sees you as anything more than a source of power for him, don't you?"_

_If Kurama had any kind of reaction to the insult, he didn't show it, "I've seen a lot of shit in my time clown, enough of it to turn any person cold and heartless. Yet, in all my time on this earth, I've never seen anything that compares with that kit. Naruto is the first person I've ever met who doesn't seem to give two shits about what happens to him. Sure, he has some wants, some dreams, but even in his most selfish moments, there's still something to admire about him. He cares about every person in his life, even someone as despicable and destructive as me. Frankly, if I'm gonna be stuck with some lowly human for the rest of my life, I'm glad it's him. Also, if only get to kill one person while I'm stuck inside here, I'm even more glad that it gets to be you!"_

_The Joker fought as hard as he could as giant hand closed in on him. He pushed up on the furry fingers, but it was to no avail. Screams left his mouth as he was crushed in the grip of enraged beast, "This isn't over! Do you hear me? There's no killing the Joker! It's a legacy, one that'll live on forever!"_

"_Oh will you shut up already?" Kurama growled, finishing both his goal and the villain off with a crunch, "If I never have to listen to your cackle again, it'll be too damn soon."_

_With the battle over, everyone breathed a final sigh of relief, glad the Joker was finally out of this body. Ino, finally having a second for herself, spun around and faced Minato and Kushina, "Nice fighting out there you guys. I never got to properly introduce myself; my name's Ino Yamanaka. I'm a friend of your son's. It's an honor to meet you two!"_

_Minato reached out his hand, which the girl quickly took and shook vigorously, "It's nice to meet you too. Thank you so much for coming here to help our son. It's good to know he's got such kind and talented friends to look after him."_

"_Um, if you don't mind, there's something I've just got to ask," Kushina said, gaining Ino's attention, "Are you and he...you know...an item?"_

_For as much as she cared about him, that just wasn't the way Ino thought of Naruto, "No, nothing like that! Naruto and I are close friends, that's all. Actually, he's got two, maybe even three, girls chasing after him now. He can't seem to figure out which one he wants to pick. Good problem to have for a kid his age."_

_Kushina felt a bit of pride at hearing about her son's success with the ladies, "Sounds like he's just as sweet and handsome as his father...I wish there was some way we could see him."_

"_I know darling, I was hoping this would be our chance to see him too," Minato replied with a sigh, "Must not be in the cards for us."_

_Kurama had never been a sentimental person, but he felt like he owed Naruto a meeting with his parents considering it was his fault the kid lost them in the first place. It was best to stay on good terms with his container after all, "That might not be true. It's not really my style, but could send you guys down to the underworld to see the kit if you'd like. I mean, you're going there either way, I can just send ya down now so that you can spend some time with your son before the Shinigami comes for you."_

_Both Minato and Kushina were taken back by the offer. In all her years as his container, Kushina had never seen any kindness from Kurama, "Why would offer to help us? Even better question, why haven't you tried to escape yet? You're free, so shouldn't you be trying to turn tail and get the hell out of here? Not that I'm complaining, but it doesn't fit with your personality."_

"_For the first time in my life, I don't see any reason to try and escape," Kurama said, shocking everyone around him, "If I bust out, someone else will just track me down, and sooner or later, I'll end up sealed inside some other jackass I don't like. One who'll likely only want me for my power anyways. As far as I'm concerned, Naruto's the best chance I've got right now."_

_Kushina could hardly believe what her son had managed to accomplish, "You trust Naruto, don't you? He's become a friend to you."_

"_He's a good kid, and I think he's actually somebody worth working with," Kurama admitted, but then added darkly, "However, he's the only human I trust! Don't any of you forget that!"_

_Minato brushed off the passive aggressive comment, "No matter what your reason is, we thank you. This meaning with our son means the world to us."_

_With the two of them leaving, Ino had to ask, "Is it time for me to go? I kinda feel like this is the point where I should head back into the real world."_

"_Yeah, you should let the others know that the kit's okay," Kurama said with a nod, then quickly added, "One thing though, and you need to do this fast. Give him a good smack on the back when you get there… and make sure he's got something to throw up in when you do it."_

* * *

Ino's body shot up with a jolt the moment she returned to the physical realm. She rubbed her head, a small bit of pain inside due to the mental strain she'd just put on herself. When she got a second to look around, she found a group of people now surrounded her, all of whom had a worried look on their face. From Naruto's parents, to her own father, to even the Hokage herself, there we many people eagerly awaiting her to say something. Standing up to dust herself, Ino did her best to put their minds at ease, "Naruto's going to be just fine. He's still down in the Underworld, but the Joker's gone, and we think it's for good this time. Kurama, er, the Kyuubi that is, was a massive help. Oh crap! Before we go any further, someone get me some kind of container!"

No one knew what she need it for, but the urgency in her voice let them know she was serious. Inoichi ran into the kitchen and soon returned with what looked to be a coffee can of some sort. Grabbing it from him, Ino placed the coainter in front of Naruto, who still looked like he was sleeping sitting up, and smacked him firmly in the back. As soon as she did so, the boy began to cough, with something purple starting to drip from his mouth. Mei ran up and held the boy gently while Bruce grabbed the can and held it closer to his mouth. Naruto began to vomit a thick, purple liquid into the container, continuing to do so until it was about halfway full. Once he finished, Bruce pulled it away with a raised eyebrow, "Ino, what is this exactly? I have no idea what to make of it?"

"Um...this may sound weird, but I think that might be the Joker" Ino shocking everyone in the room without having ability to explain what she meant, as she didn't have the medical expertise to do so, "Kurama looked like he was doing a real number to it in Naruto's head, but I didn't figure he'd liquify it like that. Kinda gross, honestly."

Tsunade took the container to see for herself. She brought one glowing hand down into the goop, hoping she could figure out it what it might be, "I'm picking up a few things here. Some genetic material, a horribly damaged virus, and a little bit of blood on top of it all. Freaky stuff, like something out of bad science fiction."

The description was enough for Bruce to figure out what was going on, "Wait, the Joker virus was still present in Naruto's body? I thought you were just keeping an eye on Kurama while he went down to rescue Dick!"

"Afraid not," Ino admitted, shuffling her feet, "Kurama was the one who saved us in the end. Without him, the Joker probably would've taken over Naruto's body."

Mei had no idea what to make of all this, "I thought Naruto cut the Joker out of his body 3 years ago? So is he going after Dick, or not? And when is he going to be back."

These were questions that would take Ino some time to answer, so she simply started with, "As far as I know, Naruto's fine. A lot of things happened inside his head just a second ago, and I'm happy to tell you guys all about them. Most of it I know, but I imagine Naruto will have some things he wants to tell you himself. He'll be here soon, I'm sure, but first, he's got some friends I think he's going to be happy to see. Happier than you could ever imagine."

* * *

"Hey, Raven," Naruto said quietly as the two of them walked alone, Etrigan had left them at this point, back to the spot where they could re-enter the mortal world, "I know you probably don't wanna talk about it, and that's fine, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about everything you had to go through when you were little. No one should have that much pain put on them when they're young. Believe me, I know."

Raven had heard the stories about his childhood from Dick, so she could see why Naruto felt her pain. At the moment though, none of that mattered to her. She was simply happy her friend was okay, "It's alright, I've got friends to help me forget it. Both you and your brother are good for me, and the whole team back in Jump City. Frankly, I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

Yet another feeling Naruto could understand, "I don't know what I'd do without my support system either. We've both gotten pretty lucky I guess...you know, if you look at the big picture anyways."

"I suppose we have," Raven mused, before spotting a couple of people ahead of them. A man with spiky blond hair and woman with long red hair. She didn't recognize either of them, "Hold on. Who's that up there? They look human…"

Raven was cut off before she could finish, as Naruto abruptly started screaming and sprinting towards the two figures, "Mom, Dad!"

That brought Raven's brain to a screeching halt, "Wait, those are his parents? As in, his biological parents? What are they doing down here?"

"I can't believe it's really you," Naruto cried, practically tackling the two of them with tears in his eyes, "I don't understand, how is this possible? How are you guys here?"

Minato and Kushina hugged their son close to them, his mother whispering in his ear, "It's a long story, and I don't want to waste what little time we have explaining. Just know that it's us, and that we're so happy to see you."

The entire group was ready to sob, overwhelmed by the moment. Minato wanted his son to know something important, "Naruto, I'm so sorry for the burden I put on you. I know life must've been hard for you, and that things aren't going to get any easier, but you have to how proud we both are of you. You've exceeded our expectations a hundred times over. I just wish we could've seen it all in person. Oh son, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay dad, I promise," Naruto replied, pulling away and wiping the tears from his eyes, "Things turned out great for me. I've got a family, the best friends ever, and I'm even a hero! Kurama's not perfect, but part of me thinks we could do something great together. You died protecting the people you loved, and I know I would've done the same thing if I had to."

Kushina didn't know where to start. She had so many things she wanted to say and so many questions she wanted to ask, "I've seen little bits and pieces from your life inside your head, but there's so much I don't know. My baby boy's gotten so big, and all I've gotten to see of his life is a glance. Minato, how much time do you think we have?"

"I don't know, but it isn't long," Minato said, frustrated with his only chance to see his son, "Naruto, rather jumping you with a thousand questions, I'm going let you ask us anything you'd like. Please, anything you wanna know, fire away."

Of all the question Naruto could've asked, there was one that he'd wondering for a long time. Not so much about his parents past, but more about a choice he would soon have to make, "Dad, I don't know what to do about the Scarecrow. He's not gonna stop until he feels he's got me beat, and he's gonna put my friends in danger. I know that there's only one way to stop him for good, but, I've never killed anyone before...and I'm not sure I want to. That's a stupid thing for a ninja to say, I know, but my other dad doesn't believe it's ever okay to take a life. Please, tell me what to do here."

Minato hadn't been expecting such a thought provoking question, but he was glad to give his son some guidance, "Who exactly is this Scarecrow? Like your mother said, I've only seen little bits and pieces with him, and the only thing I can tell for certain is that he's obsessed with you."

"You've got no idea," Naruto said, with a scowl, "His real name's Jonathan Crane, and he created this freaky stuff called Fear Toxin. Long story short, it puts people in such a state of panic that they start to hallucinate, and I'm the only person who's ever been able to beat it with sheer will alone. He won't give up until he can prove he can use fear to beat me. There's no other way to put it; the man's a fucking monster."

Plenty of obsessed people had passed through Kushina's life, but this man seemed unique to her, "All that madness, simply because you beat this toxin of his? He sounds like a mad dog you need to put down."

Naruto wished that it was that simple, "Sure, I put down this mad dog, but that's a line I can't ever uncross. I kill Scarecrow and then I think, 'Oh, well this guys almost just as bad, I might as well take him out too.' I'm just afraid that once I get that first taste for blood, I won't be able to stop myself."

"Son, I've taken my fair share of lives during my time as a shinobi, and I can tell you that never once did I feel right about doing it," Minato began, recalling his time serving the Hidden Leaf, "Even so, I kept doing it so that I could know I was making a safer world for my future family. I don't know if what I did was right, or if there was some other option we could've tried, but I do know this; You need to do whatever you feel is right in the moment. This is a decision that I can't make for."

That wasn't a definitive answer, but something about it did give Naruto a little piece, "I guess I won't really know what to do until the time comes. Thanks dad, that actually helped a lot. I've just got one more question, this one's for mom."

Kushina was up and at the ready, "Whatever you need son, I'm right here."

"Okay, well, there are these girls," Naruto started, awkward in his delivery, "Three of them who I care about a lot, but I need to pick one. Everyone of these girls have different things about them that are great, and it's making it impossible for me to figure out which one I should pick. What do I do?"

That was a loaded question, with plenty of landmines between Kushina and her answer. There was only thing she could feel right about saying, "For that, it's sort of like what your father said. When you know, you'll just know. When you love someone, they become one of the few people in the world who can truly hurt you. Once you care about someone that much and fear what they can do to you, you'll know you're in love. Is there any of them you feel that way about?"

"To an extent, I feel that way about all of them," Naruto admitted, adding in a small voice, "Then again, the person I thought I might be able to feel that way about betrayed me, and I've found it hard to trust a girl ever since. What do you think? Is it possible to love more than one person?"

Kushina gave her son a brief hug, sadden at her son's pain, "Oh, my baby boy's got some trust issues and too many places to go. I know it can be rough when your first love turns sour, even more so if one person hurt the other. As for loving more than one person, well, I've only ever loved your father, but I saw people in my old village who had multiple wives, but cared about them all equally. You're looking for answer to questions that don't have any. Sometimes, you just have to throw your hands up and let the world do what it's going to do."

The boy wrapped his arms around his mother, crying into her chest. He could feel her body thinning away as he held her, "There's so many other things I wanna ask you, please don't go! You just got here!"

"I know son, I know," Minato whispered, feeling the presence of a Shinigami behind him, slowing taking in his soul, "No matter what happens though, just know that we love you. Nothing else matters. Oh, and do us one favor when you get back up top."

Naruto asked with a sniff, "Anything, what do you need?"

"Tell your other parents thank you for doing such a good job taking care of you," Minato responded, the final words he spoke before the Shinigami absorbed the last bit of his and Kushina's souls with a white flash.

The boy could no longer cling to the dust that had once been his long lost mother and father. Raven didn't dare go near him, knowing this was something Naruto needed to process on his own. Tears streamed down his face for a moment, which he quickly wiped off. One deep breath, that was all he needed to regain his composure. Bruce had taught him how to seem strong, even in his darkest of moments, "Sorry about that Raven. You probably felt a little strange listening to all that family drama. Anyways, you wanna get moving?"

Raven chuckled for a moment, then looked down at Dick's soul. She leaned down in and spoke to it in a voice too low for Naruto to here, "I get it now, why you respect him so much. He might not think much of himself, but he's just as strong and as kind as you are. Glad he's on our side."

"You say something?" Naruto asked, to which Raven promptly shook her head, "Well then, come on. Don't want Dick's body to decompose on us while we're standing here talking. By the way, tell him not to get himself killed again when you get up there. I can't be saving his soul every week or anything. Let's hope Dad isn't too pissed off at me when I get back to the Hidden Leaf. I've got a feeling that's one conversation that's not going to go well for me."

* * *

Starfire had been clinging tightly to her lover's body from the moment that Raven left the physical plane. She needed Dick to be okay, for both her and her future family. Her heart grew heavier with each passing second that her friend did not return, "Dammit Dick, you cannot leave me! You're what made me decide to stay on this planet in the first place! Without this team, and without these people, I don't know who I am! I don't know if I can do this by myself…"

A loud grunt came from the direction of Raven, everyone on the rooftop, still just the members of the Teen Titans, turn to find her alert and coughing a bit, "Sorry, ugh...coming back here always takes a lot out of me."

"Raven, you're alright," Beast Boy cried with joy, though his tone quickly shifted, "Where's Dick? Is he gonna be alright?"

There would be no need for the girl to answer, as Dick soon began to cough and sputter himself, his eyes gradually opening back up, "Oh shit...I feel like I got hit by a bus or something."

"Close. Deathstroke broke your bones, sliced you up, and then slit your throat," Cyborg replied, overwhelmed with relief at knowing his friend was alright, "Don't worry though. I patched you up and Raven here went down and brought ya back where you belong. It's good to have back, buddy!"

Starfire had already started crying again, though this time her tears were of a different variety, "Thank goodness you are okay! Who knows would've become of the team without you! You nearly left me all alone to raise our child by myself."

The part about them having a child was news to Dick, as his lover was about to find out, "Wait, you're pregnant! Oh man…"

"Dick, are you okay," Starfire asked before the man passed out, "Oh no! Did it not work? Is he dying again."

Raven giggled at her reaction, "It's okay Starfire, he just passed out from shock and exhaustion. When a soul re-enters someone's body, it take a lot out of them. I promise you, he's just fine. We'll take him back to the Tower and monitor his vitals there. He's gonna need some rest, because I'm willing to bet he's going to have a lot of well wishers coming by in the morning."

* * *

"Naruto, are you out of your mind" Bruce yelled at his son, who sat sheepishly in the Hokage's office, "Going after Dick without telling us is one thing, you might have thought that you were low on time or something, but not telling us about the Joker virus still being present in your system is insanity! What would've happened if the Joker had taken over your body and access to that kind of power? We could've lost you forever and regained one of our greatest enemies!"

As hard as this all was for the boy to take, Naruto knew his father was right, "I know Dad, I know. If you'd known though, you would've taken me out of the field until we figured out what to do. That'd be time I'm not training, and time that I'm not getting stronger to protect my friends. You of all people must get that!"

Bruce did understand it, but that didn't make his son's actions okay, "Son, you have to stop thinking that entire world rests on your shoulders alone. The burden gets much easier to carry if you have other people to help you. That's a lesson I had to learn that hard way. I can't even imagine how many lives having my team along with the Justice League behind me has saved. You need to learn to trust other people and not think that you're always the one with the right answer."

"You're right, and I'm sorry," Naruto said, trying to stay strong as he said in a small voice, "It's just that...just that...I did it again."

No one in the room, which included Bruce, Mei, and Tsunade, had any idea what he was talking about. His mother raised an eyebrow as she asked, "What do you mean 'again?' What did you do to begin with?"

Naruto had trouble thinking of the right way to put it, "It seems like no matter what I do, I bring danger to everybody around me. First with people chasing after Kurama, then with Scarecrow, and the next thing I know the Joker's here too. I can't have the people I love getting hurt because of me, but I want to protect them too. What am I supposed to do?"

"So that's what this has all been about," Bruce realized aloud, "Taking on the Joker alone, saving Dick by yourself, all this extra training; it's all been because you think you have to make up for the fact that people out there are willing to put their lives on the line for you. That's not something to be afraid of son, that's something to be proud of. You're young, and I get that you think you need to live up to some sort of legacy that's been set before you, but that's not the case. People protect you because they love you, not because they think they need to protect what you contain. You've done well with following orders lately, but there's still things you've been keeping from me. From here on out, that needs to stop. Anything that seems even the least bit important, you tell me or someone else on the team, you got that?"

The boy nodded again, his head still a low in shame. Mei decided they may as well get the grounding out of the way now, "As for your punishment, well that's a bit tricky. You did save your brother's life, but you've also been hiding secrets from us. So, until it's time for the undercover mission, you will have someone with you on constant watch while you are patrolling. This means that they're effectively your boss, and that you'll do anything they say. You'll also be cleaning the Batcave from top to bottom, giving Alfred a little break. No shadow clones either! You doing this one the hard way! Last, but certainly not least, you'll be having no more visits from your girlfriends until after the undercover mission is over. Are all of those points perfectly clear?"

"Yes, they are," Naruto groaned, thinking about what a pain things were going to be for awhile, "And um, as long as I'm not supposed to keep secrets from you anymore, there's something you should probably know about Kurama that I haven't told you yet. You see, he's kind of...completely and utterly unsealed, but still inside my body."

From corner to corner of the Leaf Village, three loud voices all crying out 'WHAT' at that same time could be heard. Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne was going to have a lot of explaining to do.


	42. Letting Go

Let the undercover work begin! We'll be jumping right into something I know you've been waiting a long time for in his chapter, which is seeing Naruto and the rest of the team's new identities. Then, after a brief meet up between Alfred and Zabuza, we'll be getting some little surprises along with the rest of the events. As for how long Naruto is going to be undercover before Deathstroke notices him, well that's going to depend on how I end up feeling about things as the chapters go on. We're gonna have some fun to say the least, so let's get on with. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for reading and please review. Seriously, I'm close to three hundred now, so please review!

**HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY**-If you're lucky enough to have a mom has great as mine, be sure to show her some love today!

Chapter Soundtrack-Chris Stapleton: Fire Away

* * *

"Did they really think that you tools were gonna remake my movie?" Clayface asked bitterly as he looked over the cast of _The Terror _remake that he'd plastered on the wall with his clay, "I turned myself into a freak to stop it once before, so they should've known I wouldn't let them do it again. Ugh, look at you all! You're pathetic."

One of the actors, a thin man with graying hair, started to struggle, but his mouth was covered so that he couldn't scream. Clayface turned his hand into a scythe and brought it down inches from the man's head, "Oh would you shut up! I bet you think you're all big and bad, don't you? Big bad Mike Parobeck! Yeah, you won a Gotham Film Award like what, 20 years ago? What are you doing lately? _Attack of the Robo Sharks 3_? Tch, sellout!"

He pulled his hand back up and turned it into a hammer, smashing it next to the chest a thin man with brown hair, "And you, with your big tv show and all the movies you're doing. Sure, Kevin Conroy is a big name now, but what's gonna happen when you get old and can't find a single roll? You'll be out of luck, that's what's gonna happen."

"And you," Clayface spat, turning to the man that he believed was the worst offender, large gray haired man, with a strong build, "The man they cast to play me, the monster Clayface. Of all the actors they could've gotten, they get Ron Perlman! Come on, you don't have what it takes to play Clayface! Stick to the small screen asshole, you're better suited for it!"

A voice echoed from the roof above them, one that was slightly mechanical in nature, "Should've taken your own advice Karlo! Your hammy acting worked a hell of a lot better on tv!"

Clayface was not gonna stand for an insult like that. He extended his arm up to the roof to try and grab whatever fool was speaking to him like that, "Hammy acting? I'm a horror movie legend!"

"If by horror movies, you mean that they were horrifyingly shitty, I agree," The voice called back, dodging the arm and jumping down safely to the ground below with two people next to him. Thick metallic armor covered the one who'd been speaking. It was shining, and looked durable as could be. One of the people next to him was a man wearing a black padded combat ensemble, only with no sleeves, and he had a massive sword on his back, and wore a bandana over his mouth that looked like a set of wolf teeth. A cold blue outfit was what the final member of the trio wore, thin in terms of armor and with white trimming to give it some color. It almost looked like a more tight fitting combat suit for Captain Cold, only there was a mask with a set of sharp, jagged, ice teeth covering the person's face. As expected, the one who'd been doing all the talking introduced them, "The name's Ronin, my friend in black here is Fang, and the quiet one wearing blue is Frostbite. You, are Clayface, and we're here to haul your ass back to Arkham. Come on, chop chop! We ain't got all day!"

The one in black rolled his eyes and said in a gruff voice, "Real subtle there Ronin. Couldn't be quiet for once so that we could sneak up on this guy? I'd like to not have to go in guns blazing just one time."

Ronin groaned as he click the buttons of the wrist of his suit and released two 18 inch blades into his hands, "But Fang, you always take them out when we do it silently! I wanna have some fun!"

"Will the two of you please shut up," Clayface screamed, turning his arms into clubs and bringing them down towards his enemies, "I went fifty miles out of Gotham so that I wouldn't have to deal with any costumed nutcases, but now they've gone and found me!"

A swift leap was the all the silent Frostbite needed to get out in front of Clayface, releasing a stream of ice from his fingertips and freezing the attack before it could arrive. Fang then threw his blade and sliced through the frozen appendages, shattering them both as they landed on the ground. The blade flew right back to Fang like some sort of boomerang before he said, "Frostbite may not talk much, but he's strong enough to wipe the floor with you, especially since you can't do shit against ice. You sure you don't just wanna surrender now, big fella?"

Clayface growled angrily at his situation. A hand shot out of his back and smashed the wall behind him, intending to escape, "Maybe I'll have to wait for a second chance to kill these hacks. Seems like a guy can't get anything done anymore without a team of superhumans popping in on him!"

"Yeah, it's a hard knocks life alright," Ronin replied sarcastically, throwing both of his blades into the villain's body, one towards the top and one towards the bottom, "Don't worry though little orphan Karlo! You'll have a home soon!"

Before Clayface could figure out what was going on, he felt a shock roll through his body. He turned around and saw a thin man wearing what looked like a grey and black ninja outfit, but with thin strands of metal running through it. The man had electricity coursing through his hand, which was enhanced by the two blades in Karlo's body. A voice as smooth as Frank Sinatra's voice came from the attacker, "Leaving so soon? Oh, but I haven't gotten to introduce myself yet. The name's Lightning Howler, and I think you really do need to stay for the party!"

Lightning Howler removed his hand from Clayface's chest, the villain left in a state of panic. There was an ice user in front of him, and an electricity wielder keeping him from escaping. Freezing him would put Karlo out of commission for sure, and electrocution tended to leave him more than a little dazed. At this point, Clayface had no idea what was going on, so much so that Ronin using high powered magnets on his wrists to call his blades back to him didn't even phase the villain, "That thing looks like he's about to tip over. Hey, Frostbite, why don't finish this guy off for us, huh?"

"Ugh," Clayface groaned, "Who's finishing off what now?"

Frostbite didn't answer. He sent a larger stream of ice at his foe, this one covering him completely. Clayface struggled for less than 10 seconds before his body was frozen all the way through. Ronin walked up to him, tapping the villain to be sure he was down for the count, then waved to the rest of the team, "Alright, he's hard as a rock. You're safe to come out and continue not helping now."

A woman dropped down from the ceiling, a particularly notable cat burglar from Gotham. Catwoman looked at Ronin with a small scowl on her face, "Hey, I'm the one who picked the lock on that door up there so you could get it. It's not my fault you decided to do things the hard way."

"She's not wrong my friend," Came the voice of a young man in a set of black robes wearing a kabuki mask. He dropped down with the others, "And we already knew that Frostbite was going to be our main weapon in this battle. Would you like me to cut down our three hostages?"

Ronin didn't really care one way or the other, "Yeah Puppetmaster, do whatever you want. Now, we're gonna need someone to lift this big lug here. Hey, scaly skin! Get in her, we need your muscles!"

The ground started rumbling as the massive form of Killer Croc entered through the hole in the wall. He'd shrank since his Titan injection, but he was still eight feet tall and muscular as all hell. Croc walked over to the massive block of ice and slung it over his shoulder with a growl, "You do know that I could literally eat you alive, right?"

"You could, but then you wouldn't get to enjoy my witty banter," Ronin fired back, watching Puppetmaster's three humanoid puppets with metallic fingernails ripping the actors down, "So that's taken care of. Wait, we're missing one person here. Spyder, where are you? Come on out, we need you to to look like you're actually participating!"

Down from the ceiling came the final member of the team. A male who looked to be in his late teens, much like Ronin and Puppetmaster, wearing a batsuit like armor with a red pinwheel symbol on the front. If a shinobi had seen it, they may have notice some similarities between the symbol and Sharingan. The broody, dark haired teen seemed less than pleased to be present, "Why did you even bother to bring me here? It's not like I'm gonna be any use to you. I observe and mimic fighting styles, that's it. You could've just brought Frostbite and won this thing."

Catwoman rolled her eyes at the thought of having to be on a team with this punk, "We all had to come, it's part of being on the Squad. Shut your mouth before this kitty decides she needs to bust out her claws!"

All the actors were free at this point, which meant it was time to leave before the tension got any worse. Ron Perlman was the only one who said much of anything once he was free. He walked up to Killer Croc, looking the frozen cube of clay he was holding up and down. With a grunt, he punched it as hard as he could. It likely hurt, but it seemed to work out his aggression. The man could be heard mumbling as he left, "Kidnapping me and calling me a hack, the nerve of that guy! I won a Golden Globe you asshole!"

"Bye, I loved you in _Son's of Anarchy_," Catwoman called with a wave, "Alright, so that's that. Let's get home so I can take a nap already."

A blur of man rushed into the room, stopping to reveal himself as the Flash. He looked around for a moment, clearly in a hurry, "Don't worry guys, we'll save ya! Never fear, the Flash is-wait, where is everybody? Who are you guys? Catwoman I recognize, I think I saw Croc back there, but the rest of you are new to me. Who are you people? Like a team, or something?"

Ronin dramatically introduced everyone once again while two more people entered the room. One was a blond woman with a red cape and white leotard, and the other was a young man about 20 years of age with short, tufty blue hair, and dark eyes. His most identifying features though were his shark like teeth, massive curved twin blade sword, and suit of thin, black combat armor. They got there just in time to hear Ronin ending with, "And we're the Suicide Squad! Fun name right?"

"Suicide Squad eh," Flash asked, realizing that this was the group of undercover operatives Waller planned on sending out. Only the core League members knew about the operation, so he acted as if nothing was wrong, "Not the first gang of misfits I've seen, and you probably won't be the last. Good luck, I guress."

The blue haired one, who was really a ninja named Chojuro on loan from the hidden Mist, spoke up in a somewhat timid voice, "Guess we should be glad they did our job for us. Not to be pushy or anything, but when I'm gonna get a suit like that? The black's not bad, but I feel like I should have something that fits the name, as silly it sounds. Sharktooth needs a real suit, don't ya think Powergirl?"

Powergirl, who must have been the blonde one, replied, "I don't know, I think ya look kinda cute in the black. Then again, I think you'd look cute in just about anything."

"Wow, you got legendary Powergirl hitting on ya," Ronin said, making Chojuro blush, "Speaking of, those pictures you see in the papers do not do her or her body justice. I mean, who wouldn't love to peel you outta that suit!"

Complementary as the remark may have been, Powergirl still glared at him. She asked a question similar to the one Croc had, "You do know I'm strong enough to crush your family jewels even with it being protected by all that metal, don't you? By the way, my eyes are up here!"

Sensing the tension, Lighting Howler decided it was time to get out of here, "My apologies to the lovely lady, we'll just go ahead and take our friends here back to our base now. Come along Ronin."

"Finally, we're out of here," Fang said with a groan, "I need to go do something a little more fun."

The group of anti-heroes left the room, or were dragged out in Ronin's case, with Puppetmaster giving a little bow as they left, "Good luck to you all in your future endeavours. Also, please refrain from touching the puppets on their way out; nearly everything on them is designed to kill."

On that disturbing note, the heroes were left alone. Powergirl could hardly believe any of them were real, "Well, they're a bunch of wackos. Could be fun to run into them again though. Oh, and Sharktooth, I was just saying that they couldn't look at my chest, but you stare as much as ya like. Not that you already don't…"

"What, I-I don't," Chojuro stuttered, making Powergirl giggle. She'd noticed how shy the young man was, which she found adorable. Every chance she got, Powergirl would use her overconfident personality to make her new friend blush. The young man huffed at her, "You know one of these days I'm gonna call your bluff, and then we'll see how funny you think it is."

Powergirl didn't miss a beat, "I look forward to it. Now, let's get you to a nightclub! I wanna see how well you can dance!"

* * *

Zabuza couldn't help but groan as he spoke with his father over the phone Waller had given him. He tried his best to comfort the worried Alfred as he removed his Fang persona clothing, "For the last time Dad, we're fine around here, I promise. We took down Clayface like it was nothing, and everyone stayed in character. Well, except for Sasuke as Spyder, but let's face it, that motherfucker can't act anyways."

"_Yes, the boy was always a moody one," _Alfred admitted, though it was the least of his worries, "_Naruto is the one that concerns me though. Master Bruce seems to believe that Kurama can be trusted, but I still have my doubts. Then again, Bruce is a master of hiding his emotions, so maybe he's as worried as I am."_

That was something Zabuza didn't doubt, "That might be the case. Anyways, what about Chojuro, how's he doing? We sprung the whole coming here thing on him pretty quick. I get that heroes are in short supply and we kinda need him right now, but still, it was way outta left field."

Alfred had been keeping tabs on that, just as his son had asked, "_According to Lady Mei and few others, he's doing fine. The League seems to think he's a tough fellow, which means a lot coming from them. He should be just fine. What's next on the Squad's agenda?"_

"Tomorrow, we're all supposed to go out and try to cement our identities in the public minds," Zabuza explained, falling back onto his bed with a sigh, "Fang's a money hungry mercenary, so I'll probably rob a bank or something. Frostbite's a shut in, so Haku won't do anything. Ronin is a perverted thrill seeker, so Naruto would most likely break into some party with beautiful women. Puppetmaster is real artsy, so Kankuro will might break into a museum. Spyder, well Sasuke doesn't give a shit, so who knows? Lightning Howler is a music man, so maybe Kakashi can go to a bar with swing music and make a scene out of it. Catwoman and Croc will just do what they always do. Simple enough."

Didn't sound like anything they couldn't handle, "_I have the utmost faith that you will accomplish it all. Oh dear, it looks as though it almost time for me to get to bed. Anything you wanted to ask before I get off the phone?"_

Zabuza hesitated for a moment. He did indeed have a question for his father, but he didn't know how to ask it, "Well there, is this one thing I've been thinking about lately; My name."

"_Zabuza? What about it?" _Alfred asked, noticing the firm silence that followed the question, "_Or did you mean your birth name, Zachariah?"_

His birth was indeed what he was referring to, "Yeah, Zachariah. I was wondering which one of you gave it to me, you or Mom? I mean, I was guessing it was you, since it was an American name."

Alfred's answer surprised him, "_Believe it or not, it was your mother. During our down time, I'd teach her English at her request. She was a curious woman, your mother. Her attempts and failures to grasp the language never failed to make me chuckle. One of things I used to teach her to read English with, because there was one in just about every hotel we stayed at, was the Bible. She came across the name Zachria and fell in love with it, telling me she wanted to name her son that if she ever had one. We didn't decide on a name before her passing, so I gave you that name because I thought she'd like it."_

"Huh," Zabuza replied in small voice, not expecting to get such story out of the question, "Guess there's more to a name than I thought. Kinda makes me feel guilty for changing it to Zabuza…"

The man's father saw no reason for him to dwell on it, "_Son, if your mother were here right now, she wouldn't give a damn about what your name is. She'd be too busy being proud as she could be at the man you've become. Between fighting for your country and taking Haku in as your surrogate son, you've turned into a person that anyone would proud to have for a son, including me. Don't ever forget that."_

Zabuza was glad his father wasn't in the room at that moment. His eyes had begun to water, and he could feel a lump forming in his throat, "Thanks, Dad. I um, I gotta go. Love ya."

"_Love you too son," _Alfred responded, adding in before he hung up, "_Tell everyone I said hello."_

With the conversation at an end, Zabuza set the alarm clock next to his bed and allowed his eyes to close, "That's enough emotional bullshit for one night. Time to get some sleep. Tomorrow evening is gonna be a long one."

* * *

"Wahooo," Ronin called out as sprang from rooftop to rooftop, listening to his armor cutting through the wind, "This is the life! A city, just waiting for me to have all kinds of fun!"

Catwoman, his partner for the night, could hardly believe how smoothly Naruto was pulling off his roll as Ronin. She wasn't sure if it was impressive acting skills or a secret desire to act like this that had the boy doing so well, "Hey, 'Ronin', could you slow down for a second? We need to talk."

A skidding sound could be heard as Ronin landed once again. Catwoman found him turned and ready for action when she arrived at the boy, "Sure Kitten, what's up? Do we need to go over the gameplan for all the awesome stuff we're gonna steal? I'm so glad you invited me to this thing! It's not as good as hitting on pretty girls, but this is still gonna be so much fun!"

"Glad you think so," Catwoman said, leaning in closer to whisper, "Look, Naruto, could you tone it down at bit. I get that you're in character and all, but Waller can only protect us so much. Half the reason I brought you with me was to make sure you didn't do anything to crazy. Please, keep on being Ronin, but make sure you don't get us killed. That means no setting off alarms at the jewelry place because Ronin would think it was fun, got it?"

Naruto, in his regular tone of voice, said with a nod, "Got it, keep things reasonable. I can do that. Wanna get moving again?"

The thief smirked, sprinting away to get herself a head start, "Race ya there!"

"Oh, you are so on Kitty Cat," Ronin declared, back on his game, "As if anyone could outrun me!"

* * *

Tim sat alone down in the Batcave, typing away tirelessly at the Batcomputer with Ace in his lap. The pup panted happily as the boy did his research, "The skill set the Red Hood has is one that only so many people in world could possibly posses. People who know enough to figure out those codes for the crates and our identities make up an even smaller list. So, if we cross reference between the two, removing anyone who has an alibi, there's a good chance we'll find our man."

The computer flickered away, Ace watching for a moment before he lost interest and began to lick Tim's face. He laughed as the pet yipped happily, "Arf arf!"

"Hey, Ace, cut it out," Tim said, grabbing the dog and setting him down on the ground beside him, "I promise I'll play with you later. Right now I need to see if any results come up on the search."

Ace didn't seem to mind too much. He padded off to explore the Batcave some more, which he'd done plenty of before, while Tim looked to see what his search had turned up. When the words 'No Matches' appeared on screen, the boy groaned, "Oh come on! The only person who would've fit the profile was Nightwing, and he was nearly dead when Red Hood stole that decryptor. Dammit, I really thought this would work!"

He slammed his hand down on the chair in frustration. The Bathound briefly turned his head to see where the noise had come from, then turned his attention back to the various smells this place had to offer. Before long he reached the cases where all of the different suits were stored. Most of them smelled like people he recognized, but one of them, a Robin suit, was unfamiliar to him. Ace pawed at the glass, wanting to get a closer look, "Bark, bark!"

"Hm, what's wrong?" Tim asked, rotting in his chair to face Ace, "That's just Jason's old suit boy, you never met him. It was the second to last one he ever wore. They would've used the final one he had, but they never found his body, so...so...they never found his body…"

Something about those words, 'they never found this body', triggered a reaction in Tim's mind. He spun right back around in the chair, typing as quickly as his fingers could manage. The Batcomputer began to run an algorithm that compared things like fighting styles and body structure. Equations that were far too complex for the human mind were broken down piece by piece until the answer became clear. A near perfect match was found between the physical attributes of the Red Hood and the physical attributes of the supposedly dead Jason Todd. Tim leaned back in his chair, nearly unable to believe it, "I can't believe we didn't see it before. He's a perfect fit on every level. All of skills the Red Hood has are things Jason learned from the Batman, expect for the firearm training. Not like that'd be hard to learn. The knowledge he has about Wayne Enterprises and our family makes sense now too. Not to mention it explains why he'd hate the Robin identity. No one had a worse experience with it than he did. There's no way around it...Jason Todd is the one we've been hunting this whole time."

Ace could see the trouble that now covered Tim's face, so the pup ran over and jumped onto the boy's lap, licking his face to try and cheer him up. The boy smiled down at him, appreciating the gesture. Tim picked him up, asking the dog with a small sigh, "How the fuck am I supposed to explain all of this to Bruce?"

* * *

"Just a little bit more," Catwoman whispered, finishing a perfect circle in the glass with her claws. She and Ronin we're standing on top of building that handled the exports for all of the most valuable diamond shipments in Gotham. The only entrance, other than two massive steel doors in the front and back of the building, was a skylight nearly forty feet from the ground. Most people didn't have the skill to remove the glass without setting off the alarms, or the guts to drop down that far. Selina Kyle could do both, "And now we carefully lift it out like so…"

In a move she'd practiced more times than she could count, Catwoman remove the section of the glass and gently set it on the ground beside her. Ronin still didn't understand why they did this rather than simply bashing the window in, "How is doing that any different from me doing it the fun way, where I get to destroy stuff?"

Catwoman elaborated as she reached in the hole and unlocked the window, "When you smash the glass, like you wanted to, it sends a shockwave through frame, which is what sets off the alarm. The way I do it won't have the guards coming after us before we even start."

"Oh, so we're being sneaky again?" Ronin asked rhetorically, "I can get behind that! So is this the part where I get hooked up to the wench and descend down like a spider? Huh, maybe we should've taken Spyder to do this…"

The bad pun was ignored by Catwoman, "I'll stand up here, keeping an eye on things and manning the wench, while you grab the goods. Once you have them, give a few strong tugs to let me know to pull you back up. Easy enough."

Ronin could manage that, "People always do tell me that I'm grabby! Hook me up and let's do this!"

"Maybe using you for stealth isn't the best idea," Catwoman mused while she set up the wench and placed the hook around Ronin's belt, "Even so, I'm not strong enough to lift that diamond crate myself. Don't make any sudden noises you should be fine. Activate your stealth suit and get going."

With a mock salute, Ronin pressed a button on his belt that turned his entire suit black. One jump later, he descended past all of the guards watching the balconies, not making a single sound for them to notice as he landed on the ground below. The crates were stacked in three rows, each marked with a different color tag. He was looking for one in the red section marked with symbols B-7. It wasn't long before he spotted it, tip toeing over to the wooden box. Luckily it was at the top of its stack, meaning that Robin wouldn't have to move anything to get to it, "There you are, my pretty little friends. Come to papa!"

Ronin managed to lift the crate off the pile and then slowly backed away. Things were going about like he expected them to, until he bumped into something cold and metallic. He turned around to find he was face to face with none other than Mr. Freeze. The criminal frowned heavily at him, "You're a new face. Care to explain what it is you're doing with those priceless gems?"

"Oh, ya know...I'm a collector," Ronin offered weekly, "What about you? I thought you gave up the whole being a diamond thief thing?"

The notorious freeze ray was pointed directly at Ronin, Freeze's finger close to the trigger, "I did. In exchange for reducing my sentence, they're now having me protect the places I used to rob. They thought that since I used to scope them out so much, I'd know what areas need protecting. Indeed, they were right."

Ronin put his hand behind his back and tugged at the wire, ready for Catwoman to yank his ass up, "Well, it was nice meeting you Mr. Freeze. My name was Ronin, you can write that down if ya like, and uh, I'm just gonna get out of your hair now. Maybe we'll meet up again some time!"

"I think we'd be better off getting to know each other right now," Mr. Freeze said, just about to fire his weapon when Ronin went flying through the air with the help of his wench. The ex-villain was not amused, "You have made a grave error in running from me, Ronin!"

Jumping out the window as quickly as he could, Ronin threw the box on the ground the moment he was out of the building. With crate busted open, he took as many diamonds as he could store in his suit and started sprinting away, "Book it Catwoman! Mr. Freeze is down there and he's pissed! I'll explain later, but this time it wasn't my fault!"

Catwoman knew better than to ask question with Freeze on their tail. She grabbed a few more diamonds, at this point the pair had the majority of them, as she started running after Ronin. A beam from Freeze's ray gun hit the window just as she left, "This is not the kind of ice I was hoping to get tonight!"

"Haha, ya stole my line," Ronin called back, enjoying the rush of this insanity, "And here I thought going out to steal diamonds might be boring!"

* * *

Bruce couldn't believe it. That wasn't a hyperbole or anything of that nature, he honestly couldn't believe what he'd just heard. As he sat in his kitchen in the middle of the night with a cup of coffee in his hand and the entire bat family around him, he found himself in a state of denial about what Tim had just told him, "There's no way. Jason was a lot of things, none of them perfect, but one thing he wasn't was a murder. The Red Hood mows through men like they aren't even there, and kid I knew would never be capable of that."

Looking at the all the evidence he'd presented, Tim had no idea how you could deny it, "Bruce, it makes perfect sense. You always told us that to be a good detective, you had to eliminate the impossible, and that whatever was left, no matter how improbable, was the truth. I've eliminated every other possibility, and the only thing left is that Jason Todd somehow survived that night at the asylum, and was trained by to become the Red Hood. There's no other way someone would be this knowledgeable about the inner workings of our team and have the skills needed to defeat us! I know Jason meant a lot to you, and as much I'd like to pretend there's some magical other way this could be possible, there just isn't. Sorry, but facts are facts. Come on guys, back me up here?"

"Darling, you have to admit, the evidence is all there," Mei offered, rubbing her husband's arm, "You're the world's greatest detective. Surely you can't honestly think that there's no connection here."

Barbara hated ganging up on Bruce like this, but she knew Jason was right, "We have to face the truth; Jason todd is the only plausible person it could be. That doesn't make him a bad person, it just means someone managed to twist his mind. He wouldn't the first person one of our rogues did that to."

Not a sound came from the direction of Bruce. He was pondering, likely trying to think of some way to prove that someone he had once considered son wasn't now a murderous criminal. Alfred had only ever seen the man this quiet two other times: After the death of his parents and after he thought Jason Todd had died. If this revelation proved to be true, there was no telling what kind of effect it would have on the man, "Sir, are you alright? Would you like me to get you another cup of coffee or something to eat? You look as though you're outside yourself right now."

"In sense, you could say that I am," Bruce mumbled, pushing himself away from the table and walking towards his bedroom, "I need a night to think this over. Tim, you did solid research. I'll tell you what I think in the morning."

Despite it being phrased as a compliment, the remark about solid research seemed cold to Jason. He asked the rest of the group to confirm, "Did it sound like he was mad at me? I'm not crazy, right? That is what it sounded like?"

Stephanie could hardly believe it, "What a dick! I didn't get up in the middle of the night just to watch him be an asshole to my boyfriend! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"

"You will do no such thing," Alfred snapped, "Master Bruce is upset, as I'm sure any man would be in this situation!"

That wasn't good enough for Stephanie, "So what? Tim's right, and he knows it! Bruce doesn't get to be mad at him because he figured out something the oh-so-great detective couldn't."

Now it was Mei's turn to get offended, "He wasn't too stupid to figure it out; he was blind because he cared about Jason to much to ever think he was capable of something like that!"

"Bullshit," Stephanie fired back, "When my dad started pulling that crap, I could see it just fine! How is that any different?"

Mei couldn't stop herself from saying, "Maybe that's because Bruce actually gives a damn about Jason, unlike you with your father!"

Stephanie gasped. The remark had clearly hurt, and Mei regretted it the moment she said it. Pushing herself away from the table, the girl ran off with Mei calling after her, "Stephanie, wait! I'm sorry, that was uncalled for! Dammit, she's already gone!"

"Wow, that was cold blooded," Barbara remarked, earning a frown from the older woman, "I'm sure she knows you didn't mean it. Everybody says stupid things during arguments. If you apologize to her tomorrow, I'm sure it'll be fine. I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna follow Bruce's advice and try to hit the hay. Patrolling didn't turn out much tonight, and I say enjoy the calm before the storm. See everyone in the morning."

* * *

Moving on was something that had never been easy for Harleen Quinzel. Her father had been a gambler, so she could only guess that his need to lose everything in the hopes of hitting the big time made her cling to anything she had. For the longest time, the Joker had been the most important thing in her life to her, until the Red Fox and the rest of the Batman family took that away from her. Yet, on that same night that she lost her lover, she gained something that was almost even better: a son.

Jason Todd had been beaten half to death when she saved him from that fiery explosion her puddin' had set up, and it was seeing him in that state that made her unable to leave him there. Harley always liked the hard cases, and that boy who had once been Robin was a hard case indeed. She'd thought about sending him back to his family at first, but after losing the Joker, Harley need something else to smother with love. After much training, and some mental peeling of his mind thanks to the Scarecrow, she was able to get Jason to accept her as his new mother. He needed a new name though, one that would honor her fallen beloved. One spark of memory regarding the hood the Joker had supposedly dawned the night he was born, according the the legends anyways, was all Harley needed to create her son's new persona. Of course she knew of the Wayne's and their little family now, thanks to Jason finally spilling his guts to her, but she didn't care in the least. Harley would have her revenge on the Wayne/Bat family when they found out about her little project, and she was happy to wait until then. After all, the more time that passed, the more crushing the blow would be.

"Hey bud, can you toss me one of my night shirts?" Harley Quinn asked as she removed the shirt she was currently wearing. They were in the abandoned movie studio she'd been shacked up in for about six months now, on a set that seemed to be a bedroom from and old sitcom, "A short sleeve one is fine, it's pretty warm tonight."

Jason, who was out of his Red Hood garb and wearing a baggy t-shirt with pajama bottoms, reached into a draw in the dresser and pulled out a shirt for her, "Sure, here you go mother."

At this point Harley had removed all clothing except for her bright red panties. Though her breast were out in the open, she didn't honestly care. It wasn't the first time Jason had seen them. Three tattoos were found on her skin. One was just above her crotch with the words 'Lucky You' scribbled in cursive. On her left thigh was a heart with an arrow going through it, the word 'Puddin' scrawled inside of it. Lastly there was one on her right shoulder that read 'Harley Loves her Red Hood.' As she slipped on her shirt, she turned to Jason and said with a smile, "You've been doin' real good lately sweety! Momma's proud of ya! Even mean old Scarecrow's not poking around in your head anymore. You must be happy about that?"

"I guess," Jason replied with a shrug. He had a tattoo as well, the phrase 'Momma's Little Devil' was written on his back, "It's making my head feel weird though. Like stuff that I haven't thought about in years is popping up."

Harley frowned at this, "Aw, that's no good. Lay down sweetie, let Mommy kiss it better."

Unable to say no to her, Jason laid down next to Harley, allowing her to plant a little kiss on his forehead, "It's nothing, I'm sure. Part of it was that I thought Dick was dead. He wasn't mean to me or anything during my time at the mansion, and I kinda liked him, not that I knew him all that well. Don't worry, I'll get passed it."

"It's mother's job to worry about her son," Harley said, pulling the covers over them and flicking off the lights, "I won't send ya back to Crane if I don't have to though. Mommy likes you just the way you are. Now get some sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow!"

Jason yawned and turned away from her, his eyes drifting shut, "Yes mother…"

* * *

"You can't keep me locked up in here," Clayface screamed, bashing on the airtight plexiglass case Arkham contained him in, "I'm fucking Basil Karlo! There's no way you should be treating me like this!"

One of the guards pressed a switch beside the box that sent and electrical shock through the cage, making Clayface scream out. It would seem he was not amused by the villain's behavior, "We can't do whatever we want with ya as long as you're in that case! Now shut up, I'm trying to do a crossword puzzle here!"

Clayface growled to himself as he went back to pacing around his small home, which was at the end of special containment wing in Arkham. As he paced, he could hear a commotion down the hall, guards scream and people flying in all directions. When he looked up to see what it was, he made out he shape of a woman in the distance, one who was kicking the hell out every person she came across. Her strength was definitely above average, and she had a sonic scream that would rival that of Black Canary. Grey hair fell down to her back, and her skin was a jet black base with what looked like a human skeleton tattooed over it in white. He'd seen this woman before, "Silver Banshee, what in the hell is she doing here?"

"Calling all units," The guard who'd shocked Clayface before called into his walkie talkie, "We've got a situation in the special containment wing! Some kind of superhuman is, ahhhhh!"

Before he could finish that sentence, Banshee looked his way and used her sonic voice to send him flying. In no time at all she had reached the case the held Clayface, mowing down guard after guard to get to her prize. When she reached it, she checked the case over for a moment, seeming satisfied with what she saw. Then, after taking a deep breath, she released a scream so powerful that it would've made any many deaf if they'd been standing in front of her. For as strong as the plexiglass was, even it couldn't handle Banshee's unstoppable vocal cords. It gave way and free'd Clayface from his confinement, which he quickly took advantage of by stepping right in front of Banshee, "I don't know why you took the trouble to save me back there, but thank you! That was one hell of a rescue you just pulled off!"

Silver Banshee turned her back to him, having no desire to talk to the foul monster, "Don't thank me, follow me. I'm on the job right now, and I feel like standing her and fucking around when I could be getting my money."

Freeing Clayface was a job? That seemed rather odd, "And who is it, may I ask, that you're taking me to?"

"Who else, dumbass? The man who paid me to bust you out," Banshee snarled, glancing around at the carnage she'd left in her wake, "Scarecrow wants to speak with you…"


	43. A Rock and a Hard Place Pt 1

Ladies and gentlemen, another chapter is here! With everything that Scarecrow's got planned, it's hard to believe there's an even bigger baddie on the horizon. Of course, that's a tale for another day. This chapter will feature a good bit of fighting, a little character development, and a touch of fun as well. These next few chapters are going to be jammed packed, which only makes them all the more enjoyable to write. Can't wait to see how you all react to what I have in store. Also, thank you guys so much for getting me up to 300 reviews, 320 favorites, and nearly 350 followers! Thank you all so much for reading and be please keep on being awesome! Special shout out this week to acw28, who helped me work out a lot of the ideas you'll be seeing in this chapter. At this point, he's basically like a producer on this fanfic! Be sure to check out his stories when you're not reading mine!

Chapter Soundtrack-Bon Jovi: You Give Love a Bad Name

**IMPORTANT POLL-**I'll be placing a poll on my profile regarding whether or not you all would be okay with me dedicating some time to another fanfic I wish to work on. Check my profile for more info. It'll tell you what the fanfic is and allow you to vote on whether or not I should add it to the schedule. After this week, I will either be posting chapters of this weekly or I'll be alternating between the two. It up to you to decide! The poll will be open for a week, which is when the next update will be, so be sure and vote if you want a say in things.

* * *

Ra's al Ghul took his glass of wine and brought it up to his nose, taking in the aroma of his aged chianti, and took a small sip from it, sighing in ecstasy, "Ah, delectable as always. What do you think, Orochimaru? Does this compare to the various drinks you have in your country?"

"It's tough to compare this to sake, but it's certainly tasty," Orochimaru replied, taking a sip of his own. The two of them sat together in the dining hall in lair of the League of Assassins, talking over the recent events in their two organizations, "As wonderful as this is, it's time to get down to business. I think that we can both agree the reason we wanted to speak to another was due to our worries regarding the Scarecrow."

It was good to know Orochimaru didn't need any further explanation, "It's true, I don't feel as though he can trust him, and I don't think you do either. At first, he seemed to be holding up his end of the bargain, but Dr. Strange says his behavior seems suspicious. Hugo isn't always right, but on this one I'm on his side. I'm not a trusting fellow to begin with."

Orochimaru was the same way, "His research is being tested by my men now, and it's starting to look as though he stretched the truth on his research. I don't like being lied to."

"Then I'd be correct in assuming you'd be interested in an agreement between the two of us?" Ra's asked, a sinister tone in his voice, "Our interests don't overlap in the least, so we have nothing to gain from betraying each other. You, from what I understand, wish to see what Ivy's research turns out, and I want to see what kind of weapon Scarecrow's been creating in that factory of his. Therefore, I propose that we wait until our ally's usefulness has passed, and then team up to take him out and take what we want of his organization. What do you say that, Orochimaru?"

The sannin raised his glass for a toast, "I say I'm sorry I didn't think of it first. You have yourself an agreement Ra's."

Ra's took his glass and clinked it against Orochimaru's, a grin appearing on his face ever so slightly, "I knew you were a smart man. To our health, and to the fall of the mighty Scarecrow!"

* * *

"Hm, not bad, not bad at all," Deathstroke mused as he watched footage of a criminal by the name of Ronin trying to escape the wrath of Mr. Freeze and his cryogenic weapons, "Which one of our informants did you say sent this to us again?"

Deathstroke's assistant, a low ranking member of the League of Assassins named Black Spider, pulled up the name attached to the video file he'd received. The career criminal had a tech room that rivaled the likes of nearly everyone in Gotham, except for Batman, and he let few people so much as touch anything in it. Black Spider was on loan for Ra's al Ghul though, so he'd never step a toe out of line, "It's from one of your old connections, Killer Croc. He's working with the kid, Ronin, on the new Suicide Squad and got ahold of this footage from a few local shopkeepers because he thought you might be interested. I'm guessing he was hoping for a piece of action in exchange for bringing this kid to your attention."

This wouldn't have been the first time Killer Croc had done some work for Deathstroke to try and make some quick cash. It was genius of Waller to have him as the one who sent the tape, "Sounds like something he would do. Wire him a little bonus for his work. I want to encourage to send me more stuff like this in the future. Ronin, eh? He does look as though he has some potential. However, I don't want to start looking into him until we have a little more information. Don't want to make the same mistakes I did with that reviving little bastard Nightwing. Get Carmine Falcone on the phone for me. I think we should set up a little test for the boy…"

* * *

"Stephanie? Come on Stephanie, at some point you're going to have to talk with me," Mei stated, sitting with the girl in the living room of Wayne Manor. She'd been trying for over an hour to apologize for the harsh words she said the night before, but the younger woman was not making it easy, "Will you at least acknowledge that I'm talking to you? Can you do that much for me? All I want to do is say I'm sorry for what I said."

The blonde scowled while shooting Mei an icy glance, "Why should you? You were just speaking your mind, right? No reason to be sorry for that."

Mei scooted a bit closer to Stephanie on the couch, "What I did was snap at you in the heat of the moment and say something hurtful. There was no reason for me to do that, and I need to apologize to you."

"No, you really don't," Stephanie said, her tone unchanging, "God, this whole group acts like everyone in it is made of glass. It's one little insult. I'm a big girl, I can take it."

Based on her reaction last night, that wasn't true. People didn't run out of the room if they didn't care about what someone had said. Mei knew the comment had hurt, and she knew even better what it was like to try and pretend you were strong to save face, "Sometimes words hurt, no matter how strong a person is. Even when I became Mizukage, it still stung when the remaining supports of the Bloodline Purges would insult me and my heritage. You're not weak for admitting something got to you."

Stephanie hesitated before speaking, "I appreciate what you're trying to do here, with the whole relating to me thing, but it really isn't necessary. You said something kinda nasty to me, it hurt a little bit, but I've moved on. Can I please just go now?"

"Sure, but only after you do one thing for me," Mei responded, making the girl raise an eyebrow, "Give me your hand."

It was an odd request, but Stephanie complied nonetheless. Mei took the hand and placed it on her extended stomach. Not what she had been expecting to say the least. Even more surprising was when Stephanie felt something moving inside, "Um...it's kicking, I think."

"Not it, she," Mei corrected her, "There's a little girl in their, one who's a part of our family, just like you. My family is the most important thing in the world to me, and it always will be. If I ever hurt you, know that I didn't mean to, and that all you need to do is talk to me and I'll take care of it. Blood relative or not, you're important to us. Please, try to remember that."

Stephanie was not an emotional person, but the gesture had been enough to crack her cold exterior a tiny bit. She smiled, if only for a second, and stood up, saying as she tried to leave the room, "If nothing else, I'll try. I need you to do one thing for me though. Make sure that Bruce isn't too hard on Tim for being the one who figured out the whole Jason Todd. Sure, he's hurt, but that's no reason to take it out on Tim."

Mei had already been planning on it, "I think Bruce is alright now, but if he's still got some hostility, I'll make sure he doesn't direct towards the wrong place. Tim really means alot to you, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he does," Stephanie replied, even surprising herself with the admission, "I mean, I'm not gonna let him knock me up anytime soon or anything, but he's my guy. I gotta stand by him, ya know?"

Though the girl's typical lack of tact took away from the moment a bit, there was still something sweet about it, "I do. I've gotta head back to the Hidden Mist to check up on somethings. Even in my current state, I'm still technically Mizukage. Those fools couldn't function without me around. Would you like to come with me? I could show you around if you'd like."

Stephanie had never gotten to see any of the Great Ninja Nations before. As such, being invited now was a big honor for her. She agreed without the slightest bit of hesitation, "Of course, I'd be happy to! What time would we leave?"

"In about ten minutes," Mei replied, standing up as best she could, though she still needed some help from Stephanie, "Dammit, I really need to get this girl out of me. Anyways, get some stuff ready and let's head out. We don't have all day."

* * *

The Puppetmaster walked carefully through the Ancient Asian Civilizations Wing of the Art Institute of Gotham with one rather special prize in mind; a Kabuki mask found in remote temple in Japan roughly 20 years ago, which was both mindbogglingly beautiful and incomprehensibly priceless. It took no time at all for Puppetmaster to find it, as it was by far the most heavily guarded piece of art within the marble walls of that wing. He walked through the hall, passing the suits of samurai armor and pottery with little interest, until he reached the pedestal with the glass case containing the Kabuki masterpiece. The shape was that of stoic man, perfectly crafted to look so, with a delicately painted on series of red lines, and the symbol for 'Artist' painted on the forehead. This was what he had been itching for, "A flawless work of craftsmanship. Hm, let's see...the case is likely set to trigger an alarm if the air pressure inside changes too rapidly, so breaking or cutting it open will sends guards charging after me. There's a skylight on the ceiling though. A little higher than I'd like, but nothing I can't manage. All I have to do is break the glass, grab the mask, and then make my way to the roof before the guards can arrive. Simple enough."

"It would be, if you didn't have me to deal with sugar," Came a playful, but deadly voice behind the Puppetmaster. He turned around to see woman with black hair in an entirely purple, somewhat revealing, outfit behind him. She quickly identified herself, "Names Huntress, and I'm only telling ya because you look new around here. Tell me your name so I can start making fun of it already."

This woman didn't send any fear traveling down the spin of Puppetmaster, "My title, my dear woman, is Puppetmaster, and it'd be wise not to make any jokes about it. It's not as though Huntress is all that much better."

The heroine noted his elegant manor of speaking, "You got a nice vocabulary, but that won't save you from me kicking your ass. Let's see what you've got, newbie!"

"Ah, so we're jumping right into the battle then," The Puppetmaster observed as Huntress sprinted towards him, "Time for my friends to get some exercise I suppose."

Huntress saw two figures appear out of the corner of her eyes, making her stop in her tracks so that they wouldn't strike her. They were two of the humanoid wooden figures with long bladed fingernails that Puppetmaster had used before. Immediately, Huntress started trying to figure out how this was possible, "Well, at least your name fits your theme. What are they, robots? Magic? Don't leave me hanging here."

Her new foe didn't respond. Rather, he flicked both of his wrists, sending the deadly puppets charging towards the woman. Huntress jumped back and pulled out a small crossbow, firing one bolt from the weapon at each puppet. Imagine her surprise when the wooden figures used their claws to slice through the bolts like they were nothing, "I've seen those thing shoot right through sheets of metal before! Those puppets cut into them like they were butter! What are those things?"

"Who, those two? Why, they're just the beginning," Puppetmaster answered in a sinister tone, "I do hope you don't suffer from arachnophobia!"

Huntress soon discovered what the seemingly random comment meant when she spun around and found another puppet behind her. This time it was a spider that was nearly the size of a human being. There was something seriously wrong with this entire scenario, "Do you have a villain team yet? Because I know some fucked up people who would just love to have you around! These bastards look pretty dangerous, so what do you say I go for the man controling them instead?"

Jumping over the two puppets in front of her, Huntress attempted to jump kick the Puppetmaster and end the whole thing right there. What she hadn't counted on was the spider puppet shooting a wire from its mouth that then proceeded to wrap around Huntress and snare her before she could ever reach her foe. The wire jerked back and dragged her back to where the spider puppet was waiting. She tried to struggle, but it was to no avail. Puppetmaster chuckled at her current situation, "I know it seems cruel to laugh at you like this, put the situation is just too comical. The Huntress has turned into the 'prey' as it were. How delightful."

"Yeah, it's a real hoot," Huntress snarled back, "I think it's so funny that I might even go easy on ya if you let me go now instead of having to wait for me to bust out of this trap!"

Puppetmaster shook his head, "No no no no, that simply isn't going to happen. In fact, I'm almost tempted to kill you right now while I have the chance."

That made Huntress's eyes go wide with fear. She had alway been a smooth talker, and it looked that was going to come in handy here. For all the big game she had talked before, she could feel that the wire itself was too strong for her to break, "Almost, huh? That doesn't sound like you're fully committed to killing little old me."

"No, I'm not," Puppetmaster confirmed, acting as though he was playing out his options in his head, "On the one hand, if I leave you alive, you may decide you want to come after me for revenge. However, if I were to kill you, then I'd be subject to murder charge if I were ever get caught. Hm...seeing as how I took care of you with little effort right now, I think it's safe not to spill your blood tonight. Though you have to understand, I still need to leave unconscious for my own safety."

Huntress liked the part where he was going to leave her alive, but not so much the part where he was going to knock her the hell out, "You asshole! I'm gonna find you, and when I do, I'm gonna make you bleed so,"

The sentence was not one that would be finished, as both human puppets gave her a swift kick to the face that left her seeing stars. Now that she was taken care of, Puppetmaster and his minions turned back to the glass case containing their prize. She'd have no idea that the person who'd just taken her out was actually a shinobi from a country she'd never heard of, "Alright, let's get that Kabuki mask already. If this doesn't get my credibility up, I don't know what will."

* * *

"Oh man, I hate parties," Ronin said with a groan, tugging at the tie around his neck, "This is not what I thought I signed up for when I agreed to be a bodyguard for a big event for freaking Carmine Falcone!"

Ronin, aka Russell Nidock, had been asked to be a member of the security unit for one of the biggest crime lords in Gotham for one night, in exchange for an insane sum of money. When Waller found out that he'd be asked at the request of a certain mercenary, she immediately told Naruto that he needed to take the job and that he needed to stay perfectly in character for the duration of the event. If things went well, it would mean Deathstroke could be approaching him soon. However, as he'd be out of costume for the night, he required some cosmetic changes to his appearance to fit the Russell Nidock identity. They could've had him use the transformation jutsu, but then they ran the risk of something go wrong with the boy's chakra, resulting in him being found out. Instead, they'd died Naruto's blonde hair red and slicked it back, along with giving him contacts to change the color of his deep blue eyes to grey. Most importantly though, they covered his dead giveaway whisker marks with a sort of makeup that would only come off with a special chemical they'd cooked up in the lab. No one would ever know he was Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne as long as he acted like Russell Nidock.

Not that it was going to be easy, considering what he had to deal with all night long, "Oh would you stop bellyaching you obnoxious idiot? This party is dull enough as it is without your whining."

"My apologies, your highness," Naruto growled, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'll try to enjoy your warm company for the night. How did I end up on babysitting duty for you?"

The girl he was watching over was Bella Falcone, one of Carmine's many daughters. She was insufferably high maintenance, being used to having nothing but the best in life. Bella spoke in a European accent she'd apparently gotten during all her travels, and always used a condescending tone. In her eyes, she was better than everyone, and wasn't afraid to say it. There was only one redeeming quality about her; she was a bombshell!

Her skin had a slight italian tan to it from her heritage, and she had large brown eyes that were mesmerizing. Long dark hair fell down to her waist, framing her lovely face, complete with plump ruby red lips. Bella had sizeable breasts, a firm behind, legs that went on for miles, and was just toned enough with her muscles. Any man would've begged for her body, even if her personality was abysmal, "Hmph, I can't believe my father stuck me here with you. Falcone's deserve better than the likes of dirty criminal's protecting them!"

"You do know what your father does for a living, right?" Naruto asked in disbelief, "How do you think he keeps you and your siblings covered in all that fancy shit, huh?"

Bella rolled her eyes, taking a sip from her wine glass as she did. She was only 18, but no one around her was going to object to her drinking, "I'm well aware of his business ventures, but I'd like him to leave them out on the street where they belong, and to not force me to have to deal with people like you. I have a sister, Kitrina, who'd probably get along with you. She's a bag of mixed nuts as well."

Naruto was irritated enough that he actually might have considered having a drink at that moment, if it wasn't for the fact that Carmine forbid his staff to drink alcohol while on the job. The party was going like mad in the elegant mansion, which the Falcone family had shoved so much money into that it honestly looked tacky, and was so loud that Naruto found it difficult to think. It made having to deal with the girl even more irritating, "Bella, I get that I have to protect you and all, and that's fine, but I'm not gonna stand here and have you bitch at me all night. Talk with your friends and leave me alone, I'm begging you! This shitty band you people got is already making this night a big enough pain as it is."

"Well Russell, at least we can agree on that," Bella replied, meaning the less than stellar band. They had only been performing soft rock, and they couldn't have been playing it any more poorly, "They sound like a series of slowly dying cats. I don't know about _you_, but I could do far better than that."

The way she'd said '_you' _irritated him a bit, but at least she wasn't outright saying she was sure he'd suck. As he was about to open his mouth to respond, he saw a boy, about 17 years old with brown hair, walking towards them. He was eyeing up Bella, which wasn't allowed. Carmine didn't want anyone, especially a boy, to lay a hand on his daughter. Naruto got in front of Bella before the boy could reach her, "Hey buddy, can I help you with something?"

A scowl instantly dawned on the boy's face when he saw the new for that blocked to his goal, "You can help me by getting the hell out of my way. I'm Lorenzo Salas, and I'm a friend of Bella's."

"Really, Bella has friends?" Naruto asked, noting the way she was glaring at this Lorenzo person, "She doesn't seem to wanna talk to you a whole lot. I saw the way you were eyeing her bub, and if you really have any idea who this bitch is, you'll get out of here and go pussy hunting somewhere else, ya got that?"

Bella wasn't one to let other people stick up for her, "Get out of here Lorenzo! Frankly, my idiot bodyguard would have a better shot with me than you."

The remarks only made Lorenzo angrier as he tried to shove past Naruto, only to get shoved back with one strong as hell hand, "Maybe I didn't make this clear enough to you. My name is Russell Nidok, and I was paid specifically to kick the ass of anyone who tries to touch her. Either stand down, or get ready to have some hospital bills. Your choice."

"Why you cocky little," Lorenzo started to say, as he brought his fist up to try for a sucker punch. Naruto caught the blow like it was nothing, a dangerous new glint in his eye. It was at that moment Lorenzo realized he'd made a mistake, "Uh oh…"

Naruto twisted his arm back as far as he could, making Lorenzo scream in pain, before striking him in the gut with three consecutive jabs. That was followed by a firm headbutt to the face, one which shattered the boy's nose. As Lorenzo held on to his bleeding face, Naruto swept his lips out from under him, slamming him onto the ground. With him helpless, Naruto was able to grab the boy's leg and break it with one swift twist. Lorenzo screamed bloody murder as it snapped, his foot now point in the wrong direction. Victorious, the young man back away in satisfaction, "And that, my friends, is what you get when you screw with Russle Nidock. Huh...guess we'd better get him a doctor."

A large hand came down on Naruto's shoulder, the hand of the same person who hired him to come there in the first place. Carmine Falcone looked over the situation, then said with a sip of his drink, "Nice work on this guy kid. That's what you get when you make a pass at my daughter. I'll get a few guys in here to get him somewhere they can fix him up. Keep it up Russell, and we just might be able to find you a permanent job."

"Thank you sir, that means alot coming from the great Carmine Falcone," Naruto replied, careful to respect the man. Once he was out of earshot, he whispered to Bella, "Still pissed about having me as your bodyguard for the night?"

Bella rolled her eyes, turning away right before Naruto got a chance to see a small smirk on her face. It would seem that the night was going to some interesting places…

* * *

"Hey Scarecrow, you fucked up son of a bitch, how've ya been?" Clayface asked with a smile as he entered the lair of his old alley. Standing next to Crane was his right hand man, the Riddler, and leaning on him in a chair next to him was his recent flame, Poison Ivy, "I haven't seen you in what, a year? Maybe more?"

Scarecrow took a puff of fear toxin from a pipe in his hand and exhaled slowly before responding, "Roughly, yes. My apologizes Clayface, but I've been rather busy as of late. Silver Banshee, thank you for your assistance. Are you sure that I can't interest you in a permanent spot on my payroll?"

The villainess scowled and walked over to Scarecrow with her hand held out. Knowing what she desired, he reacher under the table he was sitting at and pulled out a briefcase, opening it and pulling out a few stacks of bills. He handed them to Banshee, who snatched up the money and left without saying a word. Clayface shook his head as she walked away, "Not much of a conversationalist, is she? I'm gonna guess she won't be working for you anytime soon."

"Not likely, no. Though I'd love to have her," Scarecrow admitted, taking another little puff, "Just as well I suppose. From what I've heard, she doesn't play well with others. On to you, however, as you are my main concern at the moment. You're the most powerful person in Gotham that I don't currently have working for me."

Clayface found that comment a bit flattering, "Seeing as how I'm one of the few wackos in the city with real powers, that makes sense. So what, are you here to offer me a shitton of money to come and work for you? If you are, you probably shouldn't have talked me up so much. It's only gonna make me think you're willing to pay anything to get me."

Using the question mark end of his cane, the Riddler took the handle of the briefcase full of money and pulled it back to Scarecrow, "Money isn't what we're going to be offering you Mr. Karlo, though I have no doubt we'd be able to match any price you'd name. No, what we're going to do is offer you a cure to the one weakness your powers leave you vulnerable to."

"And what weakness would that be?" Clayface asked, turning more hostile.

Riddler was never one to give someone a straight answer, "Let me put it to you this way; what can nip at you, even though it has no teeth? Don't worry, this is an easy one."

Indeed it was, with Clayface taking only a second to answer, "The cold...alright, I'll give ya that one. If it wasn't for the fact that I freeze more easily than ice cream, there probably wouldn't be anyone in Gotham who could stop me. You think you've found some kind of way to prevent that?"

"Oh, we've found the way alright, it simply comes at quite a hefty price," Poison Ivy replied, a sly smile making it's way onto her face. She grabbed a vial that was lying on the table and waved it around in the air, "We've had some of our more technologically inclined friends designing this for months now. They're microscopic nanobots that will flow throughout your body, capable of heating your clay if you're ever frozen. As a little bonus, it'll also prevent the slowdown you usually experience from electricity. Like I said though, this gift is not one to be taken lightly. What do you say Clayface? Interested?"

Basil Karlo couldn't remember the last time he was this torn. On the one hand, the idea that he could finally stop having to worry about being frozen every time there was an ice themed superhuman around, and there were a lot of them, was pretty appealing to him. Yet, when a man like Scarecrow put a price on something, that price was typically one that you didn't wanna ignore. Clayface pondered in his head long and hard before asking, "Is there anyway to get rid of those nanobots once they're in there, or am I stuck with them forever?"

"You'd think that a man like you would be able to remove them if he wanted to, but the simple fact of the matter is, they're too small and there's too many of them for you to ever be able to get them all out," Riddler explained, taking the vile and looking at the microbots himself, "These things cost us a small fortune, so we wanted to be sure they stayed right where they were. Still though, if they end up making you as useful as we think they will, it'll all be worth it."

This was all sounding far too good to be true to Clayface, "So you're giving me the keys to becoming pretty much unstoppable, but there's a big catch that none of you are being straight with me about? For something this good, there's gotta strings attached that you can pull whenever ya like. Thanks, but I'll pass for now. Call me if you've got paying work though."

Scarecrow seemed unsurprised, "How disappointingly predictable. Deathstroke, you're up!"

"As you wish, Crane," Deathstroke's voice rang out behind Clayface. The mercenary had been standing behind Karlo since the moment that Banshee left, ready for just this occasion. From a dart gun of sorts, Deathstroke fired a cylinder into Clayface's body that burst the moment it was inside, releasing the nanobots into his system.

Clayface started screaming almost instantly, "What did you motherfuckers just do to me?"

That was an easy question for Scarecrow to answer, "Injected you with our little upgrade of course. Do you want to stand there and keep on bellyaching, or would you like to know about the side effects we were mentioning earlier?"

"You seem awfully calm for someone whose ass I'm about to kick," Clayface said as he made his way towards Scarecrow, furious over being tricked like this. The mastermind smiled under his mask and pull out some sort of detonator from his jacket, "What's that? Some kinda dirty trick that's supposed to stop me?"

Scarecrow tossed the vial that they had been showing him to the side, as it had been nothing more than a distraction for Karlo, and pulled out another vial roughly the same size, this one filled with some of Clayface's clay, "In a sense, yes. This is a sample of clay from your body that you lost during your battle with the new Suicide Squad. It's already been injected with the nanobots that currently reside within you. Allow me what will happen if you disobey me from this point foreword."

Clicking the switch on the detonator, Scarecrow sent out a signal that caused the nanobots within the vial to burst, releasing a chemical that made the clay within to boil and sizzle. Clayface stopped in his tracks as he watched the man who would soon be his boss open the vial and pour out the now useless liquid, "What in the hell did you just do?"

"He released a chemical I helped him create that'll melt your body into a puddle," Ivy responded with wicked glee, "I bet you didn't think there was any way to really kill you. You figured the only way to stop you would be to freeze you forever. Well, Scarecrow and I found a way to put you out of commission once and for all, and we're not the least bit afraid to use it."

Riddler laughed at Clayface's stunned look from the side of the room, "Face it Karlo, you belong to us now. Sure, you're near invincible against almost anyone else, but to us, you're nothing. It's irony at its absolute finest."

There were no words that could have described the amount of rage that flowed through Clayface's body at that moment. It was like some kind of sick, twisted joke. He was finally free of his greatest weakness only to be shackled to a fear obsessed psychopath. At that point, there was nothing left to do but rasp out in a bitter voice, "When do I start...boss?"

* * *

"So, your name's Silver Banshee?" Zabuza asked as he stood next to the villainess in his Fang get-up, "Is that just because your power is super screaming, or is there something more?"

The woman didn't fire back any quips, choosing to roll her eyes instead. Zabuza could already tell this was going to be a long night. Tobias Whale, the mobster who'd hired the two of them, walked into the abandoned warehouse with his massive footsteps shaking the room. He was 500 pounds of lord-knew-what, with a pale complexion that helped make up his namesake. It was on the recommendation of one of Waller's undercover's that he hired fang, and Silver Banshee's reputation spoke for itself, "It's so nice to see the both of you made it on time. My name is Tobias Whale, or at least that's what they call me, and I'm here to offer the two of you a job. It's a simple one, about as simple as they come. There's a bank a few miles south of here, I'll have an associate of mine give you the exact location once you've agreed to work for me, that contains documents that can help the police prove I've been laundering money. I need you two to go there, sneak in, destroy the documents, and do you best to remain unseen. Think you can handle that?"

Banshee scoffed at job itself, though she certainly wanted the pay attached to it "As long as you're coughing up the dough, fine, send me on a mission even a rookie couldn't manage to screw up. What do I care? As long as this fucker her doesn't get in my way, I'll have those documents destroyed in no time."

"Oh sure, now the bitch opens up her mouth," Zabuza muttered, though his anger wasn't all that was running through his head at that moment. Even with her appearance being what it was, the woman was rather attractive. In fact, she was damn near beautiful. Perhaps he'd have to have a word with her later…

Tobias Whale broke the silence once more, "So, any questions? Yo, sword boy. You look like you're a little out of it right now. I'm paying good money for you, so start paying a little more attention, alright?"

"Don't assume I'm not paying attention just because I ain't looking right at your ugly mug," Zabuza fired back, glad that he'd been able to think of a comeback so quickly. It would've been off putting if he'd taken too much time, "When you're dealing with Za, er, Frank Monget, you're always gonna get your money's worth."

He had gotten lucky there. Towards the end he was still a little bit out of it and almost said his real name. For a split second Tobias seemed confused, but shrugged it away 30 seconds later, "If you say so. I'll see you joker's later. Right now I've got some other issues to attended to."

Whatever those 'other things' were, they were enough to get the mountain of a man leaving the warehouse unconcerned. Once he was gone, Banshee turned towards the door on the other end of the building, seemingly unconcerned with Zabuza's near slip up, "Let's get moving. That stupid chit chat already wasted more of our time than I'd like. Slow me down much more, and I'll kill you myself and take your share. Wouldn't be the first time I've done it."

"I'll bet," Zabuza replied, finding the in-control attitude even more sexy. He said one final thing under his breath, his tone so low that he was certain she couldn't hear him, "Why am I always attracted to the bitchy ones?"

* * *

While one Suicide Squad member found himself intrigued by the person he had to work with for the night, Naruto was ready for his companion to take a long dive of a short cliff. Bella was still bitching to the boy every chance she got, meaning that him saving her ass before that must have meant nothing to her. She was still complaining away as if it were her job, "Ugh, I smudged my lipstick. Dammit, and I lost my bobby pin too! God, I'm going to look like a wreck when this party is over!"

Naruto's eye was literally twitching at this point, "If you don't want to smudge your makeup, stop drinking wine, and if you don't want to loose your bobby pin, stop playing with your damn hair. I promise, you're plenty hot, now please just let me sit here in silence for one freaking minute!"

"My father is paying you to watch over me for the night, and that job comes with listening to me express my feelings," Bella said, her voice as condescending as ever, "I suppose we can try and talk about something more civilized though. How about you tell me what it is you were going to say before Lorenzo interrupted you? You know, after I mentioned I thought I could do better than the band they've got playing tonight."

It took a moment for Naruto to remember what she was even talking about, "Huh? Oh, well I was just going to tell you that I actually play the guitar really well, and that my voice isn't half bad either. At least that's what people tell me anyways."

Bella raised an eyebrow at that claim, "You, a musician? To be blunt, you don't really look the type, and your voice has been grating on my ears all night long. Something tells me any musical talent you think you have is all in your head."

"Okay, that's it," Naruto yelled, the gauntlet officially thrown down in his mind, "I can not take you talking to me like that for one more second! I am going to get up on that stage, I am going to play one hell of a song for you people, and you're going to see that I'm not some fucking caveman you can push around!"

The outburst surprised Bella enough that she almost spit out the sip on wine she'd been taking in. Naruto was gone before she could get another word in edgewise, pushing his way through the crowd to make it to the stage the band was on. Once he was up there, he grabbed the lead guitarist's instrument and slung the strap over his shoulder, saying something to the band that Bella couldn't hear. Once he'd finished with them, Naruto went right up to the mic, ready to make his point, "Hello out there everyone! The name's Russell Nidock, a newbie here in Gotham! You guys have some different traditions in this city, most of which I can't behind, but you guys make up for all of them by having some of the best Rock n' Roll concerts on the face of the planet! Tonight, as my little treat to the Falcone family and all of you, I'm going to play you a song I'm certain you'll be able to recognize! Let's do this thing! 3...2...1…"


	44. A Rock and a Hard Place Pt 2

Hello my beautiful readers, and welcome to a new chapter of the Red Fox. With my schedule at last feeling more normalize ladies and gentlemen, I can go back to my weekly posting schedule. The race was tight, but in the end, the fans have voted and you want me to split my time between this fanfic and my new Tarantino inspired one, _The Nefarious Nine. _I'll give you the description I've been giving for it so far, which is that, while it is not a crossover fanfic, it is based of from the hit film The Hateful Eight, but set in the Naruto universe. If you would like to know more about it, head to my profile and check it out. It'll be posted this time next week, and if you don't have it pop up in a feed of some kind and would like to read it, you can once again find it on my profile. I think this splitting time will be good for me, because it'll help me keep from getting sick of working on the same fanfic all the time. Oh, and there will be some scenes that are on the lime side of things, so be warned if you're not up for that. Anyways, you all likely have an idea of what to expect from this chapter, so all I'll say is, thank you for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack-AC/DC: Thunderstruck

* * *

"I was caught, in the middle of a railroad track," Naruto's voice rang out through Falcone's mansion, his fingers managing the strings of his guitar better than most. The band behind him echoed the word, 'Thunder', one of the most iconic parts of the AC/DC song, "I looked round, and I knew there was no turning back!"

Everyone in the crowd cheered, despite what an upscale group of people it was. Even they could appetite some well done music in a rock and roll form. Up until this point, the band had been atrocious, and Naruto, or Russell Nidock anyways, had breathed some new life into the party. Once he'd found out the band knew how to play Thunderstruck, he needed no more time to pick a song, "My mind raced, and I thought, what can I do? And I knew, there was no help, no help from you!"

Carmine Falcone found himself next to his daughter, chuckling at the display, "Nidock is quite the showmen, isn't he? I had no idea he could even play guitar. If he wasn't doing so well up there, I'd be a bit mad at him for leaving his post with you. Ah well, this place was getting to be like a graveyard anyways."

"That's insult to graveyards everywhere," Replied Bella, watching Naruto closely to see if he'd make any major errors. She didn't know it, but Naruto had learned to play both the guitar and the piano to keep up appearances as a Wayne. Thunderstruck was one of the few songs he'd learned to play simply for the fun of it, "He's good. No Angus Young, but he's certainly holding his own out there. Perhaps I misjudged him."

The song raged on, Naruto's hand moving near flawlessly up and down his instrument, "Sound of the drums, beating in my heart! The thunder of guns, yeah, tore me apart! You've been...Thunderstruck!"

Naruto had expect this display to infuriate Bella, which was mostly the reason he'd done it to begin with. He couldn't stand how condescending she was to everyone she met, so it just felt good to prove that she was wrong and that she had no idea what 'Russell Nidock' could do. Bella was not angry though. In fact, those who knew her well could tell by the look on her face that this young man had intrigued her. It was more than that even. She wanted him, and what Bella Carmine wanted, Bella Carmine got, "He's talented with those hands of his. Once he gets off that stage, I think I might have to see just how talented."

* * *

"Okay, looks we've got everyone out cold," Zabuza said as he walked into the vault of the Gotham 2nd National Bank. Metal drawers lined it from wall to wall, each likely worth a good chunk of change, not that those were what they were there for. There had only been a few night guards on patrol, all of whom had been simple enough to take out. Zabuza had snuck behind them all and given them a quick chop in the neck to knock them out, "They should beef up security for this place. I don't know if I've ever had an easier time busting into a building that contains this much money."

Silver Banshee walked in behind him, unsurprised by the lack of security, "It's only the 2nd National bank, so there's no where near as much money held in here as there is in the main branch. That's the one people usually try to rob, so that's where most of the security is. My problem is that they put the Gotham 2nd National Bank on 2nd Street. I don't think you can get more on the nose than that."

After a brief chuckle, Zabuza began to search for Tobias Whale's box, which currently contained the documents that police would be there for in the morning. They'd wanted to go that night, but they wouldn't be able to get a judge to sign the warrant until morning. It didn't take long for Zabuza to find the box, and once he did, he wedged the blade of his sword into gap between the drawer and the metal, jerking hard to bust it open. The metal container came flying out, with the mercenary quickly catching it, "Here we are. Documents right where he said they'd be, and 50,000 in cash in the box. We're supposed to split that 50/50, so here's your cut."

"Thanks," Banshee responded, taking the money and quickly storing it away for safekeeping, "You're actually not too bad at this whole thing Fang. You snuck up on those guards ever more quietly than I think I could've. If I ever need a partner again, I just might have to call you."

Zabuza could tell that was as close to a complement as Banshee ever gave. He gave her mock bow, though he was honestly pleased to get such a remark from her, "You honor me. We're short on time, so you can keep praising me later. We'd better get out of here before these punks wake up and try to call someone worth a damn."

On that sarcastic note, the duo turned to leave the vault. They didn't get far, as a crashing sound stopped them both from moving any farther foreword. Something had broken through the bulletproof glass on the outside of the bank, something that Banshee new must have been strong, "Fang, we've got company. They busted through those re-enforced widows, so they've gotta be packing. We should hang back and see who we're dealing with here before we do anything rash."

"Sounds like a plan," Zabuza confirmed, the two of them hiding behind vault door before anyone could see them, "These guys are probably small timers, right? You said it's a small bank, so I don't know why a major player would go after it."

Banshee nodded, thinking the exact same thing. Before long she could hear the booming voice of a man out in the bank lobby. It sounded like he was yelling at some subordinates of his, "Would you numbskulls hurry it up? We didn't buy an ungodly amount of C4 just for you idiots to lollygag!"

That voice was one Banshee recognized, "It's Two-Face, and it sounds like he brought most of his gang too. Gotham's _2nd _National Bank on _2nd _street. Honestly, I should've seen this coming. I'll bet he can't walk past this place without trying something."

"Hey, how come the vault's already open and the guards are already knocked out?" Two-Face screamed over to one of his guards, who must have merely shrugged, as no verbal response was heard, "Aw, great, someone else beat us to the punch! Well, maybe there'll be something left for us to steal in there. Grab those guards and tie em' up! We need hostages in case the police or the Bat decide to show up tonight."

Banshee quickly grew uninterested with the whole affair, "Sounds like it'll be nothing but trouble for us if we stick around. Let's split while we still can. I can bust a hole in the roof for us to get out."

She was about to open her mouth to scream when Zabuza grabbed her shoulder, "If he's gonna take hostages, we've gotta stop him. I don't want innocent blood on my hands."

"Who gives a fuck about 'innocent blood?'" Banshee snarled, "We did our job, now let's get the hell out of here!"

Zabuza needed to tell her something that would be in line with his persona, and the story he gave her actually wasn't too far from the truth, "I was in the military for a long time, serving the home I loved since I was able to pick up weapon. It was an honor and a privilege, but things didn't stay that way forever. Innocent people were massacred because of something they couldn't control, and I left because I couldn't be a part of that. I'm a mercenary, but I'm not a monster, at least not anymore. You do what you want, but I'm staying here to at least try to save these guys."

The mercenary left before Banshee could say anything, leaving her in state of frustration. When Zabuza stepped out of the vault and got a peek of what he'd be dealing with, he gained a small post of confidence. It was a group of only ten men, including Two-Face, and only half of them were armed. This must have been nothing more than a quick cash grab for the gang, "5 guns total? This might end up being boring. I think I'll rap this one up quick to Keep Banshee from getting too pissed off."

"You hear something, boss?" One of the men asked, having just finished tying the three guards together in case they woke up, "I think we might not be alone in here."

A sound of metal slicing through the air confirmed the man's fears, as Zabuza removed his blade for his back spun it around in his hands, "You know, it's really not nice to crash a party. It's even worse when you bring loud noisemakers that disrupt the other the guests. Here, let me take care of those for you!"

All of the men had turned to see who was speaking to them, which was what Zabuza had figured they'd do. He threw his blade around the room like a boomerang, aiming it on just the right path that it sliced each firearm in half while barely missing the criminals fingers. Two-Face had the twin pistols he carried holstered, but drew them as soon as Zabuza caught his blade once again, "Oh great, another do gooder in Gotham! Just what we needed! What's your name punk?"

"The name's Fang. Call me punk again and you'll find out why," Zabuza growled, his blade at the ready, "I'm not a do gooder either. I was nice to your boys here, but if they try any nasty shit on me, and I'll cut off your hands before you can even think about pulling that trigger."

Two-Face never liked being told what to do, so he cocked both guns, ready to fire at a moment's notice, "You talk a big game muscle boy, but we don't think you have what it takes to do something like that. Know what else we think? We think that you don't have the stomach to watch these hostages die either!"

Turning his guns away from Zabuza, Two-Face pointed both barrels at the unconscious guards not far from him. Zabuza wanted to end him right then and there, but the villain had his fingers too close the triggers. It was time to pull out a little trick from the Great Ninja Nations. He began to focus all of his killer intent onto Two-Face, and could tell in less than a second that it was working. The villain's hands started to shake, "What's a matter Two-Face? You don't look so confident anymore."

"Wh-what are you doing?" Two-Face asked, his whole body trembling, "We can't take this anymore! Make it stop!"

Zabuza was enjoying the tizzy he currently had the villain in. If he wasn't so concerned about saving the hostages, he might have toyed with him for a bit longer. He had other priorities though, so Zabuza gave the man an offer he felt was plenty fair, "There's one of two ways this could go. Way number one: You take those guns off from the hostages and let them go, and I leave you all in one piece. Way number two: You take too long to realize you should pick way number one, and I kill while you're too scared to shoot me. So, how are we gonna do this Two-Face?"

This was a decision the gangster couldn't make himself. Two-Face removed his coin from his pocket, flipping it in the air as quickly as he could manage. Zabuza had heard about this little quirk in his personality, so he allowed some extra time to see where it would land. Catching the coin in mid-air, Two-Face took one look at the results and then called to his men, "Untie the hostages! We're getting out of here! Don't look at us like that, go!"

"Smart move," Zabuza commended them, sticking around to make sure they did as they said they would. Banshee walked behind him, and he had a feeling she was gonna be pissed, "Go ahead, bitch up a storm at me. I took a risk saving these guys and I'd do it again. Just because I'm on a team with bad guys doesn't mean I have to be one."

Banshee sighed, but said nonetheless, "You've got principles, I can respect that much. Your principles are a pain in my ass, but still, at least you've got some. That's more than I can say for some people."

One of Two-Face's men reached down to the tied up guards as if he was going to untie them, but went for his gun instead. The goon thought he'd gotten the jump on Zabuza, but Banshee sent a sonic scream his way that sent him flying. Two-Face made a point to make sure they knew, "We didn't tell him to do that! If any of you morons attack Fang or Silver Banshee again, and we won't stop them from kicking your ass!"

"Thanks for the save," Zabuza said as he watched the rest of the henchmen try and correct their friends mistake, "I owe ya one."

Banshee held up her fist and allowed him to bump it, both of them smirking, "Don't mention it."

* * *

"Look, Bella, if I pissed you off that bad I'm really sorry," Naruto said as the girl dragged through the party to an unknown destination, "I was just tired of you talking shit about me! Don't tell me you thought I was bad? I had the crowd going wild!"

Bella looked back at him, a strange glint in her eye, "I agree, you were excellent up there. Now be quiet until we get to my room. Then we'll put that mouth of yours to good use."

That statement sent Naruto's mind racing. Was she implying what he thought she was implying? Naruto was so busy trying to figure out what was going on that he hardly even noticed going up the stairs or walking past several doorways to get to Bella's bedroom. The next thing he knew, he was being shoved onto a bed with red sheets and a handmade wooden frame. Bella was crawling onto the bed, licking those ruby lips of her's. She was about to climb on top when Naruto stopped her, "Woah, let's hold on a second. Less than thirty minutes ago you were treating me like I wasn't worthy to lick the dirt off your heal, and now you're trying to jump my bones? Did I miss something?"

"I was giving you a hard time, what can I say?" Bella replied, continuing to crawl into Naruto's lap. Her voice was different now. Gone was her European accent, being replaced by something more akin to what you'd hear in Gotham, "I need to make sure a guy isn't a pussy before I consider taking him for a ride. Ya get that, right?"

Naruto was completely thrown off by the change in tone, "What the hell happened to your voice? You sound like someone who actually grew up in this city, and not in Paris, or Rome, or whatever."

The girl giggle in response, bringing her fingernails down to Naruto's shirt and unbuttoning it slowly, then removing his tie, "Oh, that's just some bullshit I put on when I'm with those stuck up pricks. I don't even do that around my dad. Now, how about we stop talking and some fun already, huh? Come on Nidock, I know you're a hound dog. You've got quite the reputation."

"Yeah, I guess I do," Naruto said, thinking back to how hard Waller had worked to set a history for 'Russell Nidock.' Acting like a horny teenager was a good cover for Naruto, since it was a roll pretty much any young man his age could play. With the reputation he had, it would be a massive break in character if he turned Bella down, and break in character meant they would likely end up blowing this whole operation. There wasn't much of a choice for Naruto, "Alright Bella, if that's how you wanna play it, then come here!"

Lunging towards the girl, Naruto's lips quickly latched onto hers, being careful to gage how intense she wanted to be. He soon found out that she was all in, as she moaned and licked his bottom lip, asking for entrance inside. Naruto complied and allowed Bella's slick tongue slip inside his mouth, retaliating by sending his into hers. The two suckled and massaged eachother's mouth skillfully, Naruto enjoying it far more than he expect to, "_Ah damn, this feels really good! Why does she have to be so damn hot? And so damn good with her tongue?"_

Naruto and Bella moaned into the kiss, making the teen feel all the more guilty. He had girls back home that he cared about a lot, and even though they weren't official yet, this still didn't feel right. There was a lot at stake here though, so Naruto would have to keep going until he thought of a way out of this. Bella pulled away from the kiss, panting heavily, "Man, you are tasty! What do you say we get those pants off and I'll show you what else I can do with my mouth?"

"Well, when you put it like that," Naruto began to say, jumping a little as Bella brought her hand down to his groin, reaching for his zipper, "Wow, you really are going right for it."

With his pants unzipped, Bella reached inside and grabbed Naruto's 'tool', making him moan, "I know what I want. Now hush up, and let me work sweet cheeks."

Naruto grabbed her hand, much to her shock and anger. He was still trying to think of reason that she'd stop, "Hold up. If we're gonna do this, we should do it right. All my fun stuff's back home."

"Oh," Bella said, seeming to accept the answer. She kissed him one last time, "Well then I guess we'll have to finish this tomorrow night. I should at least finished what I started though, don't ya think?"

She started to stroke him once again, earning more moans from Naruto. Russell Nidock would never turn this down, so neither could he. In all honesty, he didn't want to turn it down, "Okay…do it."

"Believe me, I will," Bella said, nipping his neck, "After you see what my hand can do, you'll be begging for my body tomorrow night. Just you wait."

* * *

Tim Drake had always liked to take walks during the night, even when he was little. His father had always been out working with his criminal friends, so the boy was free to do whatever he liked. On nights that he couldn't sleep, he'd climb down the fire escape of his apartment building and go out exploring the streets, being careful to avoid the bad parts of the town that could really get you into trouble. The way the lights glowed and all buildings being lit up just seemed like magic to Tim, even when he got older. Over time, his walks turned into portals as he joined the Bat family, and he eventually got to see what was behind those bright, beautiful lights. Ironically, it was darkness. Pure, horrid darkness hid in those lights, in the form of thieves, rapist, murders, and anything else you could imagine. For Tim, with age came the knowledge that no matter how bright things seemed, the darkness was never far away.

He was thinking about this as he walked the moonlit city of Gotham for the first time in years. Tim didn't have to patrol tonight, so he'd decided to take a walk to try and clear his head. Well, that was the reason he'd given Bruce anyways. In reality, he was searching for something, and judging by the way he could feel a pair of eyes planted firmly on him from an alleyway across the street, he'd found it, "Took you long enough to find me. I was starting to worry you hadn't gotten my message."

"Don't worry, I found it easily enough," Came a the voice of a young man who stepped out from the shadows, making his face visible. Though he typically wore his red hood while in public, Jason Todd had left his face be shown for this occasion, "Putting that little note in the pocket of Harley's men was pretty smart. How'd you know I worked for Harley though, or that I'd get to the goons before the police did?"

Tim shrugged, "Neither one was hard to figure out. The only person the Joker would've told about you being locked in that supply room in Arkham was Harley, because he never figured she'd disobey him. Even if anyone else had found you, they would've killed you or used you for ransom. Harley's the only one I could think of who'd raise you like her own. As for the goon, I just tried to pick someone who was high enough up the food chain that you wouldn't want him captured right now. Simple."

It was simple, leaving Jason rather impressed, "You're smart. Not as smart as Bruce or maybe even Naruto, but smart. Does he know you're here talking to me? Did he send you to try and drag me back to the side of 'Justice?'"

"No, he's still a little bit in denial about the fact that you defected to the other side," Tim responded, noticing the rise it got out of Jason, "At least that's the way he sees it. To make a long story short, we need to talk."

Jason seemed uninterested, "You can talk all you want, doesn't mean I have to listen. The only reason I'm here is because you've got my curiosity peaked. It's not everyday one of Bruce's whipping boy's steps out of line. Makes ya wonder why."

The term 'whipping boy' seemed a little harsh to Tim, "I'm a part of a team, not a whipping boy. Forget it. That doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I wanna know why you didn't come back."

"That's what this whole thing is about?" Jason asked, almost disappointed, "Hmph, I was hoping for something a little more fun than that."

Tim had no idea what this teen's idea of fun was, but he didn't wanna find out, "Can we cut all the bullshit and get straight to the point here? Even if Harley did save you, why would you stay with her and not go back to your family? I know Bruce can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he cared about you. He took you in, made you part of his family, did his best to train you and make you a better person. Not to mention you got to live in a big ass mansion. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me."

Those were points that Jason couldn't dispute, "There were parts of it that were nice for sure, and honestly, Bruce is a good guy. I admire his resolve and all the faith he's got in the world. I can't see the world like that though. When my parents died, I didn't have a butler and a pile of money to fall back on. Bruce got to go around the world and learn from masters how to fight. Me, I was stuck here, getting my ass beat until I forced myself to learn how to defend myself. All of my illusions about the world being a good place are gone, even if Bruce still has some of his."

"Well isn't that a pleasant way to look at life?" Tim asked sarcastically, "Fine, so you decided that living with the Bat family isn't for you anymore, I can accept that. What about not telling them you're alive though? There were a lot of people who lost a lot of sleep over your death, especially Bruce and Naruto. I wasn't there myself, but it sounded rough. Don't you think it was kinda selfish not to let them know you were alive?"

Jason looked down at his feet, "Alright, that part I regret. I didn't want them to come looking for me, so I tried to keep it a secret, but I should've known the kind of effect it would have on them. Like I said, I don't hate any of them...but I can't keeping fighting with them like I agree with what they believe in. A city like Gotham is never going to be safe if keep using these half measures. Those criminals that can't be rehabilitated, the ones that are just going to keep on busting out and ruining more lives, need to be put down. For their sakes and for the sakes of everyone in this city. So, now do you get why I had to leave."

It took a moment for Tim to answer, "I get, I just don't know if I agree with it."

"Then Bruce has still got you buying into the idea that evil can be cured," Jason said, his voice bitter, "Sometimes, you have to cut off the arm to spare the rest of the body from the infection. The sooner you learn that, the better."

That was the last thing Jason said before he turned and returned into the darkness of the alleyway. Tim found himself pondering what the man had said, wondering if he was right. The way the young man looked at the world was a depressing one, but would everyone be safer if they thought that way as well? Tim wasn't sure, and he doubted he'd be able to answer that question tonight. He'd finish his walk and then head home, resting for the remainder of the night. There was much for him to think on as he fell asleep.

* * *

After returning home from Falcone's party, the mobster seeming highly pleased with his work, Naruto didn't stay awake for long. He was up just long enough for Kankuro to show off his new Kabuki mask and to hear Zabuza speak about his work with Silver Banshee. Apparently Sasuke had been out for the night as well, but that had ended in disaster. Sasuke was skilled, there was no doubt about that, but he was completely unwilling to stay in character. While breaking into a building owned by a corrupt businessman named Donald Powers for some internal espionage, he'd had no trouble taking out any man he came across. Problem was, he'd used plenty of jutsu's to do so, and not the ones he was permitted to use that fit in with his persona. Waller had been scrambling after that to try and figure out a way to explain Spyder being able to shoot fireballs from his mouth. Kakashi spent his night in a bar listening to dueling piano's and swindling other customers for drinks, and Catwoman and Killer Croc had spent the night interacting with their connections in Gotham.

Naruto went to his room after hearing about all that, sleeping comfortably through what remained of the night. Once he awoke, he reached for the phone on his bedside table and took a look around his room. The team was staying it what was essentially a one story hotel, with a common room for them to relax in, a room for each with a bed and a tv, along with a little bathroom on the side. Nothing fancy, but it did the job. Silence filled the area as Naruto waited while the phone rang on the other end. It eventually came to a stop when Naruto's father answered, "_Hey bud, what's up? How'd the mission at Falcone's place go?"_

"It was um...interesting," Naruto began, uncertain how to explain the events to his father, "He has a lot of daughter, and I ended up having to guard one named Bella. At first she was a real brat, but eventually she uh...warmed up to me."

Bruce could tell by his son's tone when something was itching at him, "_She warmed up to you? Do you mean as in she started hitting on you?"_

Hitting on Naruto was one way to put, "Sort of, but it was more like she was trying to get into my pants."

"_Did she?"_

Naruto should've known that question was coming, "Yes and no. I tried to think of a way out of it, but it was difficult with how much Waller set me up as a playboy."

Bruce could already see he was going to have to handle this topic with care, "_I can imagine. That was one aspect I didn't want you to have to play, but she was right when she said it made you more believable. If didn't act like a hormonal teenager, it would clash the other elements of your identity. It made too much sense not to include it. How far did you guys get?"_

"She used her hands to...well, you know," Naruto started to say, too embarrassed to finish the sentence, "She wants me to come back tomorrow night to actually sleep with her.

His father spared him from having to go any further, "_I see. On one hand, it's good that you were able to stop when you did. Unfortunately, if you don't got back there like she wants you to, she'll more than likely tell her father something nasty about you and ruin your chance of Deathstroke approaching you."_

"If lose my shot with Deathstroke, then we'll still be in the dark about whatever Scarecrow's planning, which could end up costing countless people their lives," Naruto reasoned, "But, if I sleep with her, I'll be losing my virginity to a psycho, who I'll also be lying to, and I'll have to go back and face the girls I'm trying to decide between already who will probably be hurt when they find out. Right now I have to figure out what the right thing to do is. Looking at my choices though, I don't really see one that feels the least bit okay to choose."

Bruce had many struggles like this in his life, and would likely have many more to come. He would do everything he could to pass on the wisdom he had to his son, "_Sometimes in life, there isn't an ethically pleasing choice to make. You have to try and make the best that you can out of a bad situation. The question you have to ask yourself if this: What's more important, the good of the people in Gotham, or your own morality? More often than not, if you take a step back and look at the situation objectively, you can find the answer."_

Though it sounded a bit like fortune cookie logic, there was a lot of truth to what Bruce had said. When Naruto looked at the situation objectively, there was only one choice he could make, "I have to do whatever's best for the mission. If Temari, Hinata, or Cassandra were in my place, I'd want them to do whatever they had to in order to save lives, no matter how much it hurt me. One way or another, I'd find a way to move past it. No matter how much in unsettles me, I have to do what's best for the city I swore to protect."

"_I had a feeling you'd say that," _Bruce replied, glad he was able to help his son make a decision, "_If it eases your mind at all, just try and remember, there's a big difference between making love and having sex. I know, it sounds like something out a terrible romance movie, but it's the truth. Sex is an act of lust, of pure animal instinct. Making love to someone you connect with is something else entirely, like a dance almost. Don't confuse the two, alright?"_

Naruto always felt so much more at ease when he got done speaking his father, "I won't Dad. Thanks for talking me through all this. I've got to get to training, but I promise to call you tomorrow to tell you how everything goes. Love ya dad, and thanks."

* * *

Life is far from kind to some people. At times, it's worst to those who don't deserve it. Selina Kyle had never been a perfect, in fact she was often far from it, but she'd never done anything even remotely bad enough to earn some of the horrible things she'd had happened to her. Between an atrocious childhood, becoming a thief to survive, and having the man she loved fall for someone else, things had be rough for her. Yet, she'd preserved, managing to make something of her life, moving up to the point where she was almost a hero of sorts. Things seemed to be looking up for her, until she'd gone and spoken to her contact in Gotham. After that, she'd felt like she'd gotten a bomb dropped on her as she layed in her bed for the night, "I don't understand this. Did Mom not know? Is that why she didn't tell me? Or did she think she was protecting me from the truth? Nothing about this makes any sense to me!"

"I still don't even understand how you found out about this," Fired back Kakashi, who was lying down in the bed next to her, "Why was your contact looking into your heritage in the first place?"

Yes, Selina Kyle had found herself a new lover. She was lying in that bed clad only in a thong, with Kakashi wearing only a tight pair of boxers. They'd only recently gotten redressed. About a year after Bruce got married, Selina had met Kakashi while she was helping out the Dark Knight in one of his cases. The shinobi was charming, and one thing had lead to another until they found themselves wrapped up in eachother's arms one night. Since then, whenever there was an occasion where two were in the same location for the night, they'd share a bed, along with a few other things. It was supposedly just casual, and the two would even have some pillow talk now and again. This night was one such occasions, "My contact wasn't looking into my heritage as much as he was having my genes mapped. I never knew much about my parents medical history, and I'm not getting any younger. All I wanted was to make sure I didn't have any medical ticking time bombs in me. My go-to-doctor, Matthew Thorne, didn't find anything bad, but he did find that my DNA matched someone else's he already had on file...Carmine Falcone."

That name rang a bell to Kakashi, "Wait, the person Naruto was working for last night? He's your actual father?"

"Apparently," Selina replied in a small voice, throwing the blankets off from herself getting up off the bed, "I don't exactly know how the whole process works or why whatever Thorne did caused this little revelation to pop up, but it was certainly a shock. All these years I thought my father was some drunk who probably died of alcohol poisoning years ago, but nope. He's still alive, and off making who knows how much fucking money off from other people's misery. Not only that, but I've got some siblings too. Quite a few of them actually. Oh god, I have no idea what this all means!"

Kakashi jumped out of bed as well, walking over and putting his arm around the woman, "It'll be alright Selina, I promise. Dealing with the sins of your father isn't easy, believe me, I know, but you'll get through it. You're stronger than most people I've ever met. Though to be fair, you also bury more emotions than you probably should."

The cat burglar sighed and put her head in Kakashi's chest, "I've buried more than I ever thought possible. I'll figure out a way to deal with all of it one day. Bruce, my parents, my fucked up life, all of it. For now though, I'll just keep on using you to relieve my stress. It's not like you seem to mind."

"Who ever would?" Kakashi asked, making the both of them laugh, "Be sure and remember that I can be more than a fuck buddy if you need me to be. I'm here to talk too."

Selina was going to give a smart remark in reply, but someone opened the door to her room before she could. In her rush to get to more pleasurable things, she'd forgotten to lock it. Haku walked in on them, all but naked, and seemed unphased by their appearance, "Hey guys, do you have any plans for the day? I know Frostbite is supposed to be reclusive, but I'm starting to get rather bored. Being alone for some quiet time has lost it's appeal."

The two adults didn't even try to cover themselves when he walked in, seeing as they didn't have any time to. Even so, Selina found her cheeks turning a touch red as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Haku, couldn't have at least knocked? We're kind of in the middle of something."

"Oh, I see," Haku said, finally getting a good look at the both of them, lingering when he saw Kakashi, "My apologizes. I'll be going now, so you two can come and find me when you're finished in here. Please, enjoy yourselves."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as the boy walked out as though nothing had happened, "He's still not great with social interactions, is he?"

"I'm starting to think he'll never understand them," Selina replied, looking down at her uncovered breasts, "Hey, is it just me, or was he looking at your body way more than mine. Not to be cocky, but usually when I have these puppies out, men can't take their eyes off me. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

That wasn't something Kakashi had ever really thought about, "Now that you mention it, I've never seen him so much as flirt with a girl in my entire life. Looking back even furthe, this may not even be the first time he's checked out a guy. You might be onto something there."

Selina thought as much, "We'll have to ask Zabuza about it sometime. He knows the boy better than anybody. In the meantime, let's head back to bed. There's a little more stress I still need you to work out of me."

"My pleasure," Kakashi said, picking her up bridal style, "I promise that when I'm done, the only stress you'll have is from trying to walk straight again."

* * *

Night fell once again upon Gotham city, and Naruto found himself walking the halls of Falcone's mansion for the second time that week. Of course this time he'd snuck in at the request of Bella, who didn't want her father to find out about what she planned to do for the night. So, silent as a mouse, Naruto snuck in through the rooftop and made his way to Bella's door. When he got there he was careful to open it slowly so that he didn't startle her. Once he got a view of the young lady, he knew she'd been waiting for him.

"Goodie, my new boy toy is here," Bella called from her bed, "Come on in, get a look at the outfit I picked out just for you!"

Naruto entered the room with a small bag slung over his shoulder, his jaw dropping when he saw Bella. She was wearing a red lace bra, with matching panties, and fishnet stockings. There was no denying that the girl looked good, "Wow, talk about smoking hot! You look like something out of a fantasy."

Bella giggled, crawling towards Naruto and grabbing the bag, quickly rummaging through it's contents, "Let's see what your idea of kinky is. Lots of raincoats, always good. A whip and handcuff, just my style! Oh, you brought some stuff in case you wanted to try the back door. Looks like this could all be a ton of fun for us tonight."

"Glad you think so," Naruto responded, though he was actually bummed that none of the objects were enough for her to become disgusted and throw him out, "Shall we get started?"

No time was wasted on her part, as she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him onto the bed, "Yes we shall, but we'll start off vanilla. We'll try some of the toppings later, if you catch my drift."

Naruto gave a short nod before Bella locked lips with him like before, though this time she jumped right in with the tongue. She was even more eager than she was last night. With enough skill to show she'd done this before, Bella managed to get both Naruto's shirt and pants off while they were kissing, leaving him in only his boxers. After feeling up his pecs and abs, she was plenty satisfied, "You stay in shape. Good, that means you'll be able to keep up with me tonight."

"Oh, I'll do more than keep up," Naruto retorted, grabbing her rear end and giving it a firm squeeze followed by a light slap, "Let's get wild!"

The kissing continued on, skilled tongues dueling one another for dominance, while Naruto's hand reached the strap on Bella's bra and popped it off, tossing it to the side of the room haphazardly. He hated to admit it, but this was fun for Naruto, especially the feeling of her bosom against his bare chest. Bella moaned as he took one hand and massaged them, whispering huskily, "Please, give em' a kiss!"

Naruto obeyed, his mouth attacking her nipple, with Bella biting her lip to hold back a scream. After a few seconds of this, she pushed him onto his back, pulling down his boxers while saying in a sultry voice, "I think it's time I gave you your oral exams."

"Right to the blowjob huh?" Naruto asked, his mind racing at how fast this whole thing was going, "Alright, we'll finish up with round one, get some ramen to recharge, and then try something a little different."

She stoppedher mouth when she'd heard him say that, "Ramen? Ugh! Why would I eat that nasty peasant food?"

"Hey, don't talk about Ramen," Naruto replied, only half joking, "That's the food of the gods right there."

Bella actually stopped what she was doing when he said that, a look of disgust coming across her face. Things had been all hot and heavy right up until this moment, "Get out."

Naruto blinked a couple times, "Um...what?"

"Get out," Bella repeated, her tone a little more firm. She tossed him his clothes and his bag, "For a brief while I'd forgotten that you're still just some punk from the street. Calling ramen the food of the gods? What kind of moron says that? Just hearing that was enough to make my realize the kind of idiot I was about to fuck!"

This was unbelievable, "Hold on; the fact that I said liked ramen is enough for you decided you don't wanna have sex with me anymore? You've gotta be joking, right?"

Her tone suggested otherwise, "No, I'm not. We had a little bit of fun, but that's all you're getting. Seriously, what was I thinking? You're a common criminal from the streets too! Ew! I'm almost sad I let you feel me up!"

"Alright, I get the picture," Naruto snapped, quickly dressing and internally screaming with joy that he wouldn't have to go through with this, "You aren't gonna put in a bad word about me with your dad because of this, are you?"

Bella visibly gagged, "God no! I don't want him to know I was ever anywhere near you! This is so embarrassing!"

There was no way Naruto could've figured out what made her go from 60 to 0 so fast, but he wasn't complaining. All he wanted to do was get the hell out of there, "I guess it was fun while it lasted. I'd say call me if you change your mind, but I don't wanna get all riled up only to be shot down again. Oh, and the keep the goody bag, I've got plenty back home. There might even be something in there to help finish what I started."

"Whatever, just go already," Bella snapped, her eyes shifting to the bag, "And don't tell anyone about this."

That would not be a problem. Naruto vanished as quickly as he'd arrived, happy to have his virginity still intact. He was likely the only teenager who had ever thought that in the history of the world...


	45. Trust Issues Pt 1

After a highly successful first chapter of The Nefarious Nine, I am officially back for another chapter of the Red Fox! Ladies and gentlemen, I've never tried to manage two stories at once before, but I couldn't be more excited to try. I think it'll help make me more productive and keep my mind flowing better, which will lead to my writing getting better as well. Making the highest quality stories I can for you guys is my goal here, and it's been a great help in making me a better writer for my screenplays and novels. I certainly won't be writing fanfiction forever, and I can't thank you guys enough for making it so much fun for me while I'm here. Anyways, enough sap for one day. This chapter will be less Naruto centric, since we need to give the side characters some time to get their plans ready. Now then, let's jump right into the next chapter of the Red Fox! Thank you for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack: REO Speedwagon-Take it on the Run

* * *

Scarecrow paced around his lair impatiently, a small growl emanating from his lips with every step. Orochimaru and Ra's Al Ghul had both begun to act suspicious as of late, and he was beginning to wonder if they'd found out his little secret, "We may have a problem Nygma. Our partners are beginning to suspect something, and my plan to take them out isn't quite ready yet. I need to find something to divert their attention until it's ready."

"That could very well be true," Riddler agreed, quickly adding, "But if they think that you could still be of some use to them, I believe you'll be safe. You're paranoid, as anyone in your position would be. Never fear though, the Riddler is still making sure that all goes according to plan."

"I don't feel fear, I am fear," Scarecrow fired back with a glare, "I'm stressed, not scared. If we're not careful, this could be a major setback for us. A setback is not something I have time for."

Riddler leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and twirled his cane around in his hand, "It'll all be fine, I'm certain. If you need to unwind, go and find Ivy and spend some time with her. I can handle our little meeting with the Ventriloquist."

As wonderful as that sounded, it wasn't currently an option, "Ivy is off spending time with Harley. I need something to keep my mind occupied, so meeting with the Ventriloquist would be the best thing for me right now. Wesker is a madman who actually believes that puppet of his can talk to him, but when he has that plank of wood in his hand, he becomes an absolute genius. Unfortunately, said plank is more irritating than he ever could be!"

"Hey, only I get to talk about this mook like that," Came the irritating voice of Scarface as the puppet and puppet-master entered the room, "What's up Crow boy? Been awhile since we checked in, eh? Guess we've been a little too busy for ya."

Scarecrow clenched his fist at that remark, "Do I need to remind you two that I'm you're boss, which requires you to treat me with some respect?"

"You're more like a business acquaintance as far as Mr. Scarface is concerned," Wesker responded, before Scarecrow's murderous eyes turned to him, "If w-we're um, being honest, that is."

Despite what some people may say, honesty is not always the best policy, "You'll either respect me from this point forward, or I will pull my protection for your men and let the chips fall where they may, is that clear?"

Scarface's false eyebrows narrowed, "You think that whole fear bit you do freaks me out? Look bub, I'm gonna speak my mind whenever the hell I want to, and if you don't like it, you can just go ahead and kiss my ass! I know I'm making you a whole lot of money, so I don't think you'll toss me out just because ya don't like how I talk! Go ahead, prove me wrong!"

"Mr. Scarface, sir," Wesker pleaded to the puppet when he saw the look on Scarecrow's face, "Please be quiet."

"Don't worry Albert, I know one way to shut him up," Crane declared as he stalked towards the man. Grabbing Wesker's jaw with one hand and using the other to brace himself with the Ventriloquist's head, Crane quickly pulled in opposite directions, a sickening crunching sound echoing through the room as he did. As the older man fell to his knees, his free hand clutching his broken jaw, he released wordless screams. Crane only glared down at the broken man before stating, "Well that didn't seem to work, so why don't we try this?"

In one swift motion, Scarecrow grabbed his sickle from his coat and swung it on an arc that first cut off the Ventriloquists hand, letting the puppet Scarface roll off with it, followed by decapitating the man. Blood erupted from his neck like lava out of a volcano as Wesker's head fell from his shoulders and bounced over next to his puppet. Scarecrow wiped the blood from his sickle and placed it back in his coat, "Consider yourself fired, Ventriloquist. Next time you should learn to control your puppets like I do."

Riddler, who by no means was a squeamish person, fidgeted in his chair, "I pity the person who has to clean that up. If he was smart, he would've sensed the kind of mood you were in and shut up."

"Perhaps, though I do feel far more at ease now," Scarecrow remarked, taking a deep breath, "I think I'll head off to Ivy's room and wait for her to be done with her conversation with Harley. I'm feeling...energetic at the moment."

The other villain said nothing as his leader left the room. He clutched to his cane, uncertain of what to do next. There was only one thing that he knew for sure; he had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

"I can't believe you willing sleep with that psychopath," Harley grumbled as lay in bed next to Ivy, both of them dressed only in a t-shirt and underpants. She grabbed a chip from a bag lying on the end table next to the bed and continued, "I'm not saying Mr. J was perfect, but I think even he'd be questioning how looney toons Scarecrow's gone!"

Ivy had known of her friends disappear at her choice in lovers for some time, and had done what she could to assure her it was fine, "Harley darling, I love you, but there are certain things he gives me that I just can't get from you. Besides, behind that gruff, fear obsessed mask of his, there's quite the driven individual. The fact that he isn't even truly a meatsack anymore helps too."

A mock pout came onto Harley's lip, "Aw, Red, aren't there some meatsacks out there ya like?"

"Sweetie, you know you're one in a million to me," Ivy giggled, giving her a little kiss on the cheek, "Now then, how about we move on from my love life to yours? How are things going with Jason?"

Harley gasped, "Love life? Jason and I aren't lovers! What on earth gave you that idea?"

All the confused Ivy could think to do was blink, "Hold on, you said before that the two of you sleep in the same bed and that he's seen naked?"

"Yeah, so what?" Harley asked as if it were perfectly normal, "He's still basically like a son to me. The only reason he sleeps in my bed is because it makes me feel safe, and he saw my naked the first time when I was teaching him about the birds and the bees. It was easier to do when I had things to reference with. Things that were better than those lousy pictures in the books at least…"

"Wait, you taught him about the birds and the bee's yourself? Using your own body?" Ivy asked, mouth gaping, "Why would you do something like that?"

This time Harley merely shrugged, "I want him to be a studmuffin' so he can go out and get me lots of grandbabies. We'll make our family even bigger!"

It was moments like this that reminded Ivy of how far gone her friend could be at times. After years of living with the Joker, most things that people would consider abnormal seemed like nothing to her, "That's not typically the way one would go about doing that Harley."

"And we aren't exactly typical, are we?" Harley responded, her tongue sticking out playfully, "Come on Red, haven't ya ever thought about having kids?"

Ivy got a bit defensive at that question, "Of course I have, but with someone like me, I'm not certain that's even possible. Who knows, maybe one day, Jonathan and I could,"

"Okay, that's far enough," Harley said, plugging her ears, "If you wanna take the weirdo for a ride, go right ahead, but I don't wanna hear about it, or how the two of ya might make babies, ya got that?"

Ivy laughed, willing to grant her request, "If that's what you want, then so be it. Hm, look at the time. I think we'd better call it a day for now, don't you?"

It was getting a little bit late, and Harley still had to go and check up on Jason, "I guess so. It was good hanging with ya Ivy, we don't get to do this enough anymore. When do you wanna meet up again?"

"I'm up for it whenever you are," Ivy said, sitting up to stretch, "Call me when you get some free time and I'll see if I can make it work."

As they both stood up, there was a knock at the door. Ivy walked over and answered it, with Scarecrow standing right in front of her, "Hello there, my little rose. I was wondering if when you were done talking with your friend here, you'd like to join me in my room for awhile?"

Ivy licked her lips, "We just finished. You must have been reading my mind, because I was about to come and find you. You head back to your room and get a little more comfortable, and I'll join you in a bit. We'll make vegan out of you yet."

"Only if we can add a little more meat to your diet," He replied, making them both like a couple of teenagers.

She leaned in closer to him, her voice barely a whisper, "I think that can be arranged. My lips can be deadly, but they can also be the gateway to paradise."

"Woman, I just might be falling for you," Scarecrow replied with a grin, allowing Ivy to come under his mask and give him a small kiss, "See you soon."

* * *

Deathstroke had watched the video of Ronin's diamond heist at least two dozen times. The kid was good, one of the best he'd seen in a long time. In all honestly, he may have been the most talented person Slade had seen at that age. That even went for his daughter, Rose, who he could hear arguing with Black Spider just behind him as he talked on the phone with Falcone, "I need to speak with my father! We were supposed to start training twenty minutes ago! What's taking him so long?"

The mercenary sighed as he responded, "You're father is in the middle of an important phone call. He wants to start your training, I'm certain, but there's nothing he can do at the moment. Please, leave him to his work."

"His work? Please," Rose scoffed, "He's probably looking at another possible recruit! I thought that since he'd given up chasing after Nightwing, he'd final have some more time to train me properly! Why is he trying to get new apprentices when he has a daughter with enough potential to become the greatest female assassin the world has ever seen? Maybe even the greatest assassin in general!"

Black Spider understood the girl's frustration, but that he had to do whatever his boss wanted, and right now his boss wanted her gone, "Rose, please, you know that trying to get your father's attention while he's working never turns out well. If you want to argue with him, it'd be best to wait until he'd done. After that, you can chew him out all you like."

The girl turned around and left in a huff, "As if it would do any good talking to that stubborn bastard! I'll just go and show him myself what I'm capable of! Wait until he gets a load of what I can do!"

"Be careful," Black Spider called to her as he walked back to his leader, "Not to speak out of turn, but it might do you some good to spend some time with the girl."

Deathstroke put his hand up to indicate he wasn't done on the phone yet, "Mhm...yes...I see. Thank you Falcone, that'll be all. Black Spider, please don't interrupt me while I'm on the phone again. It's rude."

His eyes turned to the ground, "Sorry sir, it won't happen again. I only think that your daughter frustrations might be justified."

"Her feelings are understandable, but my actions are not without reason," Deathstroke responded, placing his phone on the table, "I can teach her all the martial arts and weapons skills she could ever want, be she needs to learn to think for herself. Holding her hand will do her no good. Enough of that though. Right now, we need to talk about our friend Ronin, or Russell Nidock, as he goes by when he's unmasked. According to Falcone, he's just as skilled in person as he seemed to be on camera. I've decided that the time has come to approach him and see if the youth has any interest in taking things to the next level. Arrange me a meeting with him as soon as possible."

Black Spider had a whole slew of people that he was going to have to call in order to get that done, so he bowed and made his leave, "As you wish Slade. Best of luck with your daughter."

Waving him off, Deathstroke leaned over to his screen and finally turned it off. He would be certain to keep his daughter on the right track, but he had to keep from steering her too much himself, "You must learn the hard way Rose, or you'll never truly remember the lesson. Don't worry, you'll see that your father is right...someday."

* * *

"This place is absolutely amazing," Stephanie declared, walking through the streets of the Hidden Mist with Mei by her side and dango in her hand, "I mean, Gotham has some nice scenery, but this place is gorgeous! Look at these fancy buildings! So many color! All we've got in Gotham is black and grey! And your house! That was almost as big as Wayne Manor!"

Mei giggled, glad to see Stephanie was having such a nice time, "It's a hell of a place, I know. How's the dango?"

It was hard for Stephanie to speak with her mouth full of it. She swallowed as much as she could and replied, "Delicious! I've gotta get a box of this to take home for Tim!"

"Good idea, I'll grab some for Bruce as well," Mei said, taking a bite of her own food, "He's pretty fond of dango himself."

While they were talking, they heard a high pitched voice call out behind them, "Mei, Stephanie! Hey guys!"

They turned around to find Ino sprinting at them like a bullet. They were almost a bit frightened before the girl reached them and stopped just before knocking them over. Mei laughed at her enthusiasm, "Well hello there Ino. What are you doing in the Hidden Mist?"

"I'm here with Shizune to help out with some political stuff," Ino replied, even more bubbly than usual, "Well, that's what they told me anyways. I don't really know how I can help with politics."

Shizune appear behind her, panting from trying so hard to keep up, "You're not here to help me, you came with me so that I could keep an eye on you. She's been acting a little strange since her little trip inside Naruto's head."

"Strange?" Stephanie asked, her attention acquired, "Strange how?"

That was a question Shizune didn't even know where to begin with, "She's been um...telling jokes. The kind that I can't explain. Ino, why don't you just tell one?"

Ino started giggling right away, "Okay! Hehe! So a I guy goes into a library and asks to borrow a book on how to commit suicide, but the librarian says no, because...hehe… because it's not like he's going to be able to bring it back! Hahahaha!"

"Hehe...funny," Stephanie laughed nervously, "And dark. Like, probably the darkest joke I've ever heard."

It would seem Ino was well aware of that fact, "I know! That's what makes it so funny! Hahaha!"

Mei could see what Shizune was talking about, "Ino's a bit more touched than usual. Well, she's out and about, so that must mean that she's stable. Not too dangerous, so that's good. What happened to her, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh, it's not too complicated," Ino said, waving the whole thing off, "When I went into Naruto's mind and fought the Joker, I got a slight imprint on my mind from him. It doesn't effect my way of thinking, or morals, or anything like that. All it does is screw with personality just a tiny bit. I don't mind it. In fact, so far it's been a lot of fun! I've got tons of other jokes if you guys wanna hear them!"

Shizune didn't think that was such a good idea, "Why don't we leave them with just one this time? You can tell them some other ones next time, okay Ino?"

That bummed Ino out for a second, but she perked back up in no time, "So, how's everything going in Gotham? Seems like I haven't seen anyone from there in ages."

"Everything's going well, even if a few new problems have arose," Mei replied, taking the last bite of her dango and throwing the stick in the trash, "Some old friends have been popping up."

Stephanie was a little confused, "Wait, which 'friend' are you talking about, Jason or Deathstroke?"

That first name had Shizune reeling, "Wait, Jason? As in Jason Todd? I thought he was dead?"

"So did we, but it's looking like that may not be the case," Mei responded, a little annoyed that Stephanie hadn't given her a chance to ease into the topic, "We think someone grabbed him out of Arkham before Joker's bomb went off. We can't say for certain who, but we have some leads. We're not 100% sure he's alive, but based on some evidence we've been able to gather, it seems more than likely."

Shizune was stunned. She could hardly even manage to to speak she was in such shock, "Jason's alive, and he's off with someone who could be playing with his mind. Are you guys going to try to find him?"

That was one part Mei knew wasn't up for debate, "If he's alive and out there, we're going to get him back, and we're going to bring him home where he belongs. Hopefully whoever he's been with hasn't done too much damage to his mind. The only one left who doesn't know about it is Naruto, and that's because he's off on that undercover mission you helped us set up. If he knew about Jason, all it would do was distract him."

"Good call," Ino remarked, "When it comes to his family, Naruto will go to ends of the earth for them, even if it might not be the right time."

Mei couldn't have put it better herself, "Exactly. When the time's right, we'll bring him in for some help. He needs to focus on his infiltration mission. While I've got you here Shizune, can you clear up what Naruto's rank is within the Hidden Leaf for me?"

"Sure. It's kind of complicated, so I even I don't fully understand it," Shizune admitted, "After a lot of debate with the council, and I mean a lot, we've officially given him the rank of Jonin. Since this undercover operation is officially a joint mission with the Hidden Leaf and Naruto's one of our shinobi, he's technically under our jurisdiction, and he wouldn't be allowed to go on a mission like this as a Chunin. Tsunade knows he's got what it takes both mentally and physically to be a Jonin, so she gave him a field promotion, which only she has the power to do. The council was pissed about that, but agreed to go along with it under the condition that Sasuke be made a temporary Jonin so that he could have a chance to prove himself with the undercover work."

That got a snort of laughter out of Stephanie, "Prove himself? That kid's screwed up every chance he's gotten. Seriously, based on what Bruce's has been saying, his performance has been a joke!"

Ino cringed at that, "Yeah, Sasuke's talented as all hell, but he's as rash as a bull with a hernia. Once you get to know him though, he's a great guy! It's just having to get through the asshole coating."

Even Mei chuckled at that one, "Well said Ino. Well, we've got to get going. It was good to see you two though. Oh! After the missions over will be right around Naruto's birthday, so we're having a surprise party for him not long after he gets home. I'll have to make up some invitations for you guys. Like I said, we need to head back to Gotham, but I'll be in contact soon. Make sure to say hi to Tsunade for us."

* * *

"Ugh, what is taking this guy so long?" Ronin wondered aloud as he hung by his legs on a steel girder of an unfinished skyscraper, " Whoever this asshole is, he was supposed to be here about 15 minutes ago. I don't like people being late on me!"

He heard a pair of feet land on the girder a few feet from him, "An admirable quality. My apologies for taking so long, there were some last minute issues that I had to take care of."

Ronin flexed his legs and pulled himself right side up. What he found was the legendary mercenary himself, Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke, standing right in front of him. His entire mission had been to get this man's attention, and it was looking like he succeeded. Now all he had to do was play it cool, "Woah, you're the one who called me here? Sweet...hey, how'd you lose the eye?"

"Hmph, I see they weren't kidding about your bold personality," Deathstroke remarked, making Ronin glad his risk had paid off, "My ex-wife and I had a disagreement, let's just leave it at that. So, you're Ronin? Not much to look at, are you?"

It was easy enough to tell he was trying to push Ronin's button's to see if he'd react, "Say anything you want, just get ready to be proven wrong if you test me."

Deathstroke showed no reaction to the comment. He looked off into the distance before throwing a file down next to Ronin, "That is a file on the latest mark I've been given. My client wants him dead within the week, and you're going to gather some information on him for me. He's a rather private person, and almost never leaves his home. Get inside that house and find anything at all that could possibly help me kill him. Normally I'd simply break in and kill him right then and there, but this one needs to look like accident. The client was crystal clear on that point."

"Hold up, I never even said I'd take the job yet," Ronin replied, flipping through the file, "Besides, what's in it for me? You haven't even told me what I'll be getting paid yet."

Paid was probably not the right word to use there, "No money will be exchanging hands. You see, I've got men who could handle this task for me, but I'm outsourcing it to you because I want to see if you can handle it. Pass my little test, and I'll bring into my circle and teach some of my own tricks. That's worth far more than any amount of money I could offer you."

"I don't know about _any _amount of money, but it's certainly worth a lot," Ronin agreed, putting the file away, "Normally I'd tell you to fuck off for not paying me, but lessons from you might actually be worth the trouble. I'll get the information tomorrow night and meet you here the night after that. Sound good?"

Deathstroke had no quarrels with that, "You work fast, I like that. I'll see you then. I'm aware that you're part of Waller's new band of misfits, but I managed to escape from it myself on a previous occasion, so I'm certain I can get you out of it as well if you prove useful to me. Best of luck to you, Ronin."

The villain jumped from the girder and disappeared off into the night, leaving Ronin by himself. It took everything the boy had not to start screaming to the rooftops in joy. He'd actually done it. His first undercover mission was turning out to be a massive success.

* * *

"Woohoo," Naruto screamed as he did backflips into the common room of the Squad's hotel. The entire team was there, and it was impossible for them not to notice the blonde teen, "Hell yes! It happened! Deathstroke came looking for Ronin and wants to offer him a job!"

Kankuro jumped right up and gave his friend a fist bump, "Dude, nice job! Two weeks and you already got his attention. That's gotta be some kind of record!"

"I can't take all the credit," Naruto said with a foxy grin, "Croc was the one who gave Deathstroke the tape that lead him to me. Thanks by the way Croc!"

The humanoid reptile waved from the couch he was sitting on, where he was currently eating a raw chicken with his bare hands, tearing it apart with his teeth, "Don't mention it. Oh, that's tasty stuff! Hey, do way have any barbecue sauce around here?"

Kakashi nodded, a little disgusted by the way he ate, but also glad he wasn't going after any humans at the moment, "In the fridge, I think. So Naruto, what kind of plan does this guy have you helping him with?"

"He want's me to get some information on the next person he plans to kill," Naruto explained, quickly adding, "I'm gonna make certain dad knows who the guy is before I give Deathstroke the info so that he can make sure that the guy doesn't actually end up dead, but other than that, I don't think we have too much to worry about!"

All of them shrugged it off, having faith Naruto would manage alright. He always figured it out one way or another. Zabuza, deciding it was getting rather late for him, got up to walk to his room, "That's great kid. Hopefully this whole thing can be done soon so that I can sleep in my own bed back in the Hidden Mist. Also it'd probably be safer for me if I wasn't around Silver Banshee."

Kakashi got up as well, follow him, "I thought you said you liked Silver Banshee."

"No, I said I'd fuck her. There's a difference," Zabuza corrected him, "Don't get me wrong, she seems like an okay person, for a criminal anyways, and she's smoking hot, but I've been with enough crazy women to know when it's time to walk away. One of my ex's tried to kill me with a water jutsu for not taking out the trash, another one almost cut off my balls with a kunai while I was sleeping, and worst of all, a had a bitch try to gouge my eyes out just for looking at another girl!"

Frightening as all that may have sounded, it had Kakashi chuckling a bit, "Sounds like you know how to pick em."

As the two of them left, Haku turned to Sasuke and told him, "We'd better get going if we want to make to the rondevu point a little early. Something tells me this Ubu person doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Getting there early isn't really my style, but fine," Sasuke remarked, having been half asleep when Haku spoke to him, "Why did Waller have to stick me with you off all people?"

Haku, not sensing that it was a rhetorical question, answered, "Because you tend to go off script sometimes, while I play things by the book. Also all of this sitting around doing nothing is making me anxious, so this is a good chance for me to do something outside."

"Yes, I know that Haku," Sasuke grumbled as the they made their exit, "And please, don't say, 'then why did you ask?' I'm not in the mood for it right now."

Naruto would've paid money to watch those two interact some more, "Oh, if I only I had a camera. Guess I'd better go and train for my big mission. Kankuro, you wanna come help me?"

Seeing as the teen had nothing better to do, he quickly agreed, "Sure, I could use a little physical training anyways. I've been focusing too much on puppets lately. I should probably have something to fall back on in case my puppets don't work one of these days."

"Alright, I've got a training buddy," Naruto said, waving goodbye to the two Gotham locals, "You guys have fun relaxing or whatever."

Both squad members waved back, letting the last two ninjas go on their way. Selina wondered aloud, "You think we'd be in the same position we are now if those guys hadn't shown up here?"

Croc, who had just returned from getting his condiment, shrugged, "Don't know, don't care. All I'm worried about is what's right in front of me. Can't changes what's behind ya, and all that jazz. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to enjoy how much better chicken is when you eat it bone and all!"

* * *

"So the organization's name is literally 'The League of Assassins?'" Spyder asked, his tone suggesting that he didn't buy it, "Isn't that a little bit on the nose?"

Frostbite nodded in confirmation. He still wasn't supposed to speak, so all he could do was stand and wait with his comrade. This Ubu person had said over the phone to wait for him here. It was still up in the air as to whether or not they could trust this man, but they wouldn't have to wait much longer to find out. Without making so much as a sound, four men clad entirely in black landed before them, their katana's drawn and at the ready. They'd surrounded the Frostbite and Spyder, both of whom didn't seem all that surprised to see them. Spyder got into a fighting stance, muttering to Frostbite, "And this is why you never trust an assassin."

The leader of the group of hired killers soon landed alongside them. It was Ubu, sporting a pair of iron knuckles with three extended blades on each, "So kind of you two to show up for your death's early. We usually have to track down the people we want to murder. I'll admit, the one with ice powers wasn't originally on our hitlist, but Spyder is, and seeing as he's become our target's new handler, I'm afraid he'll have to go too. Next time you steal from a wealthy businessman pretty boy, you may want to avoid dragging your friends into the line of fire."

"Wait, you pretended to hire me just so you could kill me for that Powers asshole?" Spyder asked through his teeth, "I don't know what's worse; the fact that you even took the job, or you thinking that five guys would be enough to take us both down."

Ubu snapped his fingers, causing all four of his comrades to lung at Frostbite, leaving Spyder to him, "I've seen tapes on you. You're good, but I doubt you're any match for me."

If his eyes had been visible under his mask, Ubu would've seen the Sharingan spinning in Spyder's once onyx orbs. He never liked being underestimated, "You have no idea how badly I'm about to kick your ass!"

"You've got a nice bark," Ubu commended him before slashing away with his claw like weapon, "But let's see if your bite can match!"

Spyder arched his back, the blades barely missing his chest, and popped back up to give Ubu a hard punch to the chest. It proved to be as solid as stone, meaning that even a blow from the Uchiha couldn't do much. Ubu came right back with another lunging attack that Spyder barely managed to duck under. This was the start of flurry of attacks, all of which the Sharingan began to decode. Before long it was like Spyder could see each movement in slow motion, and he began to identify the parts of his body that were less muscular than the others. Most of Ubu's form was untouchable to anyone without super strength, but his left abdomen, lower throat, and right ankle all appeared to be more vulnerable. In a one-two-three motion, Spyder stomped on the ankle, struck the abdomen, and kicked Ubu's throat. It was enough to send the assassin falling onto his ass, "Ugh! You little bastard! How'd you do that?"

"It wasn't hard, I just used that bite you were talking about," Spyder replied with a smug grin, "By the way, I hope you weren't counting on your friends to help you out, because they're not doing too well themselves."

Ubu looked back at Frostbite in the middle of his battle, and he was doing even better than Spyder. Three of the four ninjas who had started the fight were now frozen in a block of ice, and fourth one was getting the hell beat out him. Things had taken a grim turn, but there was no way Ubu could surrender, "I will not go back to Master Ra's Al Ghul only to tell him that I've failed! Prepare yourself, you entitled brat, because I'm going shred you like a cheap hunk of meat!"

This was beginning to get tiresome for Spyder, "Sure you will. Charge at me big boy. I wanna get this over with already!"

"Why you insolent little whelp," Ubu cried as he ran at Spyder like a mad bull, I'll make you eat those words!"

Frostbite froze his last opponent just in time to see Spyder completing some hand seals. This was most likely another attack that he wasn't permitted to use, but there was no time to stop him. A wave a blue lightning coated Spyder's hand, which could only mean that he was using the Chidori. The Chidori was a technique designed to kill, and only to kill. That was a fact Ubu sooned learned as Spyder ducked under his latest attack and shoved the lightning through the assassin's chest. Blood poured from Ubu's body as Spyder pulled his arm out, letting his opponents fall to the ground, dead as a doornail, "How do you that bite, asshole?"

The other over the two ninjas ran over, confident he could speak since there was no one around, "You just broke two of Waller's rules! No unpermitted Justus, and no killing unless totally necessary. We both know you didn't need to kill him."

"It'll be fine," Spyder said with a shrug, "No one else saw us, so Waller can make up any explanation she wants for this. You worry too much."

Frostbite was concerned with more than just the rules, "You had no reason to kill him! I know you could've just as easily incapacitated him and at least then we'd get some info out of him!"

That wasn't the way Spyder was it, "Look, he was too loyal to give up anything and he would've busted out of jail and went right back to killing for the highest bidder. I did the world a favor."

"That's not your decision to make," Frostbite said, grabbing Spyder by the collar, "This time, since he was trying to kill us, I'll give you the benefit if the doubt and assume it was an error in judgment. Pull something like that again, and I'll drag you in to see Waller myself!"

Though he rolled his eyes first, Spyder eventually nodded, reaching for his communicator so he could call said woman. Sometimes, his own brothers in arms still baffled him.

* * *

Ronin walked through the mansion of Maxwell Lord with a large amount of fascination. The man of the house was out at some sort of charity event hosted by Lex Luthor, which sent up red flags on him already, giving Ronin the chance to see whatever he wanted of the place. Everything in the home was shiny, new, and imported, meaning Lord must have remodeled it a lot. This was a man with more money that he could ever figure out how to spend. There was plenty of interesting things to see in the home, from a kitchen big enough to throw a rave in, to a bathroom with big screen tv, but right now Ronin's main focus was the man's bedroom.

Lord's bedroom looked like the dwelling of any typical rich guy, with egyptian cotton sheets and a handmade ivory headboard, but Ronin was certain he could find something a little more useful if he just kept looking, "Well, monsters do like to hide under the bed. Maybe that where this guy keeps his personal demons too."

"_A good thought, Ronin,"_ Deathstroke complemented from the combination earpiece/vizor-cam he'd given the teen, "_But don't be surprised if he's got them locked away."_

Ronin reached under the bed and found a locked drawer. He grabbed the lockpick that he kept in braclet part of his armor and stuck inside the mechanism, joking as he did, "It's just like with women. You've got to make sure you hit all the right spots, then you go to town on it."

The comment got no laugh from Deathstroke, "_I'm not interested in your love life Ronin. Get on with the task at hand."_

"Fine, ya great big mood killer," Ronin said as the last few clicks of the tumblers sounded, allowing him to open the drawer and see what was inside. It wasn't what he would've expected, but he was oh so glad to be finding what he was, "Well would you look at that! Maxwell Lord, you dog you!"

It was impossible for Ronin not to laugh as he pulled out a series of increasingly embarrassing objects. First came a deflated blowup doll that that was made to look like Catwoman, which he would be sure to Selina about when he got back to base. Next was a series of special hand lotions that Ronin was careful not to touch for too long. The real interesting part came when he pulled out a issue of playboy magazine, being sure to flip right to the centerfold so that he'd stay in character, "Misty Mountain, well aren't you fine? I think I'll just tear this out and save it for later."

"_This is all rather telling, but none of it helps us kill Maxwell Lord," _Deathstroke pointed out right before Ronin ripped out the page like he'd said he would, "_Dig a little a deeper, see if you can find something a touch more useful."_

Ronin didn't need to be told; he was already doing it. Moments later he come up with a baggy filled with white powder, tossing it around in his hand excitedly, "Boss, I do believe I've just found the answer to all our problems. What better way to kill a coke addict than with a fake overdose, am I right?"

For once, the mercenary had no need to scold his new employee, "_Hm, that's actually rather brilliant. Nicely done Ronin. Put everything back as best you can and then make a hasty exit. Lord will be home before long. You did well, my young friend. There may be some potential in you yet."_

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Ronin replied, though he was bursting with pride on the inside, "I told you I could get the job done...oh, and I'm keeping the centerfold. I've earned it"

* * *

Patrolling was by far the least interesting thing Batgirl got to do these days. At least before, when the Red Fox had been around, there had been someone interesting for her to talk to on nights like tonight. Not anymore. She was out alone tonight, and was ready for any form of action to come her way. It wouldn't take much more patrolling for her to change her mind about that.

"I don't think there's ever been a night in Gotham this quiet before," Batgirl mused as she leaned against the brick wall of an alleyway, "I haven't heard so much as a police siren. Perhaps I could go and make my way to the other side of town with my grappling hook to get some exercise. Hm, Batman is supposed to be patrolling the roofs tonight though, and I wouldn't want to go against orders. There must be something for me to do."

A few steps echoed through the alleyway, making Batgirl look up to see a man walking towards her, "How about a fight, little girl? Fighting always gets my blood pumping when I'm bored."

Batgirl was more annoyed at the prospect of a fight than she was intrigued, "Unless you have a small army behind you, I doubt that you'd be any match for me."

"You'd be surprised on that one shorty," The man replied, pulling his head up to reveal a pair of glowing yellow eyes. His arm shot forward and began to extend, grabbing Batgirl's entire body and sending her crashing into the wall behind her. A gurgling noise emitted from the man as he morphed into the hideous beast that was Clayface, "Didn't mean to toy with ya like that, but I didn't want you reaching for some kinda signal and having the Batman show up to help, even though I could probably take his ass now. The only one I was supposed to get is you, so that's who I'm getting. Don't worry Batbitch, this is only gonna hurt a whole lot…"


	46. Trust Issues Pt 2

Another day, another chapter of the Red Fox for me to post. After yet another cliffhanger, which I swear I only did because of time restraints...okay, and also because I'm an asshole, it's time to jump back into the undercover arc. The end of this arc is fast approaching, with an epic final battle between Scarecrow and Naruto coming with it. That won't be the end of the fanfic, but it shows how close we're getting. This chapter will feature a tiny of bit relationship progression, plenty of drama with Batgirl, and some emotional decision making for Tim. Naruto will be a central figure as well, though I'm guessing you already knew that. Now then, thanks for reading and please be sure and review. If you'll excuse me, my Birthday is Tuesday, and I intend to enjoy it.

Chapter Soundtrack-Resident Evil 2: Madness Under the Mask

* * *

Batgirl woke up in a haze of uncertainty, completely at a lost as to where she was. The only thing that was visible was a flickering fluorescent light that allowed her to see the restraints on her wrists and ankles. Most of her body armor was still on, though her boots, belt, and gloves had been removed. Her mask was still on as well, most of it anyways. Sections of it had been carefully removed to show her temples, which could only mean bad things for her.

"Ah, I see my newest patient is awake," Rasped a voice not far from her, "Good, I was hoping we could start your treatment soon."

Struggling with her sore body, Batgirl managed to look up and see a familiar face looming near her, "Scarecrow, you're the one who sent Clayface after me."

The villain was standing next to a door, waiting patiently for something. Riddler was there was well, beside a table with various unsettling devices setting on it. Scarecrow watched her like a hawk as his right hand prepared, "Batman has taught you everything he knows only so that you can state the obvious. I take it that's the last thing you remember? I expected as much. Unfortunately for you, the battle with him was the easy part. Now comes where we have the real fun."

"What, you're going to torture me?" Batgirl asked, relaxing her body and remembering her training with her mother and father, "There's nothing you can do to me that I haven't be conditioned to withstand."

Scarecrow chuckled as Riddler walked over to machine that looked much older than any other technology in the room, "Torture is far simpler than what I have in mind for you, though it is just as painful. I'm going to be peeling back the layers of your psyche until I can have the Riddler here mold you into whoever I want you to be. He's been studying technology once used by mind control extraordinaire Jervis Tech. Once you're mentally fit, Mr. Nygma is going to turn you into my secret weapon. The Red Fox's savior complex will leave unable to stay away from you in your time of need. He's not going to find his comrade in arms though. No, he's going to find someone who's dead set on killing him. That fool won't be able to lay a finger on you. Now stay still. Thrashing with equipment this old could have some consequences for you."

Strapping two cotton swab like objects connected to copper wires to Batgirl's temples, Riddler returned to his machine and reached twisted a few knobs, "I know you're wondering how I'm going to peel back the layers of your mind. Well, as insane as he was, Jervis Tetch was still a mechanical genius, and this little baby here I one of his earlier prototypes, designed to peer into the mind before he started brainwashing people. Sure it would be easier to use one of the late Hatter's newer models, but where's the fun in that? Now, let's go down the rabbit hole."

Once he had everything where he wanted it, the Riddler pulled the switch and sent an electrical current coursing through wires and into the small devices hidden by the cotton swabs. Batgirl screamed, jerking wildly as the pain hit her. If this was his opening move, she feared what Scarecrow had planned next. With a villain like him, that may have very well been the point…

* * *

"Play it back again," Bruce ordered, which Alfred quickly complied with, "I need to see it one more time."

From within the confines of the Batcave, the team had been spent nearly an hour watching security cam footage of Batgirl's battle with Clayface. Well, battle may not have been the right word. She had been no match for him this time, for reasons the team didn't fully understand. The tape started just as Clayface turned back to his usual form and grabbed Batgirl, squeezing her as tightly as he could. Batgirl couldn't reach her belt, but she, like the rest of her team, had one freeze capsule hidden in her gloves, which she soon retrived and thew at Clayface. It burst the moment it struck, starting to coat the villain in ice. Usually, this would be the end of the battle with an opponent like this, but things were different this time. Instead of continuing through Clayface's body, the ice began to melt, allowing him to throw Batgirl against the wall and raise his other hand to knock her unconscious. Everyone watching cringed as he smacked her.

Alfred turned it off as Clayface pulled her into his body, likely for say keeping, "Master Bruce, I don't believe watching it again will do us any good. We've seen everything there is to see."

"I know, I just don't understand," Bruce said, leaning back in his chair, "We're supposed to the be the ones who take out Clayface like he's nothing, not the other way around. All we've ever needed to do was freeze him, so we took great measure to make sure we always could. Now, out of nowhere, one of our capsules doesn't work. How is that possible?"

"Could it have been dud?" Stephanie asked, trying to find a simple explanation.

Bruce shook his head, "No, we don't have duds. Lucius Fox doesn't let that sort of thing slip by. I don't think I've ever had something like that happen since I became the Batman. Besides, it did start to go off. It looked like Clayface was melting it somehow."

"Why did he kidnapped her in the first place?" Mei wondered, "Is he working for Scarecrow? I didn't think Clayface was one to take sides."

That had been bothering Bruce as well, "I keep expecting him to ask for some sort of ransom for her, since it's the only thing that fits his MO. Clayface only looks out of himself, so if he is working for Scarecrow, he's doing it for cash. Yet, I think Scarecrow isn't one to have that card and not play it right away either. Things just aren't adding up with this one."

Tim felt he had to ask, "Are going to call Naruto and tell him about this? I'm not sure how he'd react if he found out you were keeping it from him."

"I wish I could tell him, but, like with Jason, it would only distrack him," Bruce reasoned, not entirely unjust in his thought process, "There's nothing he could do here that would be more important than what he's doing now. He'll be angry, but Naruto's more the smart enough to understand why I'm doing this. Does anyone have an issue with that?"

Barbara couldn't resist, "Would it matter if we did?"

"If all of you objected, I'd take what you say into consideration," Bruce replied, a small smile on his face, "It's just that I tend to be right a little more often than you guys."

That last bit cut some of the tension that had built up, which had been exactly Bruce's intention. A ringing began to go off to signal that someone had rung the doorbell, causing Alfred to run over to the intercom and press the button for the front door speaker, "One moment please, I'm in a room rather from the door. I'll be with you shortly."

Everyone but Tim and Bruce made their way up the stairs, with Bruce still in his chair and his young ward wishing to speak with him. Once they were alone, Tim stopped holding back, "It's not right, leaving Naruto in the dark about this. His family means everything to him, and now there's two things that we're hiding about it."

"I don't understand how you can come to that conclusion," Bruce replied, his eyebrow raised, "If you were to tell him, he'd go off and do something stupid, likely hurting himself, and blowing his undercover mission in the process. Even if he stayed with his mission, he'd be distract and his performance would be affected. We're handling the situations ourselves, so it's best to leave Naruto level headed and able to do his job."

Tim didn't quite see it that way, "And if something happens to either Jason or Cassandra, and Naruto has to find out about it after the fact, he'll never forgive us. He'll feel guilty because he'll think there was someway he could've saved them. Plus, if this whole thing does go back to Scarecrow, maybe Naruto can do something once he's in Deathstroke's operation. We have to tell him."

"I understand where you're coming from Tim, but the rest of us think that route we're on now is the best one," Bruce argued, his tone calm as ever, "I'm glad you're thinking for yourself, but you're out voted on this one."

The young hero turned and walked away, saying as he did, "I'm only outvoted because now one is ever willing to say anything against you. I love ya Bruce, you've been like a father to me, but you're too controlling. You treat us like we're made of glass."

"That's because to me, you are," Bruce replied, dumbfounding Tim, "Watching my parents murder tore out a part of me that I've never truly been able to get back. Losing Jason and having Barbara end up nearly paralyzed almost brought me back to a dark place that I haven't been to in years. If hadn't been for my Alfred, Naruto, and Mei, I don't know what I would've done. Finding out the Jason is not only alive, but might be some sort of murderous criminal, is something I'm still not sure I even comprehend. It might be selfish, but I honestly don't know if I have it in me to lose anyone else."

Tim didn't have any response to that. He'd never met his mother, and he never actually saw his father's murder, and that likely weren't as close as Bruce was to his parents. The man had lost more in his lifetime than most people could stand to bare, and no amount of money or crime fighting could change that. His fight for justice was what kept him sane, but it was also like being in a never ending war and praying that your comrades got out alive. No matter how much Tim didn't agree with what he was doing, he could understand Bruce's motives, "You're right. I don't know if I'll ever get what you've went through. Thing is, I can't let that stop me every time you do something I don't agree with. Like you said, I need to think for myself."

There was nothing wrong with that in Bruce's eyes, as long as he stayed within reason, "Just make certain that when you're standing up for what you believe in, you don't fall back to hard on your ass. If that does happen, I'll always do my best to catch you before you hit the ground."

"I know Bruce," Tim said, making his way up the stairs, "I'm just starting to wonder if that's really a good thing."

* * *

Laying on the couch in the team base, Naruto couldn't help but laugh as he listened to Kankuro talk on the phone with his sister. The teen had been arguing hard with Temari nearly all night, and it seemed she was starting to wear him down, "Why do I have to be the one who talks with him? I know I'm his big brother, that's what makes it awkward. Can't someone else give him the sex talk? Well, I never figured I'd need to! It's not like I ever needed the talk, I just figured most of it in magazines and...you know what, we're getting off topic. What? Yes, of course I want him to get a girlfriend. Ugh, fine! When I get back I'll have 'The Talk' with Gaara. Yeah, I promise. Whoever he's crushing on right now, he'll know what to do with her. Can I go now? Alright, I'll call you again in a couple of days. Tell Gaara his bro says hey. Yup, bye."

"Did you enjoy your talk with your sister?" Naruto asked, followed by Kankuro giving him the stink eye, "Come on! I had to say it!"

Kankuro flipped him off, "Whatever. I really don't know how you can date her. She can't ever let anything go. Temari still won't stop bringing up the time I punched a hole in some old fan she never uses anymore. Plus, I can't ever hit on a girl around her, because she has to go out of her to embarrass me when I do. That's only a couple of the things she does that drives me nuts."

Naruto seemed less critical of Temari, "I've never seen that side of her. We've had a couple of little disagreements, but no big arguments yet. I get what you mean though. All sisters annoy their brothers. Barbara drives me nuts half the time I'm home."

"What the hell could she ever do that you couldn't get over?" Kankuro asked, "I mean, I always have a lot of fun being around her."

It didn't take Naruto long to start listing off various things, "She talks too much, she's always teasing me, her taste is music is awful, she takes way too long to get ready in the morning when she stays with us-"

That was where the puppeteer cut him off, "Who cares how long she takes when she comes out looking that good?"

"Well when you put it like-wait, what?" Naruto asked mid-sentence, Kankuro having realized by that point what he'd said, "Do you have a thing for Barbara?"

Kankuro had to admit it after he'd said that, "I don't know, kinda. She's just so beautiful...and smart...and funny...and,"

Now it was Naruto's turn to cut him off, "Dude, you have a thing for her hardcore. It's not something you have to hide from me, I'm just surprised is all. She's a little bit older than you."

"Only about by about five years," Kankuro defended, "That's really not that bad when you think about it. You know, assuming she'd even be willing to take a second glance at me. Honestly, she's kind of intimidating. Barbara's probably got way more experience than I do."

Naruto shook his head, "She's only ever been with one guy. Other than Dick, Barb's never slept with anybody that I know of."

"You're kidding," Kankuro said, to which Naruto shook his head again, "Doesn't she have like, needs and stuff? From what I've heard, once you've done it, it's kinda hard to stop."

This wasn't an area Naruto had much experience in, but he did know plenty about Barbara, "She doesn't really have much time for dates. I think I've seen her go on like three dates in the past two years, and she hated every one of them. As for the needs, let's just say that walls of Wayne Manor are thin, and I've passed by her room more than once when she was staying with us. A couple of times, when I knew she was alone, I could hear her in there, and-"

Kankuro had heard enough by that point, "I get the idea. Hot as that sounds, I don't need to hear it from you. I know this might seem like a weird question, but, do you think I'd have a shot with her?"

"Never really thought about it," Naruto said, though quickly amended, "Now that I think about it, you are kinda her type. I mean, the only guys she's ever really dated was Dick, and you've got some similar qualities. You crack decent jokes, you're pretty tough, and you're loyal as hell to your friends."

The more Naruto spoke, the more excite Kankuro seemed to get, "Wait, really? Son of a bitch, that's awesome. Maybe I'll ask her out. Not like she can do anything worse than saying 'no.'"

"Barbara and you would be a good match, I gotta admit. I'm warning you though Kankuro, you do anything, and I mean anything to hurt her, and I'll do things to you that are so painful you can't even imagine," Naruto said, noting Kankuro had a skeptical look on his face, "I'm serious, I'll beat the crap out of you. What, you think I can't do it?"

"No, there's a good chance that you could," Kankuro agreed, "It's just that you're repeating the exact same speech I gave to you about Temari."

Naruto smacked his forehead, "Oh, that's where I remember hearing it from!"

Jumping up from the couch, Kankuro seemed in too good of mood to really care, "Come on, let's get you set up for next meeting with Deathstroke. We'll talk more about kicking each other's asses later."

* * *

"Let's see, how do I start this?" Kakashi asked himself, sitting with Zabuza at a bar in street clothes, a mug of beer in front of both of them, "So Selina and I were in the bed together the other night, I don't know if you know we've been sleeping together,"

Zabuza took a gulp of beer of and rolled his eyes, "Your room's right next to mine, believe me, I know."

"Oh damn, and she's a screamer too. Sorry about that," Kakashi apologized with a sip of his own bear, "Well, anyways, when we got done we we're talking a bit, Haku walked in on us. He didn't seem to understand why Selina was didn't want him in there at that moment."

It didn't seem to surprise Zabuza, in fact it made him laugh, "Yeah, that's Haku for ya. He's a good kid, he just doesn't get what's okay and what isn't sometimes. I'll have a talk with him and get him apologize to her if that's what you want."

Kakashi began backtracking, "No, neither of us were upset. It's just that...well I noticed something. Haku seemed far more 'interested' in me than he did in Selina, and she was fucking topless. I don't know how to put this gently, but I think Haku might be playing for the other team, as it were."

"And?" Zabuza asked, shocking Kakashi, "Did you think I didn't know that? I'm practically his dad, I know what sex he prefers. Hell, I think I knew before he even did. It was kinda weird at first, but like I said, he's basically my kid. I got over it eventually, and he now knows who he is. Not like anything actually changed, right?"

This was far from what Kakashi had been expecting, "I guess not. That was easy...so um, how do you like the beer?"

"It's alright," Zabuza bringing the mug back up to his lips, "I mean, it needs more of a kick to it, but I've had worse. Hey, you remember that girl I was telling you about, Banshee? She called me."

Kakashi nearly spit out his beer, "Wait, what? I thought you said you annoyed the hell out her?"

That was precisely what Zabuza had told him, "As far as I knew, I did. We had a nice moment at the end there, but most of the night, I thought she was thinking of ways to rip my head off."

"Huh, I guess you must have really impressed her. So she wanted to use you for another job?" Kakashi wondered, though Zabuza didn't looked convinced, "It was a job she wanted you for, right?"

Zabuza shrugged and kept drinking, "Her call was pretty vague. Could've been about a job, or just about anything else really. For all I know, she might want a booty call."

"Huh, well that would be what you wanted, wouldn't it?" Kakashi asked, "I mean, you said yourself, you'd fuck her if she offered."

Again, it was true he'd said that, but it wasn't the full story, "Yeah, I'd fuck pretty much any good looking girl who gave me the chance. What guy wouldn't? There's more to this girl though. Banshee's different, I think. Fuck, I don't know."

Kakashi gave him a small smack on the back, "Zabuza, you're my friend, so I'm gonna flat out tell you that you're making this way too complicated for yourself."

"Easy for you to say, you get fuck the woman you love," Zabuza grumbled back, then looked at his beer when he realized what he'd said, "Maybe this shit is stronger than I thought."

Now there were a couple of things Kakashi had to address, "First off, I've said I care about Selina a lot, but I never said I love her. Second, are trying to say you love Banshee?"

Zabuza groaned, "No, that's not what I'm saying. I've got a lot of pent up horniness and I like her personality, that's what I'm saying. Banshee looks a little crazy, yeah, but I wanna ask her out. I can't though, since I'm undercover and everything would just end up going to shit."

"Ah, I getcha," Kakashi said, finishing his beer, "Well, my advice would be to meet up with her and see what she wants before you get too worked up. If she does want you in 'that way', then you cross that bridge when you come to it. Maybe you'll get lucky and you can look her up after the mission is done."

"Worth a shot, I guess," Zabuza said with another shrug, finish his beer as well and slapping some money down on the counter, "I'll pick up the tab on this one. For the record, this would be the first time me still dating a woman after I've slept with her would be considered 'lucky.'"

* * *

There were a couple of things that Naruto hated about having to wear his Ronin costume. It was heavy, hard to move in, and itchy as could be. The main one though was how hellishly hot it was inside the primarily metal suit. That's why it was a good thing for Naruto that Deathstroke had decided to show him around his personal lair in regular clothes and not in their battle outfits, because he was already sweating up a storm, "Wow, it's roasting in here. You crank up the thermostat or something?"

The room they were in was his tech room, so Deathstroke motioned the half a dozen computers around them, "Believe it or not, I spend a lot of money to keep this room cool. It's difficult to do with this much technology in such a small space."

"No offense, but why is this place so tiny?" Naruto asked, having expect something for more extravagant, "You're one of the highest paid hitmen in the world. Couldn't you afford a nicer set of digs than a busted up set of apartment buildings?"

Slade, who was an older grey haired man with a ponytail when out of his armor, replied, "I could, but it's a matter of staying inconspicuous. Not to mention I could have to move quickly, and I wouldn't want to leave an expensive home behind just to have to buy a new one. So Russell, you've seen our little gun range, our tech room, and our gym, along with our sleeping accommodations. What do you think of this place?"

Knowing it would fall in line with the rest of Russell's personality, Naruto replied, "It's alright. I've heard there are way bigger bases with way more cool stuff out there. You do have some pretty sick people around though, especially that Black Spider guy. No idea what he uses to make that web stuff, but it's badass. I guess I could stay here, you know, if I had to."

"You would only be staying her on nights before missions, otherwise you're on your own," Slade corrected him, adding afterwards, "It is good to know you'll stay here should I ever need you too. I've been maddeningly busy lately, so I wouldn't be able to train you as much as I'd like to. You did well on your first mission, even if the Batman made all your hard work meaningless. There's no planning for the Dark Knight I suppose."

"No, there really isn't," Said Naruto, who wanted desperately to make some sort of in joke about that, but thought better of it. There was a chance he could tip off the assassin, no matter how vague he was. Instead, he looked out the window at the old Ace Chemicals building, wondering out loud, "Who's bright idea was it to build chemical plant in the middle of major city? I know it's shut down now, but when it was still running, that place must've been a death trap."

Deathstroke had looked into that at one point a couple of years ago, "According to some research I dug up awhile back, it was on the edge of the city when it was first built. However, Gotham began to expand, and before long Ace Chemicals was surrounded by various other buildings. The issues with public safety is what got it shut down in the first place. You'll be going there in less than a week for a mission with my crew. We'll have to go over some ground rules, as our new employer is easy to offend, but I'm sure you'll manage."

It had never been officially confirmed, but virtually everyone who investigated crime knew that was where Scarecrow was held up. Going in there would've been suicidal with all the security and insane villains lurking around. Since Naruto was now going to be able to go in there with Deathstroke to basically get a guided a tour, that was no longer an issue, "Whoever it is, I'm sure I can get along with them. Not to be an asshole, but can I go now? I've got a date lined up, and she is HOT!"

"Ah, to be young and hormonal," Deathstroke said, a nostalgic glint in his eye, "Do whatever you please on your time, as long as you listen to me when you're on mine. Go on then, get to your date. I'm sure you're not the only couple going out on the town tonight."

* * *

Rose was determined to prove to her father she was ready for the next step in her training. She needed to show him that she could be his successor. That was problem, considering that it seemed the man couldn't have cared less about her, even if he actually gave her some training unlike her half-brother. So then what was it, what did she have to do to prove herself? After much thought, the girl came to one conclusion; she had to complete her first major hit, to prove she could take the life of a big timer. But who? It has to be someone skilled, but beatable. To that end, Rose had combed through her father's database and found three likely targets, their pictures pinned to her wall.

"Let's see, first is Black Spider," Rose said, voicing her thoughts aloud as she adjusted her Kevlar vest before slipping on the rest of her uniform, "League of Assassin member, highly lethal. His death would definitely get me noticed, but he fights so different from father that it might not be enough."

"Next is Ronin," Rose continued her monologue as she checked a pair of 9mm before holstering them and grabbing her twin swords, "He's flashy, and predominantly uses blades so I might have an advantage if I can sneak up on him with some lead. I'll get attention, but since he's father's favorite at the moment, it might not be the right kind."

"And that just leaves Red Hood," Rose said as she pulled her hood over her head, "He fights like use, minus the blades, and father has commented on his skills before. Since the clown woman wouldn't let father train him he won't miss him if he's gone."

Rose smiled as the perfect plan came together. After quickly tossing a throwing knife into the red hooded teen's picture, her smile only grew, "Looks like I have my man. Now I just need to grab a few more things from the armory. I'm sure father won't miss the .50 cal rifle too much. Couldn't hurt to take out anyone around him so that we can go one on one. When I kill him, I want it to be up close. That's the only way it'll mean anything to father. It's nothing personal, Red Hood, but I have to do what I have to do. Let's see him ignore me after you're dead."

* * *

Rose's target was close to her, and target was a term that could've been taken quite literally, as she currently had him directly in the sights of her sniper rifle. While she was sure her father would be furious with her for killing a supposed ally, it wouldn't be a hard matter to cover up, and she was certain he'd be impressed.

"Come on you son of a bitch, stay still for me," Rose growled, watching the Red Hood as he oversaw a weapons deal going down for the Scarecrow. Two men were around him, both pacing, making it hard to get a clean shot from the nearby rooftop, "All I need is one second of you staying still, and then I'll blow you to oblivion. Once he's alone, the Red Hood isn't gonna know what hit him."

Finally, the two pacing men stopped. Rose did not hesitate for even a moment. She fired off one shot, sending a bullet right through the first man's chest. The second shot came too soon for the other man to move an inch. Both men were dead on the ground, Rose pulling her head from the scope once she was sure of it, "Two shots, two clean kills. Perfect, as always."

Down on the ground, the Red Hood dove under the weapons truck to get some cover. This wasn't the first time he'd been under fire, so he knew how to keep his head in a situation like this. He didn't plan to move an inch until he knew what was going on. The first thing he had to do was assess the situation, "Lovely, a sniper, and a pretty good one too. Doesn't seem like more than one person, since the shot sounded like it was coming from one area. They didn't use automatic weapons, so either knew how good my body armor is, or wanted to take me on close range. Either way, if they want me, they'll have to come get me."

"Now the real fun begins," Came a female voice after the Red Hood heard the sound of landing footsteps, "I can't wait to see what you can really do."

Red Hood could hear something that sounded like the disassembling of a rifle. However this girl was, she'd brought her weapon of choice down with her, and fully planned on using it, "I can understand her bringing it down with her, but taking it apart? What's this girl playing at?"

"Under the van? Don't tell me you think that's a good hiding spot," The voice called as something rolled up next to the Red Hood, "Come on now, come out a play."

When he turned and looked, the teen saw that she'd thrown a grenade under there with him. He grabbed it threw it as far away from himself as he could manage, rolling out from under the van after it had gone off. Now that he was out, the Red Hood could see his opponent's long, grey hair tied in a ponytail, as well as her black and orange combat armor. No need to wonder who this could be, "Deathstroke's daughter, Rose Wilson. That explains the small amount of skill you've shown off. You anywhere near as good as your pops?"

Rose brought up the .50 caliber rifle she'd been wielding, which was now an assault weapon, to her shoulder, "I prefer to be called Ravager, and you'd best start worrying about me right now and now my father!"

"Don't fear 'Ravager', my focus is locked right on you," Red hood assured her. She pulled the trigger on her weapon as he dove to the left, narrowly avoiding the gunshots and managing to reach his foe. Once next to her, he grabbed the rifle from her hand and punched her in the stomach, breaking her focus just enough for him to rip it from her her hands. Rose could hear him critique the weapon shortly afterwards, "A high caliber weapon that can be shifted from a sniper rifle to an automatic weapon. Hard to get ahold of something as nice as this."

"Glad you approve," Rose spat, grabbing a syringe from her belt and jabbing it into her neck, "You won't be holding it for long though."

She took out a set of blades and started sprinting at the Red Hood, noticeably faster than before. He tossed the rifle rifle to side in order to the dodge the deadly blades, keeping on with his taunting, "What'd you just inject yourself with? Eh, doesn't matter. Nothing's gonna be enough to make you match for me."

Rose kept up her pace, taking some joy in the fact that her strikes were getting harder for him to dodge, "The same serum that runs through my father's vines runs through mine. When I inject myself with a form of adrenaline, its effects are increased. You'll soon find out how dangerous this stuff can make me."

"You use adrenaline as a booster? That sound a little risky," Red Hood remarked, which was less of a taunt and more of a warning, "If you're gonna die, I'd rather get to kill you myself."

The assassin's blades came down close to Red Hood's chest, but he was able to grab them in time and jerk them free from her hands. He threw them off to the side, making Rose all the more frustrated, "You're testing my patients! If don't want to go down easily, then fine, I'll do this the difficult way!"

"The difficult way? Well doesn't that sound scary," Fired back her opennet, who stopped the second she pulled out a second syringe and jabbed it into her neck, "Hold on, another one? Aren't you gonna pop your heart if you keep that up?"

Rose didn't seem to care, pulling out two pistols in retaliation, "It's not the first time I've done it. Start trying to save your own ass! I want this fight to prove something!"

Red Hood couldn't resist, "Is it that you aren't that bright, because you may have already accomplished that?"

"Shut the fuck up and die already," Rose screamed, firing her pistols in rapid succession.

This time the Red Hood was unable to get out of the line of fire completely unharmed. Two bullets hit him in the chest, both of the which were promptly stopped by his body armor, and one grazed his arm. He did manage to get away though, and in her rage, Rose had wasted all of her bullets, or at least the ones she had loaded. She threw down her guns and grabbed a third syringe, her opennet screaming at her when he saw it, "Woah, are you fucking crazy? Two was pushing it, three is gonna kill your ass!"

"I know what my body can take," Rose screeched back, her anger having consumed her by this point, "I can't go back until you're dead! Father needs to see that I'm worthy!"

Rose got the needle in her neck, but never got the chance to inject all of the adrenalin into her body. The Red Hood lunged at her and pulled it out of her neck before she injected even half of the contents. She was about to snap at him, but between the adrenalin that was already in her system and the stress her body was under right now, Rose couldn't do it. The teen fell into the Red Hood's arms, hyperventilating as she did. It was clear she needed medical attention if she was going to live. Saving a damsel in distress was something the Red Hood hadn't done in a long time, but Rose needed his help. Maybe it was the fact that Scarecrow's treatments had been more laid back lately, or maybe there was something he liked about this girl, but either way, he was going to help her, "Mother is going to kill me for this...well it is taking a girl home, which she's always wanted me to do, so maybe not."

* * *

Wayne Manor had never been a quiet place at night. Between vigilantes coming in and out all the time, and the sheer amount of night people they had living there, that was no surprise. Yet, the fact that Tim Drake was making his way to the front door and 3:15 in the morning was still highly unusual. Stranger still was the fact that he had a bag slung over his shoulder with nearly anything he consider essential in it. Tim had a look of certainty on his face as he got within the final few steps of his destination, and the look only grew firmer as he reached for the door handle. A voice not far behind him made him stop before he could grab it, "Master Tim?"

Tim jumped so high that he almost hit the ceiling. When he spun around, her found Alfred standing before him in his pajamas, "Alfred? What are you doing up? Aren't you usually in bed or in the Batcave right about now?"

"I was making my final check of the cameras earlier, and I noticed you packing a large bag," Alfred told him, Tim shrinking as he did, "Planning a trip, Master Tim?"

He had no clue how explain all this to the older man, but he had to try, "Kind of, yeah. I was talking to Bruce today, and I realized something...I don't know who I really am. That sounds crazy, right? I'm Robin, what else do you need? Thing is, I'm not sure that's enough anymore. Naruto got to find out who he was back when he was in the Hidden Leaf, and he knows so much about his past too. He doesn't have to wonder about himself, and neither does Dick or Barbara. Both of them had family before they started working here, and Dick even went out on his own. Stephanie's a little crazy, but she's understands herself at least. My dad was hardly there for me, and I never met my Mom. All I knew how to do was survive until I met Bruce. Now, I've got this huge safety net under me, so I know I'll always be safe...but that's the problem. It doesn't feel like any decision I make means anything. All I'm doing is training or hanging out with Stephanie to distract myself from having to deal with what the Penguin did to my dad and from figuring out who I really am. I'm only making myself sound crazier, aren't I?"

"Not at all," Alfred responded, making Tim's jaw drop, "I understand completely. It's the same issue that Master Bruce had after he lost his parents. Find ourselves is a part of life, and a tough one at that. You've got too many voices pulling you in too many different directions. You need to find a place where you discover who Tim Drake is. All I wish to tell you is the same thing I told Master Bruce when he first left on his own journey, 'No matter who you find out you are when you're out there, know that you'll always have a home at Wayne Manor.' Go on then, I'm certain everyone will understand."

The two stood in silence for a moment, Alfred allowing himself a small smile, and Tim fighting back tears. He wanted to give the butler a hug, but he knew he'd start crying if he did. He turned and opened the door to Wayne Manor, running out as fast as he could. Alfred gave him one last glance and closed the door, saying as he did, "Godspeed, Master Drake...Godspeed."


	47. When the Fuse Runs Out Pt 1

Hello there my readers, are all of you ready to get a little insane? I know the build up has been slow for this arc, but the epic battle that this chapter will start should be worth it if it's anywhere near as good as I think it's going to be. Needless to say, there's going to be a lot happening here. The best example I can think of for this situation is like in the first world war, where it was one moment that blew up the ticking time bomb that was Europe. Everything that's been building up is going to explode at once. Hard to tell if you guys understand since I can't actually see you, but hopefully that makes sense. Thanks for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Phil Collins: In the Air Tonight

* * *

"You told me you could gain complete control over her mind," Scarecrow reminded the Riddler as the two walked through the Ace Chemicals mixing chamber, men working like mad all around them, "By now you must know how much failure disappoints me, Nygma."

The Riddler was well aware of that fact, but there was nothing more he could do, "Sir, I've used all of the Mad Hatter's equipment on Batgirl in everyway that I know how to, but nothing's working. No matter how deep I go, I can't manage to maintain any sort of control over her. She's a fragile state as it is right now, so if do try again, I honestly don't know what could happen. I'm sorry Scarecrow, but breaking her mind is the best we're going to do."

"Dammit," Crane cursed, "This is not the time for another setback! Not when I'm so close to my ultimate victory! If we can't have her strike down the Red Fox herself, then we'll use her tortured state to make certain things go according to plan. Head to Arkham and find me the scum of the earth, and I mean the worst sorts of people. I want at least ten sadistic bastards in here by tomorrow morning. Do you understand me?"

That request was a grim one, even for Scarecrow. Riddler agreed nonetheless, grateful for a task that took him away from the madman. Once he was gone, the villain made his way to the intercom and addressed the entire factory, "Attention men! The progress we've been making has been solid, but we need to do better if we plan on making our two day deadline. I'm aware of how difficult that task must sound, but I have the utmost confidence that you will achieve it. After all, you know who you'll answer to if you don't. Give it everything you've got, so that I may at last show the world what it truly means to be afraid!"

The entire factory cheered, followed by every man pushing themselves as hard as they physically could. Scarecrow felt a surge of pride run through him before he turned to find his partner Ra's Al Ghul had snuck up on him, "Hello Dr. Crane. Sorry to barge in uninvited...but you have some explaining to do."

"I do?" Scarecrow asked in mock confusion, "Well what on earth for?"

"Sarcasm, Crane? I would've thought you were above that," Ra's chastised him, "Not that it matters. You made some promises to me two months ago, promises that I intend to make you honor. Not only that, but for toying with me like you have, I expect you to track down the person who murdered Ubu and hand deliver him to me so that I may deal with him myself. Now then, Orochimaru's deal is one I know you can't keep, but what these plant creatures you've made from my blood? Did you ever intend on actually sharing your breakthroughs with me?"

Scarecrow made no attempt to deny what the Head of Demon was implying, "Not unless I had no other choice. While your blood did help my sweet Ivy finish her projects, I'm afraid that they're going to be of no benefit to you, or Orochimaru for that matter. Ivy has exceeded my greatest expectation with her work. Over two dozen humanoid plant creatures are being trained in combat as we speak. Thanks to that snake helping us to safely integrate Titan into their system, they're stronger than most humans, and have a slight healing factor thanks to your blood. Oh Ra's, if only you could live to see it."

Toying with the leader of the League of Assassins was never a good idea. Ra's removed his blade from his belt and placed it inches from Scarecrow's chest, "If you plan on trying to kill me, Crane, you'll suffer the same fate that men have been for hundreds of years. There's no defeating an immortal."

"Right you are," Scarecrow chuckled, grabbing the sword and shoving it into his own chest. Blood erupted from his body, though not in the color that one would expect. The red of it was so dark in shade, in looked nearly black. With Ra's watching, Scarecrow pulled blade back out his chest, leaving a hole behind that would death of nearly any man. Yet, in no time at all, Scarecrow's wound began to heal itself. It was like everything the steel had torn through was growing back out of thin air, "What's the matter Ra's? Upset that you're no longer the only immortal left in Gotham?"

Ra's was not an easy man to surprise, but this had him in shock, "How is that possible? What are you?"

"I'm far beyond human, we'll leave it at that," Crane said, watching Ra's back away, likely planning to escape and regroup, "We can't have you leave just yet...GET OVER HERE!"

Some sort of long branch shot out Scarecrow's arm and wrapped around Ra's neck. He pulled the master assassin to him and jerked him over the ledge of the metal bridge they were standing on. Ra's looked down to see he was hanging over an open vat of a bubbling chemical, "Is that how you plan to kill me? Burn my body with some sort of acid? It'll never work."

Scarecrow's eyes were glowing a greenish-yellow color, and his arm looked as though it had dark tree bark covering it at this point, "If you believe that, then you must overestimate the extent of the Lazarus Pit's power. It can't work if there's nothing left on your body for it to revive. Once I drop you, that chemical will consume your flesh like a ravenous beast. Then I'll be rid of you once and for all."

"I'm aware of that Scarecrow, it simply won't matter, assuming you've got an intelligent bone in your body. You see, there's something you've failed to take into account," Ra's warned him, grabbing the villain's arms with both hands. There was so much force behind the move that it pierced Crane's skin, "If I go down into vat, I'm taking you with me!"

As strong as Ra's Al Ghul was, he probably could pull Scarecrow with him into the deadly pool of acid. Shaking him off would only result in failure, so the sinister psychiatrist was going to have to try something a little more extreme, "In that case, allow me to give you a hand."

After delivering a line that would've made the Joker proud, Scarecrow grabbed his sickle from his coat and lifted it above his arm. Ra's went wide eyed when he realized what he intended to do, "You're absolutely insane!"

"I prefer the term visionary," Scarecrow replied, swinging the blade down and cutting off most of his own arm, "Goodbye, Ra's!"

Ra's Al Ghul screamed as the arm came off and he down towards the vat. It was high enough up that he didn't have time to find someway to save himself. He hit the liquid with a splash, a sizzling sound coming as it burned his skin. To make sure he didn't have a way out, Scarecrow reacher over and flipped the switch to close the lid on vat. The last he saw of Ra's was his ancient hand before the metal doors closed shut. After hundreds upon hundred of years, the head of the demon had at last been severed.

* * *

"Jason, are you freaking kidding me?" Harley asked, pointing to the young woman his surrogate son had laid out on their bed, "We talked about this! When I said bring girls home, I meant when they're conscious and then introduce them to me the morning after! You weren't supposed to bring em' to me like a cat with a dead mouse!"

Jason figured this would be her reaction, "I'm sorry mother, it just kind of happened. She was trying to kill me and ended up passing out. I didn't wanna leave her there to die, so I brought her back here and patched her up."

"That makes no fucking sense," Harley told him, "What, did she accidently flash you during the fight and now you've got a hard on for her? Or are you hoping if you save her life she'll put out? That usually only works if the person wasn't trying to kill you to begin with!"

"It isn't like that," Jason defended himself, "I just couldn't leave her there! She was trying to get her father to take her seriously, and I...well I know what that's like, okay?"

Harley had a hard time fighting that last comment. No matter how much work she had done with him, there were bits of his past that she could never really get over, "Alright sweetie, I understand...are you sure that you don't have a thing for her though? If you don't, it's a little weird that you stripped her down to her bra."

There was no hiding the blush on Jason's face, "I had to get to her heart for an injection! Her pants are still on, aren't they?"

"The only thing that tells me for certain is that you're more of a tit man than an ass man," Harley teased him, Jason's blush increasing, "I'm only playing with you, baby. Now, the first thing we need to do is call Deathstroke and ask him why his kid was trying to kill you. Usually I'd just knock on his door with a bazooka, but he's working for Crane, and I don't wanna piss him off."

Jason figured that was a sound train of logic. He turned and began to pace the room, "That's a good plan. So, we call Deathstroke, and try to keep Rose calm when she wakes up. Hopefully she won't go right back to killing me again and we can-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

When the boy turned back to the bed, he found that Harley had removed the girl's pants, leaving her panties on display "What, I'm gonna wash em'. Can't have our guest in dirty clothes. Have fun explaining to her why she's half naked! Oh, you should tell her tell she has pneumonia and that she needs body heat to survive! That oughta get you close to her, ah?"

"That isn't funny," Jason called to her as she left the room. He walked over and put a hand on her forehead, "Damn, she does feel really cold. Maybe I should try to warm her up a bit…"

Jason removed his shirt, then his pants, and took a deep breath before crawling into the bed. Her skin was freezing against his, and he could feel the goosebumps on her cold skin. After a few moment, her yes fluttered open and started to try and figure out where she was, "Ah, my chest hurts...why am I in my underwear...whose bed is this?"

"Mine," Jason replied from his position behind the girl, "I needed your shirt off to give you a shot of norepinephrine straight into your heart, and your pants were wet with cold sweat."

Hearing someone behind her, Rose turned around and for the first time saw the face under the Red Hood and, although she wouldn't admit it out loud, something in her chest fluttered. "Okay...and you're here because?"

Jason shrugged his shoulders before saying, "You were going hypothermic and needed to stay warm, no better way than to share body heat. I'm um, the Red Hood. You know, the guy you were trying to kill."

Rose nodded, accepting the answer before asking, "So I overdid it with the adrenaline then? That's the only reason you'd give me norepinephrine. Thank you, I guess. Why'd you bother to save the life someone who was trying to end your's?"

"You and I are kindred spirits, let's just leave it at that," Jason told her, feeling her skin once again, "Man, you're freezing. Maybe if I go and get you a few more blankets, if it'll help."

His bunkmate had another idea, "If you need to warm me up, this is the best way."

_(Slight Lime/lemon)_

Rose reached down into his boxers and grabbed his member, making him jump. Quickly grabbing the limb, Jason pulled the hand away from his shaft and snapped, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Exactly what you just said," Rose was quick to respond before saying, "I've still got a bit too much adrenaline from the battle, and I'm near hypothermic. If you want me to get better, sex is the easiest way to do it. It'll work better than my fingers, and I can't get a toy around here. Besides, you saved my life even after you defeated me in battle. That shows honor. Don't worry, it's only a physical act. I don't expect anything out of you, it's only the best course of action. We can have some foreplay if that would make you more comfortable?"

It was at this point Jason noticed Rose's black thong clad behind, and the young woman could tell he was looking. She took his hand and placed it on her ass, certain he'd know what to do. He gave it a small squeeze, shuddering at the feeling. While he fondled her rear, she reached back to her bra strap and removed it, tossing it to the side of the room. Rose brought her tongue to his neck and gave it a long lick, continuing until she reached his lips. She worked it into his mouth, crawling on top of him while he was distracted. Once she was on his lap, she pulled away, letting her breast hang in front of his face as she told him, "For the record, I never do this sort of thing. However, it's what's best for my health at the moment, and since you're the one who's made me like this, you're going to take responsibility. You're only the second men I've ever slept with you know?"

"Um...okay," Jason said, hypnotized by the C-cup mounds of the flesh that hung in front of him, "Wow, you're fucking perfect."

"Thanks, you're not bad to look at yourself," Rose laughed, using one hand to pull down her panties while she used the other to free his hardened shaft, "Is there anything I should know before we begin this?"

Jason only had one thing to say, "Yeah, you can call me Jason. If we're gonna do this, I want you to know what name to scream out out."

"Fair enough," Rose agreed, kissing him one more time, "Oh, Jason, you're already so excited. Something tells him this won't take long…"

_(Lemon/lime end)_

* * *

Naruto was starting to wonder if it was purely coincidence that people got embarrassing phone calls when he was around. As he donned his Ronin costume, he could heard Slade screaming into a phone on the other room, "Listen to me Harley, I have no control over what my daughter chooses to do in her free time! Don't blame me for her decisions! No, I did not tell her to go after the Red Hood! Of course he beat Rose, the Red Hood is miles ahead of her! Don't talk to me like I don't love my daughter, I love her more than anything! She has to learn the hard way if anything's going to stick though. Once she's reached a level I'm comfortable with, then I'll move up on her training. Judge me if you'd like, but that's my final word on the matter. Next time I see her, I'll have talk with her. Goodbye, you crazy bitch! Knowing my daughter, she's already got that brat of yours wrapped around her finger!"

Once that 'conversation' was done and over with, Slade walked back from his bedroom into the armory, half dressed in his combat suit. Naruto couldn't help himself, "What was that about?"

"Teenage rebellion," Slade replied, putting on his mask, "Ronin, never have children if you can avoid it. They're far more trouble than someone in our position has time to deal with. Are you ready to meet the Scarecrow?"

Naruto wished desperately that he could simply walk into Ace Chemicals and give his old nemesis a swift hit to the jaw, but coming all this way only to blow his cover was far from advisable, "I'll play nice with him, but I can't promise much else. From what I've heard, he's kind of, you know...out of his fucking mind."

"There's no kind of about it, and he's only gotten worse," Deathstroke confirmed, "If he gets much crazier, I might even refuse his money. For now though, he's a client, and my men need to meet with my clients. Let's grab Black Spider and get a move on. Hopefully our friend isn't too busy today."

* * *

Rose could hardly believe what she was hearing, "You're kidding me? You've never had sex before?"

It didn't seem like that big of deal to Jason, "Yeah, I'm not walking around fucking anything that walks in my direction. Did I do better than you'd expect a virgin to or something?"

"It was more fun that the last time I took someone's virginity, I'll give you that. I've only ever slept with one another virgin though, so I've got nothing to compare you to," Rose said, jumping off the bed and starting to dress herself, "As I said before, you're my second lover. I've got a bit more experience than you, since I was with my previous partner for some time. You could easily surpass him though. I'd be alright if you were to find some other lovers and practice a bit, if it would help you get better for next time we meet up."

Jason could get on board with that, "Next time? So we're gonna make this a regular thing?"

"I need someone who can give me some release now and again, but I've been having trouble finding a partner," Rose told him, watching him getting redressed as well, "I went with you on a whim, and you exceeded my expectations. What else can I say?"

"I love it when you talk dirty," Jason joked, glancing up in time to see Harley entering the room, "Mother! I can explain!"

Based on the joyous look that graced Harley's face, there was no need to explain, "Yes! It finally happened! My little baby is a studmuffin'! Oh, don't get dressed yet! I wanna get a picture of you guys in the afterglow!"

Now Jason was embarrassed for a different reason, "You can't be serious."

"Hold on, we need to take a massive step back," Rose called out, recognizing Harley in an instant, "Your mother is Harley Quinn? Please don't tell me I just slept with the Joker's son!"

Jason put his head in his hands as Harley fetched her camera from the dresser, "I'm adopted for shit's sake. I'm way too old to be her kid, and I sure as shit aren't the son of a psychopath who nearly killed me and used to beat her. Would you mind taking the picture? She'll be heartbroken if we don't."

In strange kind of way, Rose found herself a bit moved by how close the two of them were. She put an arm around Jason, both of them still in their underwear, and even smiled as Harley snapped her picture, "You guys look so cute! Anyways, Rose, I called your father, and I can see why you went after my boy. It would take a lot to the get the attention of that asshole. So, I'm gonna count you popping Jason's cherry as an apology, and say all is forgiven!"

"Wait, really?" Rose asked, to which Harley nodded enthusiastically, "Thank you. By the way, I didn't mean to imply you're old or anything thinking that Jason is your son, I just remembered that you'd disappeared from Gotham for about a 10 months and thought maybe that was why. Although, that was only a year ago…"

Harley was dismissive of the subject, "Eh, don't' worry about it. Jason, I need you to run over to see Scarecrow. He called me after I got off the phone with Deathstroke, and he's gone of the deep end, and I mean WAY OFF! He's taking a long dive in a low well, if you know what I mean. We need to get out of here and keep our heads down before the shit hit's the fan, got it?"

Considering that he'd never been a fan of Scarecrow, Jason was perfectly happy to do that, "You've got it. Hopefully it won't take long. Just being around that bastard makes me uncomfortable."

* * *

"Tsunade, this really isn't the time to be giving Bruce more bad news," Mei told her as she walked with her and Shizune through Wayne Manor, "He gets why Tim had to leave, but that doesn't mean he's happy about it. Do we have to tell him about it this second?"

The medic-nin was there with her assistant because she was scheduled to deliver Mei's baby in a matter of days, after inducing labor. This was a nice bit of timing, considering that Naruto's birthday was so close, but Tsunade was also bringing some less stellar news to the family, "You had to know this was coming Mei, there was no way around it. Frankly, I can't believe I held off the council as long as I did. The Hokage's vote counts for a lot, but eventually, they force you to cave. I think it's barbaric as you do, but Naruto's blood holds one of the most powerful gene pools in the Great Ninja Nations. Too many of the old war hawks on the council wanted the Clan Restoration Act instated so they could keep that pool going."

Mei was aware of why she was doing it, it simply didn't matter to her, "We're talking about forcing a nearly 17 year old kid to take on three wives. That's bad enough, but he's expected to have at least two kids with each one. Do you have any idea how disgusting that sounds?"

"I've been trying to get rid of the law since I got into office, so you can probably figure out that I agree," Tsunade told her, a hint of sarcasm in her tone, the three of them making it to the living room and sitting down together, "Hey Shizune, are you alright? You haven't said a damn word since we got here."

It was true that Shizune had been silent since she first arrived, in fact her boss speaking was the first time she'd looked up at all, "Hm? Oh, I'm sorry Lady Tsunade, I've just been finding it hard not to think about Jason since we've got here. You don't need to tell me that it's stupid, I know it is. It's just that...I wanna see him."

"Who knows, maybe someday you will," Mei tried to comfort her, "If there's anyway to talk to some sense into him, Bruce will find it. Back to the matter at hand though, I'd like to avoid telling my husband about the CRA until we don't have so much trouble going on around here. He's got enough to deal with trying to console Stephanie."

No doubt, things had to be hectic at Wayne Manor at the moment. Really though, things were hectic all over Gotham. It was like a train was headed full steam towards a firework factory. No one could say for certain what would happen once it hit, but everyone knew it was too late to stop it. All that anyone could do was brace for the oncoming explosion.

* * *

The Red Hood had seen the Scarecrow commit acts of the most heinous variety, the kind of things you could never wipe from your mind. Standing in front of the madman now though, it was clear to the young mercenary that this was an act more twisted than anything he'd ever done before, "What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you actually going to go through with this? Scarecrow, this isn't fear, this is just sick!"

"Don't try to tell me about fear Red Hood, I know more about fear than anyone," Scarecrow warned him, feeling up and down his previously severed arm, "Fascinating, it feels just like bark. Ivy is really a miracle worker, isn't she?"

Staring into the chamber in which Batgirl was kept, the Red Hood could the see the girl was stripped down to her sports bra, athletic shorts, and mask. Around her were ten cages, all shaking as if they were holding some beast that wanted to break out. In a way, they were, "I don't care about Ivy right now, you fucking freak! How could it even come across your mind to realse those animals onto that girl? And you're taping it, like some sort of snuff film!"

"If I don't tape it, I can't make sure that the Red Fox sees it," Scarecrow reasoned, turning to the Riddler, who was in the modified basement of the chemical factory with the other two men, "Nygma, back me up here, would you?"

Riddler didn't seemed inclined to agree with Crane on this one, "I...um, well, I'd never disrespect you sir, but I have to say, if I'm being honest, that I don't think this plan is the best one you've ever had. In fact, I was trying to think of a good way to bring it up. You want to attract the Red Fox so you can beat him once and for all, I get that, but this will have coming at us with the intent to kill."

Red Hood had to stop him there, "Wait, this plan is to attract the Red Fox? I thought you said the video was gonna say for him to stay away."

"It will, which is precisely what's going to attract him," Scarecrow explained, "Allow me to break this down for you. You already know that in those cages are ten devious individuals I'm going to release on the young lady. Criminals of all sorts of varieties will destroy her already shaky mind. The video camera above her will capture everything. I'll post it online, calling out the Red Fox, claiming that this is a warning for him to stay away. Of course, he'll come rushing to save her and stop me once and for all. That's when I'll launch my master plan, with the Red Fox right there with a front row seat to the liberation of Gotham!"

There was no real response the Red Hood could think of that summed up how crazy that plan sounded to him, "Wow. Well you're too far gone for me talk any sense into you, aren't ya? Alright, at least promise me this one thing; don't let them try to get handsy with her. Maybe beat her, maybe even scratch her up a little bit, but nothing sexual. Ivy would never forgive you if you did that anyway. Keep her mask on too, as long as you're at it."

"Hm, I suppose rape would anger my sweet Ivy a little more than I'd like to," Scarecrow admitted, "However, you seem to have quite the protective nature with this girl. Are you softening up without my sessions?"

"Fuck off," Red Hood fried back, flipping him the bird as he did, "I came here to tell you mother and I are done with you, and we are. Listen, just keep a reign on the situation with this. I know the Red Fox better than you do, and you don't wanna piss him off this bad...for your own sake."

* * *

Bruce Wayne didn't drink often. In fact, he only ever seemed to drink during special occasions, and even then it wasn't much. Yet now, he sat in Batcave all by his lonesome, a scotch in his hand, pondering the kind of state Gotham was in. He'd only just gotten Stephanie to stop crying over the fact that Tim had left without so much as a word to her. So now, there Bruce was, sipping on that scotch, talking to himself, going over it all in his head, "I'm lying to my son...one of my team members has been kidnapped by a psychopath...another left in the middle of the night...and it doesn't seem that I'm even one step closer to stopping the Scarecrow. It's getting harder and harder to see the good I'm doing for this city."

In the middle of his brooding, Bruce heard his communicator going off on the desk of the Batcomputer. He sighed, leaning over and grabbing it before going into his Batman voice, "Batman here."

"Hello, Dark Dimwit," Came back the voice of a familiarly arrogant villain, "Your nemesis, the Riddler, here. I hope you don't mind me hacking your into your communicator, you just made it so easy for me to do so!"

Bruce as not in the mood for this, "Riddler, if you plan on forcing me to chase after you tonight, you may want to reconsider. I've got a lot of aggression that needs to be worked out."

"I've got a way for you to handle that, but it won't be against me," Riddler replied, aware of the questions that sentence raised, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need your help. Well, you and legion of superheroes anyways. Traitor is never something I'd want on my resume, but Scarecrow's forced my hand."

"Hold on, are you telling me that you're going to help me and rest of the Justice League bring down Scarecrow? You're going to sell him out?" Bruce asked, setting down his drink.

Riddler waited a moment before responding, "I wish there was a better way to spin it, but yes, that's gist of it. It's no longer in my best interest to work with him, so I'm going to make you an offer. I'll shut down the primary defense system at the Ace Chemicals building, allowing you and all your little friends to bust in here and take the fool and his organization down. In exchange, you will let me escape, and give me a little head start in terms of vanishing. By the way, be sure to bring anyone you can possibly spare with you. You have no idea the kind of things waiting for you in this place."

"I can agree to these terms," Bruce said, already typing away on the Batcomputer to set up a communications link between him and everyone else in the League, along with Waller so she could get to his son, "What kind of criminals do I need to be ready to deal with?"

All of the sudden it was like Riddler was reading off from a list of Batman's most dangerous foes, "Bane, Poison Ivy, the Penguin, Two-Face, and an enhanced Clayface, just to name a few. You may want to watch the Red Fox as well, because he's going to go right for Scarecrow, who I can promise you, is far stronger than he's ever been."

That didn't sound right to Bruce, "I know Scarecrow and the Red Fox have a history, but I think my men are smart enough not to rush into things."

"It doesn't matter how smart he is, what matters is how he's going to react when he finds out Scarecrow's going to post a video of Batgirl being horribly tortured online," Riddler said, noting the silence that followed it, "Perhaps I should've opened with that."

"Get out there while you Nygma, because it's about to be a warzone," Bruce said, his voice so calm that it was ominous to hear it. He disconnected from the Riddler and turned on his communication link so that it got ahold of anyone who might be of some use, "Attention, anyone who can hear me, we've got an Omega level alert! Anyone, and I mean anyone, who can get to the old Ace Chemicals building in Gotham needs to do so immediately! God help us if we don't stop this one!"

* * *

Ronin had been tapping his foot for what felt like forever, irritating the hell out of Deathstroke and Black Spider, both of whom were standing next to him in the middle of Ace Chemicals building, waiting for Scarecrow to come talk to them. He was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago, and frankly, Ronin didn't give a shit as to why he was late, "Oh come on, how hard is to be on time for something like this? We're in his home, he can't pop in and say hey or something?"

"Why don't you speak a little louder? I don't think the security cameras and bugs quite picked up the amount of disrespect you just showed our client," Deathstroke snapped, "I don't like having to wait anymore than you do, but the occasion calls for it. Hush up for now. From what I understand, he's in another meeting with another associate right this second. We got here just as he was getting done with another matter as well, so our timing couldn't have been much worse."

For some reason, that didn't do much in terms of pleasing Ronin, "Maybe he shouldn't book himself with so much stuff on the same freaking night. That might help a little bit. Whatever, he says the Riddler can get the chip out of my neck so that I don't blow up, and that's the main thing. Glad he agreed to get them out of my other friend's too."

Yes, for their own safety, oddly enough, Waller did in fact plant explosives chips in the Squad member's necks. They weren't armed of course, so there was no way actually set them off, but they'd at least be there for someone to try and remove if that needed to be the case. Deathstroke had admired the way Ronin refused to have his taken out unless his team mates got theirs removed as well, "You show loyalty to your ally's Ronin, and that's one thing I can respect about you. I didn't get the chance to see, where did Riddler direct them to exactly?"

"There in the sleeping quarters for the workers, just chilling out," Ronin responded, glad to have his team nearby in case something went wrong, "Hey, is it just me, or do all these guys look like they're waiting for something?"

Once it was pointed out to him, Deathstroke could see that several men were huddled around screens that typically showed security footage for the guards. Right now however, it was being used to access the internet, "Interesting, you seem to be right. What on earth could they be doing?"

Some static appeared on the screen, followed by text appearing. It read 'A special message for Gotham and the Red Fox…' Naruto soon realized it was a video calling out his superhero alter ego. He could hear one guard asking another how long this video had been up, followed by the other one telling him that it had only been posted minutes ago. A masked face popped up on screen, which was naturally that of the Scarecrow. It wasn't long before he began to speak.

"_Greetings, people of the Gotham,"_ He rasped out, "_I have created this video to the give the city a little warning. You have exactly 4 hours from the time this video is posted to agree to surrender this city to me. I want the Mayor, the Police Commissioner, and any other form of law enforcement to leave Gotham within that time frame. If you do not comply, I will release the greatest weapon of mass destruction the word has ever seen up Gotham. Thousands of lives will be lost, and standing your ground will have gained you nothing. The Cloudburst Mark 2.0 is my latest creation, and is capable of filling the entire city and areas far behind it with fear toxin, while also creating an earthquake so large, it'll cut off Gotham from the rest of the world. If you don't believe I'm capable of this...try me!"_

Naruto started sweating in the Ronin suit. Scarecrow wasn't supposed to make his move this soon! Now he was finding out they had less than four hours to stop him! What in the hell was he supposed to do? He stopped reeling in his mind long enough to see that Scarecrow had begun speaking again, "_Don't bother trying to attack my stronghold. It's the most well guarded area in the entire city, and by the time you got the mixing chamber, I will have detonated the Cloudburst 2.0. Now, I have one last message to give. This message is for the fool who has stood in my way from the beginning, the Red Fox! If you meddle with my affairs this time, I promise you, there will be hell to pay...though you won't be the one paying it this time."_

Sidestepping so that he was still in view of the camera, Scarecrow allowed the camera to show footage of the something that made Naruto nearly vomit. It was Batgirl, Cassandra of all people, in the middle of the room, tied up and helpless. All around her were men with knives, brass knuckles, lighters, and all other sorts of devices. She was in a living hell right now, and completely unable to fight back. Scarecrow's voice barely registered in Naruto's mind.

"_Don't worry, Red Fox, she'll live. She'll just never be the same. Once I understood your greatest fear, controlling you was simple. You'll blame yourself if anything happens to those you love. This poor soul, for instance. You need to protect her, but buried deep down is the inevitability that you will one day fail. And that fear makes you mine. Stay away from Gotham, Red Fox. Stay far, far away. If you don't, this won't even compare to what I'm going to do to her. Enjoy the show, old friend."_

It was as if something inside Naruto shattered. Seeing Cassandra on that screen, helpless with him there to protect her, filled him with a kind of rage that he hadn't felt since Jason's death. This somehow managed to feel even worse. Naruto's worst enemy was calling him out, saying that this was more or less his fault. Inside his mind, he could hear Kurama calling to him, "_**Usually I leave to your own devices, but this time Kit...we need to fuck his shit up!"**_

"I couldn't agree with you more," Naruto said out loud, confusing everyone in the room. Without a hint of hesitation, he pressed a button on the side of suit, making a series a of clicks sound off. The metal plates that had once lined his armor fell off, and hidden compartments open to release an entirely different set of armor. It was his Red Fox garb, and he was only supposed to release it in emergencies. He felt this qualified, "Feels good to be back in old suit after so long. Guess I'd better alert the others that the gig is up. I'm gonna tear this place down brick by brick until I've got the Scarecrow's neck in my hands!"

Deathstroke found himself at a loss for words. A red aura had begun to form around the teen, "What? The Red Fox? That's not possible! There's no one, and I mean no one, good enough to-AGH!"

Using his greatly enhanced speed and strength, the Red Fox smashed his fist into Deathstroke's ribcage and sent him flying towards a wall before he finished speaking. He broke a hole through bricks, leaving a gaping hole that allowed him to see into the living quarters where his entire team was. Kakashi ran out, his eye wide with shock, "What the hell are you doing? You just blew your own cover!"

"Scarecrow's going to set off his best weapon in less than four hours. Either we stop him now, or we don't stop him at all," The Red Fox replied, which proved Cassandra wasn't the only good reason he needed to act right away, "We need to spread out and try to find the mixing chamber so that we sabotage this whole thing. Batgirl's here too, so do your best to track her down. Leave Scarecrow to me!"

Speaking of the villain, not long after Naruto had said that, Crane came flying through a doorway on the other side of the room. He used his regenerated arm to the grab the floor, stopping himself in midair to land. When he did, none other than the Snake Sannin Orochimaru came running through the same doorway, a scowl on his face, "You think you can play me, Scarecrow? I am going to rip you apart like and feed the pieces of you to my summons!"

"Oh come on," The Red Fox called out, smacking his forehead, "The guy Scarecrow was meeting with was Orochimaru? We don't have time for this!"

As if to grant is his wish, two vines shot up from the floor below and wrapped around Orochimaru's ankles. The pulled him down so hard that he went right through the floor, screaming in rage as he did. Poison Ivy ran from the same doorway that he had, running up to her lover, "Don't worry about the snake, darling, Clayface and I will take care of him! You make certain that the Cloudburst goes off! Jonathan, I-"

Scarecrow silenced her with a kiss, "I know Ivy, I know. You and Clayface give that bastard hell for me! Go!"

"Of course," Ivy said, jumping in the new whole she'd made after Orochimaru, calling back as she did, "Don't worry about backup, it's already been sent!"

The backup she spoke of didn't take long to arrive. From the ceiling above, 25 humanoid plant creatures dropped all the around the Suicide Squad, who had run out into the middle of the room to join Naruto. Their skin looked even more plant like than Ivy's, and they only had eyes; no mouth. Catwoman was not happy about this sudden shift in events, "Fuck me! Is this really what I get for helping out the good guys?"

"Welcome to my world," Zabuza fired back, grabbing his sword from his back and cracking his neck, "Okay, which one of you plant looking motherfuckers wants to go first?"

"Look out above you," Haku screamed as he saw the massive Hispanic mercenary the was Bane had jumped from the nearby balcony and planned to make his entrance by taking out Zabuza.

Before he got anywhere near the Mist ninja though, something faster than a bullet came flying through the air and hit him like a truck, sending him crashing into the wall of the security camera screens. It was Power Girl, grinning ear to ear, "He really set himself up to get knocked right back down, didn't he? What's up guys? You having a party with us?"

The Red Fox was grateful to have some more help in this kind of situation, "A party is one way to put it. Did Batman already fill you in that these guys are uncover and working with me?" She nodded, "Good, because I need to go and kick the living shit out of somebody! You the first one here?"

"Yeah, the two of us are anyways," Powergirl told them. She didn't need to elaborate on the who the other person with her was, consider that Chojuro soon came running in behind her, panting like a sick dog, "Sorry, he doesn't have my superspeed. Look, we've got more League members coming, but we've got a lot of the villains here too. Red Fox, you go and make sure that Scarecrow doesn't set off the Cloudburst early. The rest of us can hold down the fort."

The Red Fox nodded grateful, sprinting towards the hallway that Crane had disappeared down. It was time to end this. Naruto didn't know what he was going to do once he got his hands on Scarecrow, but he was certain of one thing...IT WAS GOING TO BE PAINFUL!


	48. When the Fuse Runs Out Pt 2

Let the battle begin! It's Naruto vs the Scarecrow and the heroes versus an army of villains with their henchmen. Needless to say, shit is about to go down. Will everyone make it out alive? What sort of decisions will the good guys be forced to make? What changes will Gotham face after it's over? All of those questions and more will soon be answered, but for now, all I can ask you guys to do is read. It'll take two chapters to cover this epic battle, rather fitting consider how much of a build up it had. This chapter will be a tiny bit shorter than some that I've posted in the past, but that's because of the needing to spread it out over two chapters, and me wanting to find a natural as possible stopping point. It's an action packed event, so grab some popcorn, get comfy, and enjoy the carnage! Thank you all for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack: Two Steps From Hell-Strenght of a Thousand Men (Extended Version)

* * *

The Red Fox ran after the Scarecrow with everything he had in him, slowly gaining on the criminal mastermind as he made his way to the mixing chamber. It was likely that was where he intended to set off the Cloudburst 2.0, and it that was there the final battle would take place. They were entering from the top section of the mixing chamber, where there was a metal, circular platform above all the vats and bridges. Scarecrow made his way out to the center of that platform, planning to jump down below to control panel and make the final adjustments. From where he had been, it was quickest route to victory, "Almost there, I just need to-gah!"

"Where do you think you're going?" The Red Fox growled, having fired his grappling hook around his enemy's ankles to trip him up, "You and I have one hell of a score to settle!"

No matter how satisfying it would be to set the Cloudburst off, there was no denying that Scarecrow wanted this climax to begin as well. Using his impressive strength, he ripped his legs free from the wire of the grappling hook and jumped up, grabbing a syringe from his coat, "Indeed we do, old friend. I was going to save this for after I started the Cloudburst, but I suppose in soon it won't matter. You'll be dead and unable to stop me. This small bit of Titan combined with my new DNA will make me powerful enough to vanquish you once and for all!"

Scarecrow used his tree branch arm to rip off his coat and mask, revealing that half his skin had turned a brownish-green color and that his face was once again flawless, though that wouldn't last for long. He inject the Titan into his neck as quickly as he could to make certain the Red Fox had no chance to knock it out of his hands. The liquid coursed through his body, soon transforming it into a killing machine. His tree branch arm grew longer, and his fingers extended into sharp, talon like claws. Large muscles filled out his entire body as all of his skin took on a thin layer of bark life armor. In terms of height, he'd easily gained a foot, and his voice went from a haunting rasp to a terrifying roar, "The Scarecrow is no more! I am the Scarebeast, the true form of fear! Taken in my face, Red Fox, because it's the last thing you're ever going to see!"

"Okay, that's actually pretty fucking scary," The Red Fox admitted as the Scarebeast lept into the air, his claw raised and ready to tear into the hero. He dodged rolled out of the way as his opponent landed. The Scarebeast's claws punctured a hole in the metal floor, sending a small chill up the Red Fox's spin, "This is gonna be a tougher fight than I thought."

It was at this point the Red Fox unsheathed the Soultaker Sword, glad that he'd hidden in among the rest of 'Ronin's' blades. He got into a defensive position as Scarebeast pulled his claw out of the floor, swiping with his backhand at the hero. The ancient weapon stopped the attack, Naruto skidding back a little from the impact. He'd been expecting it puncture the bark at least a little, but there was no mark to be seen. Scarebeast smiled when he saw the surprise on his enemy's face, "Figured you'd slice through my hands, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint, but my skin's thicker than it used to be!"

"Too bad, I guess my insult won't have as much impact," The Red Fox quipped back, taking a green pellet from his belt, "If I can't cut you, let's see if can burn ya!"

The Red Fox smashed the pellet into Scarebeast's arm, releasing a pool of acid onto it. Scarebeast held onto the burn, backing away only a touch while gave a small roar. A grin graced his the Red Fox's face for only a moment before the bark the burn had taken off grew back. At this point, Naruto was starting to realize what he'd gotten himself into, "He's got super strength, armor like skin, and regenerative powers. Any other life ending abilities I need to be afraid of?"

After a series of groans from the Scarebeast, he got his answer. The villain opened his maw and spat out a thin, yellowish liquid that the Red Fox had to do a backflip to dodge. It hit the floor, making a hissing sound as it did, and then turned into a sort of mist. It was easy for Naruto to figure out he needed to activate the gas mask built into his suit, considering that he'd seen enough fear gas in his lifetime to identify it now. This was starting to get a little ridiculous, even based on what he was used to, "Fucking seriously? He spits out acidic fear toxin too! Well, I wanted an epic final battle, and I guess I'm getting it. Come on, you walking pile of logs, let's do this!"

"Your legacy of defying fear ends here," Scarebeast screamed, the two sprinting towards one another. The ground shook with each step they took, all the while they prepared their attacks several moves ahead in their minds. With the way these two were going at it, it'd be a miracle if even the building around them even managed to stay up.

* * *

Orochimaru was used to being the most powerful man in the room at almost all times. The way he figured it, there were less than a dozen people in the world who could go toe to toe with him, let alone defeat him. Once he learned about about the entire world outside of the great ninja nations, he found out he might not even be in the top twenty in terms of power. Facing off against Poison Ivy and Clayface in the empty Ace Chemicals concrete basement was starting to make him feel like he might not even be that high up. Said empty room had once been a storage area that Scarecrow been left untouched, having no use for it. The end result was a short of arena for the three of them to duke it out in, and one with no safe places to land if thrown, as Orochimaru was finding out.

"Put me down, you worthless pile of muck," Orochimaru screamed, feeling like a ragdoll as Clayface spun him around by the leg using only one arm. Poison Ivy sat on the criminal's shoulder, watching with glee as she took it all in.

It would seem Clayface was happy to grant his request, "Put you down, eh? You've got it!"

Clayface let go of Orochimaru's leg, which caused the snake to crash into one of the cement walls face first. The Sannin stood up only to have a vine shoot out of the cement below him and stab him in the stomach, swiftly pulling back and allowing blood to pour from the wound. Orochimaru bared his teeth before opening his mouth wide, a pair of slimy human arms popping out it. Another copy of Orochimaru pulled himself out like a snake shedding it's skin, glaring at Clayface and Ivy, "You whelps have no idea the who you're dealing with! Allow me to show you a mere fractions of my power!"

"This should be good," Ivy said, confident that they could handle whatever he might send at them, "Think there's anything this guy's got up his sleeve that isn't related to snakes?"

Getting down on all fours, Orochimaru opened his mouth and released a slew of snakes, all of whom had swords in their own mouths. They all lunged at Poison Ivy, but Clayface raised up his hand and caught them, closing his hand and crushing their skulls. He let the blades fall to the ground, "Hmph, I guess not. This fight is a little more boring that I was hoping for. That's kind of a problem, since I'm fucking invincible now. I can't even have fun though, thanks to Crane!"

Orochimaru bit his thumb and went into a series of hand seals, "Think you're invincible, do you? Let's see if you can say that once you've gone through a digestive system!"

"Digestive system?" Poison Ivy asked with a raised eyebrow, "Is that crazy bastard planning on eating you?"

Once the hand seals were finished, Orochimaru slammed his hand onto the ground, causing a puff smoke to appear around him. When the smoke cleared, Orochimaru was standing on top of a massive black snake. The creature hissed and dove towards Clayface with it's mouth wide open. Poison Ivy jumped off of his shoulder just as the criminal was swallowed whole by the beast. From atop his summon animal, Orochimaru chuckled, "Kukuku, what's the matter, mud boy? Are you starting to realize you may have of predicted your victory too soon?"

From behind him, the Sannin heard a rumbling, turning just as Clayface burst out of the scales of killer snake. Though he was a little more soggy than usual, he was otherwise unscathed, "I'm sorry, were you saying something? I couldn't hear you since YOU FED ME TO A FUCKING SNAKE!"

"He's in trouble now," Ivy said from the side, watching as Clayface smacked Orochimaru off from his summon just as it dispersed, "This is certainly one of the more interesting fights I've been in."

"That is the final straw," Orochimaru screamed, going into another series of hand seals, "Snake Style: Great Cloud of Acid!"

Taking in a deep breath, the shinobi released concentrated cloud of highly corrosive acid, which sent Ivy into defense mode. She created a dome of vines around her with multiple layers, just to be sure nothing could get through. When the cloud hit, it took out first two layers of the dome with ease, and nearly busted through the final one as well. Ivy's heart skipped a beat when she saw how close it came to hitting her, "Wow, that stuff's got some kick to it. Good thing Clayface's probably just f-oh shit, the nano-bots!"

"Well that seems to be doing the trick," She could hear Orochimaru say as ripped open the vines to see Clayface had begun to melt, "At last, I've finally shut you up!"

With how powerful the acid Orochimaru had used was, Poison Ivy was certain it'd be enough to set off the nano-bots within Clayface's system. Not only would that melt and kill the villain, it would realse a cloud of toxin strong to destroy just about anything else that stuck around. Knowing that there was only bad things to come, Ivy used her powers to summon a vine through the wall. It grabbed her by the waist and brought up towards the hole in the ceiling so that she could make her escape, "Sorry Karlo, but I'm not sticking around to watch you die. Maybe you'll at least take the snake out with you."

Orochimaru, unaware of the oncoming danger and wanting to watch his foe's death, backed away as Clayface body started to bubble, losing its structure. Those little bubbles started to gather into one large one, and before the Sannin could jump out of the way, it popped, covering him the boiling clay. His skin began to melt near instantaneously, causing him pain unlike anything he'd felt before. There was no way he could shed his skin like he'd done before, meaning that it was time to go to the 'nuclear option', "I-GAH-suppose I have no choice...EIGHT BRANCHES TECHNIQUE!"

Shooting out of his melting body came eight the head of eight white snakes heads that all emanated from one body. As they continued upwards, each one grew, becoming even larger than the snake from before. In no time it became too large for the concrete area to contain and began to crash through the ceiling, shaking the entire chemicals factory. Whoever was in the room above them, they were about to be in for one nasty surprise.

* * *

"You're doing better than I predicted," Scarebeast huffed, his skin thick with all the regenerations he had to suffer from, thanks to the Red Fox's assault, "But as you can see, you've yet to manage anything that can do any permanent damage to me. Face it, hero, you're outmatched!"

"I haven't even begun to show you what I can do," Naruto replied. He'd been using the Soultaker Sword for the past fifteen minutes, but he couldn't harm him at all unless he simply tried sucking Scarebeast soul right out his body, which seemed too extreme at the moment, no matter how angry he was. Putting away the sword, the Red Fox lowered his hand and started to channel chakra into it, creating the famous blue sphere his father had been partially known for, and one that was even larger than his usual one as well, "Chew on this! Giant Rasengan!"

The shinobi lunged at Scarebeast, ready to send him reeling with this attack. Midway through his epic move though, something stopped him. A giant, white snake head smashed through the floor beneath them, his timing causing him to catch the Rasengan directly in his face. Needless to say, the results were not good. It pierced through the reptile's scales in no time, obliteration the entire head, littering the ground with blood. Scarebeast was at as much of a loss about it as the Red Fox was, "Giant slithering beasts? This is somehow Orochimaru's fault, I would assume. That had better be the last time he interrupts my business."

In a cruel twist of fate, two more snakes head popped up in the same fashion, destroying more of the platform they were fighting on. Scarebeast, in a bout of frustration, jumped up and shoved his hand into monsters eye deep enough to hit its brain. The second one was soon decapitated by the Red Fox, who was just as irritated by the turn of events, "I'm trying to do deal with one mad scientist turned mister already, I don't wanna have to fuck with another one!"

The rumbling in the ground continued to the point that the floor underneath the two of them began to give way. Scarebeast and the Red Fox soon felt nothing but air beneath their feet, and when they began to fall, it was to the level of the steel bridges. On that level was the five remaining white snake heads, which both fighters were more than fed up with. Landing on one of the heads, Scarebeast wrapped his arms around the monster's neck and used every ounce of strength he had to snap it's neck, a satisfying crunch sound letting him know it worked, "Four down, and it looks like there's four more to go."

"It's about to be three more," The Red Fox called, landing on his own snake head and stabbing it between the eyes, "Try and keep up!"

It seemed that both of them decided to put the fight aside until the issue of Orochimaru's transformation was resolved. Well, if you could that thing Orochimaru anyways. Scarebeast, seeing that two of the heads were trying to flank him, jumped off from the dead snake and onto the nearest bridge. The two creatures began to chase after him, and he was barely fast enough in his enhanced form to keep out of their grasp. He had a plan to get rid of them, but he'd have to keep up the pace for it to work. There were only seconds to spare before Scarebeast reached the same vat of chemicals that he'd killed Ra's al Ghul with, slowing down just enough when he reached it to make sure that snakes would lunge at him. As soon as they did, he lept into the air, waiting as each head opened its mouth, its fang piercing the vat of chemicals which in turn was meant to spill the deadly liquid all over them. Those were two more snakes that were about to meet their end, "As they say, two birds, one stone."

The vats burst, allowing the chemicals to flow over the snakes, killing them both. Over with the last head, the Red Fox finished off the last attacker with a small army of clones. With half grabbing a top fang and half grabbing a bottom fang, they pulled as hard as they could until they ripped its mouth in half, destroying the monster, "Ha, how do you like that, you worthless fucking reptile? Not so tough for a Sannin, are ya?"

"I wouldn't speak so soon," Scarebeast remarked as the giant snakehead melted into a series of smaller snakes that slithered towards one another, "That must not have been his final form."

As the little pieces of Orochimaru came together, they got to see what he really looked like. His true form took on the appearance of a giant white snake, with his body being composed of many smaller snakes. If it wasn't for his disturbing face at the head of beast, they might not have even realized it was him. Naruto nearly vomited when he saw it, "Ah dude, that is sick! Fuck, he makes Crane look handsome right now!"

"Save your jokes for another time Red Fox," Scarebeast snapped as Orochimaru slithered towards them. By this point, all of them were at the bottom level of the mixing chamber and under the steel bridges, "We need to handle him right now!"

Orochimaru speed up, preparing to snap at Scarebeast. The villain dove under the monster grabbed it by the belly, throwing it towards a shelf with all sort of difficult chemicals. Scarebeast panted as the shelf broke and the chemicals covered Orochimaru, who slowly pulled his head up. Seeing his chance, the Red Fox took out and explosive batarang and threw it massive snake. In combination with the chemicals, this caused his skin to ignite and explode, sending both Naruto and Crane flying back. Due to the Scarebeast being closer to the blast, and having a thin layer of chemicals on his own skin, he went up in a blaze too. That was a side effect the Red fox hadn't intended on, "Ouch, if I weren't fighting him, I might apologize to Scarebeast for that one. Let's at least make sure Orochimaru is down for the count. Summoning Jutsu!"

Slamming his hand on the ground, a cloud of smoke allowed Naruto to call two his toads from their home realm. He motioned to Orochimaru and said, "Hold him off while I check on Scarebeast. In his current state, he shouldn't be hard to hold down."

"Gahhh arrrggghhh," Scarebeast cried from where he landed, his body convulsing, "I'm...going to...kill you!"

Scarebeast's normal arm started to grow the point where it was as large as his other, with the same claw, and his skin became even thicker. His legs began to transform as well, becoming much more muscular and bit longer. As he stood up, branches grew out his back, six of them to be exact. Each one could move independently, almost as if they had a mind of their own. Lastley, Scarebeast eyes began to glow and the bark around his mouth became more jagged. He lumbered towards the Red Fox, bellowing in a voice that had lost all its humanity, "RED FOX...MUST...DIE!"

"Because he wasn't freaky enough yet," Naruto grumbled, his downcast face hidden by his mask. He took in some air and got into a fighting stance, "Fuck it, I've handled worse! Come on Scarebeast, let's dance!"

* * *

The Riddler's removal of the factory's defense system allowed many of the League's most dangerous members to break into the villainous base with ease. Of course they were met with an army of wanted criminals as soon as they got there, but considering the team of heroes they had, it was unlikely any of them would be a problem. While they didn't have Superman, Martian Manhunter, Supergirl, Hawkgirl, or any of the Green Lanterns due to them having to fend off a small invasion of White Martians, there still a group that was more than able to handle the situation.

"Hey Killer Frost, how long's it been since we've seen each other?" Green Arrow asked as he fired an electrified arrow towards the blue skinned ice wielder, "I mean, it know it was when I sent to Bell Rev, but I can't think of an actual date, ya know?"

Using her impressive power, Killer Frost shot a stream of ice at the arrow with one hand, stopping it before it could reach her, while using her other hand to shoot a stream of ice at Green Arrow, "That's real cute, pretty boy. Let's see how cute it is when you're a block of ice!"

Green Arrow didn't know if he'd have time to dodge, but as it turned out, he wouldn't need to. His wife, Black Canary, tackled him out of the way, using her super scream when she landed to send Killer Frost crashing off into the distance. The blonde woman was hardly even winded, "Sorry, Frost, but no one leaves him out in the cold but me."

"Thanks babe, I owe you one," Green Arrow said, kissing her on cheek before spinning around to hit a sneaking Black Spider with a net-arrow, "By the way, taking out a bad guy like that is a total turn on."

Black Canary giggled, kick flipping to take out a nearby henchmen before she said, "Same to you. Tell ya what, if you do good enough tonight, I'll let you 'slip your arrow into my quiver' when we get home."

"Woman, you've got the best dirty talk."

Nearby, Wonder Woman was busy using her bracelets to deflect bullets being fired at her by ace marksman Deadshot. No matter where he aimed at her with his sniper rifle, the heroine was fast enough to block it. She listened carefully, and once she knew his clip was empty, Wonder Woman pulled out her lasso and threw around Deadshot, yanking him towards her and knocking him out with a single blow when he got close enough. The criminal had proved no problem for her, "One of the most dangerous assassins in the world, and it took me all of five minutes to beat him. I'm a little disappointed it was that easy."

The Flash ran by her, calling as he did, "You're an amazonian princesses, he's a human with good aim, what'd you expect?"

"Dammit cabron, why won't you stay still?" Bane cursed as he tried to get a hold of the speedster with his oversized hands, "Ay Dios Mio, you are one irritating man!"

"I prefer to think of myself as an acquired taste," Flash replied, dodging a bulldozer level hit and sneaking behind Bane, grabbing his Venom hose and ripping it from his head, "This green stuff is how you get your super strength, right? Does it take long for the effects to fade away?"

Bane fell to the ground, his muscles already shrinking away without his precious Venom. Perfectly aware that this was the best time to take him down, Chojuro jumped in and smacked the villain in the face with the flat side of this blade. It was enough to knock Bane unconscious, letting Chojuro beam with pride, "Another one bites the dust! Holy shit, this is fun!"

Flying up next to him, Power Girl voiced her support of this other side of the ninja, "Damn, you've got a wild edge to you! What do I have to do to see it more often?"

"If you and me end up alone later, I'll show you anything you want," Chojuro replied, making Power Girl raise her eyebrows, "I told you I'd call your bluff one of these days. What are you gonna do about it?"

Power Girl licked her lips, whispering into his ear, "I guess you'll find out later, won't you?"

She flew off after she'd finished speaking, striking down the power absorbing, purple skinned villain Parasite before he could get ahold of Wonder Woman. Something about the fight seemed to get the blood rushing within these heroes vines, giving them all kinds of adrenaline. To people like them, there was nothing better than a great battle. By the end of the night, they all planned to be glistening with sweat and walking tall from their victory.

* * *

"Kit, it's time for you to take gloves off and hit this guy with something a little harder," Kurama said from inside Naruto's head, watching as the young blonde dodged the branch appendages that had grown from from Scarebeast's back., "Tap into a little more of my power. His skin just keeps getting thicker with every strike, so we need to try one big move rather than series of little ones. What about the move you've been testing out with Jiraiya and Temari? If anything could take this guy down a peg, it'd be that."

Over on the side, Orochimaru was being pinned down by the blades of the toads, which was rather easy from then to do in his weakened state. Back with the Red Fox, he channeled a combination of wind chakra and Kurama's power into the Soultaker Sword, jumping back when another of the branches dove for him. He sliced through the appendage like it was butter, using the second that Scarebeast howled in pain to answer his furry friend, "You mean the Rasenshuriken? I guess that could do some damage, but I've never been able to keep it stable for long. I can't promise It'll work."

In the middle of that thought, Scarebeast's lost limb grew back, even longer than it was before. Not hard to believe that he was upset about the pain he'd just suffered through, "You hurt me! Now I hurt you!"

"I guess there's no time like the present to perfect it," Naruto reasoned when he saw anger in his foe's eye, "He loses his way with words when he goes nuts, doesn't he?"

Scarebeast returned to his charge, which the Red Fox dove to the left to dodge. He went into his classic Ram seal and summoned half a dozen clones, pointing at his opennet once they'd arrived, "Ten of you, make some Rasengans and hold him off while the other two help me over here, got?"

All of them nodded, with ten leaping over to the Scarebeast to get started while the other two clones got to work on the Rasenshuriken. It started like a normal Rasengan in Naruto's hand, until one of his clones started to add in his wind element. With Temari's assistance, he'd been able to get a slightly better handle on his control over it, but Naruto was less than sure he was good enough to pull this off. Over with Scarebeast, only half of the clones they'd start out with remained, and monstrous villain had multiple circular marks in his bark. They had all begun to heal, but there were five more waiting to happen in the form of five more clones with Rasengans. Each of them jumped at the same time, resulting Scarebeast shielding himself with his branches, and leaving his back open. That was when the Red Fox saw his opening.

"Well, I'm not gonna find a better time than this," Naruto said, dispersing the other two clones and running to the other side of Scarebeast, "Please, for the love god, hold up this time!"

The Red Fox dashed at Scarebeast as the monster absorbed the Rasengans, using his branches to jet out and destroy the clones that had created them. What he didn't know was that the Naruto was right behind him with his Rasenshiruken still in one piece. He knew he only had seconds before it lost its structure and became useless, so the Red Fox shoved it into Scarebeast's back while he still had the chance, screaming at the top of his lungs "Here goes nothing! Wind Style: RasenShuriken!"

"Graaaahhhhh," Cried the mountain of a man as the move tore through him. With enough force to make Naruto take a few steps back, the Rasenshiruken burst, and Scarebeast was lifted off his feet and into the air. The sheer power of the move caused him to hurdle over a couple of the bridges, falling back down so hard that the left a small crater in the cement floor and shook half the factory.

Naruto noticed soon that he wasn't moving, "Oh shit...I didn't...I didn't kill him, right? I was only trying to knock him out. Fuck, I need to see if he's still breathing."

His fears were subsided when a crackling sound came from the direction of Scarebeast. Those same fears would return when he notice something was trying to push it's way out of the bark. A hand burst from the shell like a bug from a cocoon, followed by another, a head coming not long after it. This was when it hit the Red Fox what was going on, "It's like his plant DNA is fully blooming. The bark was just a shell to make sure whatever was inside could finish growing. That stuff he was pulling before was just the start. This new guy...he's gonna be the real Scarebeast."

As the new and improved Scarebeast emerged from his shell, more of his hideous form became visible. His skin was more a grayish color now, with only a brown tint to it. It had a thinner look to it than the bark had, almost to the point where it was transparent. He still wasn't as short as he had been as human, but he was smaller than he'd been in his previous form. Scarebeast was just as muscular as before, and his eyes still held their eerie yellow glow. As he stepped out, Naruto could see his feet had changed completely, ending in a shape similar to that of tree trunk with its roots jetting out. In terms of a mouths, his had gotten much larger, taking up most of the bottom half of his face, and was filled with deadly, needle-like teeth. With a caved in nose, and sharp claws on the end his fingers to top it all off, this new Scarebeast was the most horrifying one yet.

"Would you look at that, it's the creature that's going to haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life," The Red Fox said, unsure of what the creatures powers might be, "I'm sure as hell not testing his abilities out myself. Let's see what my clones think of him instead."

Naruto summoned four clones, all of which were told to run towards the Scarebeast as soon as they appeared. The first one reached the monster easily enough, but was swatted away and destroyed before it could do anything. Scarebeast's hand had been a blur in its movements, letting the Red Fox realize how much of speed boost he'd gotten, "Great, he's faster now. Is his skin as strong as it had been before though?"

One of the clones got as close as he could to the villain, took out three batarang, and threw them at Scarebeast, giving him no time to defend. All three made contact, and even managed to pierce the skin with relative ease, a black blood pouring out of the wounds. Scarebeast yelped in pain, grabbing the three spots on his shoulder where they'd hit and pulling them out. The moment they were gone, the holes in the skin joined back together, which didn't go unnoticed by Naruto, "He's not as durable now, but heals even faster. How hard am I gonna have to hit him before he'll give me a chance contain him in something? Hell, is there that can hold to begin with?"

"Paaathetiiiiic," Scarebeast rasped out, the word nearly impossible to understand in his demonic sounding voice. His mind seemed to being going farther and farther away with each coming transformation. He reached out and grabbed the first clone when it got near him, using an unhinged jaw to bite down on its head. It dispersed, but the next clone was ready, using its blade to slice off Scarebeast's hand. The villain retaliated with by taking his remaining hand and grabbing the clone's arm, throwing it across the room as if it were a feather. By the time it landed and puffed away, Scarebeast's hand had grown back.

"Well that little experiment proved useless," The Red Fox grumbled as he saw something bubbling under the Scarebeast's skin, "Oh shit, what now?"

Unhinging his jaw once again, the Scarebeast began to flood the room with a cloud of fear toxin. The move didn't make much sense to Naruto, considering that he still had his gas mask on, meaning it would have no effect...or so he thought. When the gas hit his mask, it didn't filter it out as it was intended to. This fear toxin proved powerful enough to eat through the protective barriers and make its way into the Red Fox's mouth, which naturally lead it to the teen's lungs. Scarebeast's new form had apparently made the gas more potent, and Naruto was about to suffer the consequences of that upgrade, "Oh shit-shit-shit! Kurama, tell me you've got some way to counteract this!"

"I can bump up the amount of chakra I'm giving you and try to fight it off some, but there's no way for me to totally shut it out," Kurama respond, already starting the process he'd mentioned, "Brace yourself Kit, this fight's about to get a whole lot freakier for you!"

Unfortunately, it already was. The world around him began to distort and become more deranged. Everything around him took on a reddish-orange hue, and small fires were popping up everywhere. It looked as though the walls and ground were now covered in embers, and the Scarebeast's mouth and eyes began to glow in even more sinister fashion than they had before. Naruto could see flashing images of his family in his mind, all chained to the walls around him, bloody and begging for his help. This was all too much for the young hero to handle, "Kurama, I thought you said you were fighting it off!"

"Kit, this is me fighting it off" The fox revealed, making Naruto's stomach sink, "This stuff is powerful, stronger even than that stuff he pumped into you at the Chinese Theater. I know it's bad, but you have to fight through it. It's the best you're gonna get."

The Red Fox was being forced to fight in the closest thing he could get to hell while he was still living. Scarebeast was proving to be a greater opponent than Naruto had ever predicted, but he had to stop him. For the sake of his family and the city he loved, he had to find a way. Naruto Uzumaki was about to show Scarebeast what you get when one of the world's greatest heroes trains a ninja with nearly unlimited potential.

* * *

The first round of the fights were over, and things had gone quite well for some while taking a turn for the worst for others, primarily the heroic Uzumaki. He was alone against his nemesis, with the exception of Kurama, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Scarecrow and his toxin was something he needed to overcome, once and for all. If he couldn't, well he'd die trying. Everything he cared about depended on it.


	49. When the Fuse Runs Out Pt 3

Welp, we're back to the epic battle and the next chapter in the Red Fox. I've finished up the Nefarious Nine, (Happy to say it received a positive response, check it out on my profile if you'd like) but I'm afraid I still won't have the time to update this fanfic on a weekly bases. I'd love to, but my schedule simply won't allow it, and at the end of the day, real life has to come first, especially when it comes down to my future. I'm afraid bi-weekly is the most I can give you. Also, I do have some talks of jutsu theory in this chapter, which has never been my strong suit. Some of the concepts might not line up perfectly with the canon, but hey, it's a fanfic, I'm allowed to make some changes. In fact, that's kinda the point. Wow, I'm rambling a lot today. Now that the formalities are out of the way, we can let the carnage continue! Thank you all for reading and please review.

Two brief side notes: First, I saw Suicide Squad yesterday, and I've gotta say, I feel the critics were far too hard on it. I wouldn't call it perfect by any means, but as I whole, it was a solid film and comic fans will most likely enjoy it. Second, you guys really should tweet at Rocksteady and figure out what on earth is going on the with the US release for the Game of the Year Edition of Arkham Knight. A random request, I know, but one that feels necessary.

Chapter Soundtrack: The Grand Duel-Luis Bacalov

* * *

"I don't know...how much more of this...I can take," Naruto panted, hardly able to still stand up. The world of fire that'd he'd been locked into continued to burn, growing worse as time went on. Scarebeast's toxin made the Red Fox believe that there were was not one, but dozens of copies of the villain all around him. He'd been slashing and striking at them frantically, but each one only turned out to be a mirage created by his hysterical mind. Only once did he find the real Scarebeast, and that was when the creature managed to get behind him and smacked him clear across the room. Even Naruto's jutsu had proven ineffective, as he couldn't keep his mind focused enough to complete the hand seals needed to use them. If he was going to survive this, the Red Fox needed to get his head back on straight, otherwise, he'd likely get it knocked off.

Scarebeast didn't intend on giving him the chance to recuperate. Six of the monsters charged at Naruto, who had no way of knowing if any of them were real. He mustered up all the focus he could and channeled some wind into his katana, taking a large swing that sent a sharpened gust flying at all the villains. It turned out none of those Scarebeasts was the real one, as the attack phased right through them. Naruto took a step back, his eye darting and trying to locate his foe, until something occurred to him, "My eyes have been playing tricks on me since I sucked in that toxin. Maybe it's time for me to rely on another one of my senses."

Getting into a defense position, the Red Fox close his eyes and let his hearing take over. He had no idea if this was going to work, as the fear toxin had affected all aspects of his body so far. Still, he felt that his ears would be harder to fool. Naruto listened closely for something that sounded out of place amongst all the other noises, something that didn't sound as distorted or deranged. A blood curdling screech came through it all, one right behind the young hero. Spinning on his heel, Naruto turned around and stabbed the Soultaker Sword towards oncoming danger, confirming it was real when the blade came into contact with something solid. When he opened his eyes, the Red Fox could Scarebeast screaming in pain while the a dark liquid poured out of the new gash in his stomach. Apparently Naruto had stabbed straight through him, his katana poking out of his foe's back. He pulled out the blade as his Scarebeast cried out, "Skreeeeee!"

"Now we're making...some progress," Naruto half mumbled, wiping some sweat from his forehead, "If I do that a couple more times...maybe I can finally-"

As the Red Fox spoke, Scarebeast's wound began to heal, reminding him of the villain's new healing factor. To make matters worse, four new slimy, vine like tentacles sprung from his enemy's back, adding yet another layer to the horror, "Oh great, we're back to this...fuck, I think I'm close to, AHHHHH!"

Naruto's apprupt screams were due to Scarebeast's vine shooting foreword and stabbing him in the gut. The villain lifted him into the air, blood dripping from the blonde's mouth, and rasped out, "Dieeeeeeee!"

"I think I'm...about to," The Red Fox coughed, Scarebeast throwing him into a nearby wall. Naruto slumped over, unable to make himself move. It was like his limbs had turned to stone, "Too exhausted to...stand up...Kurama...help me…"

"Kit, you've gotta stay strong," Kurama urged him, "If I stop fighting off the toxin, you'll go into shock. Come on Naruto, don't do this to me!"

Naruto didn't respond, unable to so much as think of a response. Everything around him was fading and his vision began to blur. Scarebeast began to walk towards him, but the Red Fox could hardly even tell. It felt as though he was in a dream right now, nothing seemed real. The villain was given the perfect opportunity to end his helpless nemsis. As he reached his slimy hand down towards Naruto though, Scarebeast heard a rumbling coming from the direction of Orochimaru. It appeared the fear toxin had a unique effect on the man turned massive white snake, as he trashed until the blades the Toad's blades came loose. Orochimaru lunged at the two summons once he had wiggle room, bite the neck of one and using the smaller snakes on his body to swarm the other. Both dispersed, along with their swords, leaving the Sannin free as a bird. Certain the beast was a bigger threat than the Red Fox at moment, Scarebeast ran towards Orochimaru, who was already slithering towards him.

"Look at that, you've got some time get your head back in the fight. Maybe even heal up a bit," Kurama suggested, waiting for any kind of response. He never got one, "Dammit Kit, you can't go out like this! After all the shit you've gotten through, you can't let this fucking punk be the one who ends it! Get up!"

No matter how desperately Naruto wanted to get up, he simply didn't know if he had it in him. His eyes started to drift closed, his pulse began to slow, and he could feel the cold claws of death closing in on him. Well, they were supposed to be cold anyways. What the Red Fox felt though was warmer, inviting almost. It didn't feel like what imagined death would. Hell, it almost felt natural. Wait...natural?

Something popped into Naruto's mind from before he'd left for his undercover mission. Jiraiya had been trying to teach him about Sage Mode and how Naruto was going to need it if he intend on stopping the kinds of people that were coming after him. The exact words drifted through his thoughts…

"_So to activate Sage Mode, Natural Chakra is needed. This is a special kind of chakra is converted directly from Natural Energy, but training is required to tap into said surrounding Natural Energy. For the Toads, this is done by acting like one of them, sitting perfectly still and meditating that is. Usually the Elder Toads are used to collect the energy and then direct it into the summoner, or that's what I do anyways, but because you have the Kyuubi sealed inside you, you can't bind with the Elder Toads that way. What we're going to have to do is teach you how to do is take in Natural Energy like the Toads, by staying perfectly still and absorbing what's around you. You can't stand still in a fight of course, but you can store up the energy and use it later to enter Sage Mode. Sounds complicated, but I promise, it's much simpler than you think. You'll get a chance to try it soon, I promise."_

Jiraiya always was good at explaining things to Naruto. With this in mind, he began to wonder if that new power he felt all around him was the Natural Energy his sensei had spoken of, and if the reason he could feel it now because he was too exhausted to move so much as a muscle. It seemed crazy, but if he could meditate like the Toads and absorb this energy, it might give him enough power to stop the Scarebeast. Considering he had no other options to speak of, the Red Fox needed to at least attempt it.

Doing his best to remember his sensei's lessons on meditation, Naruto began to focus, trying to take in the Natural Energy all around him. He couldn't feel it at first, making him fear it wasn't working, but soon the power began to build up inside of him. Naruto could see the flames all around him start to dim, and the hue of his world was returning to normal. The fog that had clouded his mind began to clear, which wasn't entirely a good thing, considering that it meant the pain in his stomach became more apparent. From within his mind, he called up to Kurama, "Hey, Furball, how's my toxin level doing?"

"Way better, actually. Whatever you're doing, keep going. You seem to be purifying your bloodstream," Kurama told him, so relieved to hear the teen's voice that he didn't even snap about the 'furball' comment, "I'm gonna shift focus onto healing the hole in your gut. I don't think the toxin's gonna be a problem for much longer."

Naruto was all for that, "Considering how much blood I'm losing, that's probably a good idea. I'm gonna see how much more of this chakra I can take in before I try anything. As long as Scarebeast's distracted, I might as well try to heal up."

Seemed logical enough to Kurama. As the Kyuubi got work healing his container's wounds, he began to notice the power that was somehow filtering the toxin out of the Red Fox's blood had started altering the hero's body. The more of it that Kurama felt, the more he knew he'd felt power like this power, "Well fuck me, looks like this is about to get interesting. Should've known you were trying to take in Natural chakra. A kid your age actually entering Sage Mode would be one for the records book."

"Lets not get ahead of ourselves," Naruto warned his friend, though he was feeling a hell of a lot better now that his head was clear and his gut had started to heal, "Even if I manage Sage Mode, there's no guarantee it'll be enough to stop Scarebeast."

The Red Fox heard a crashing sound, glancing over to see Scarebeast and Orochimaru were still going at it. Crane had jumped behind the snake's head and latched on with his hands while the vines attacked the Sannin's back. Screeching, Orochimaru use the smaller snakes on his body to grab Scarebeast and throw him off. Next thing the villain knew, the fangs of the snake were descending upon him, likely hoping to rip him in half. Scarebeast open his mouth and spat a stream of the acidic fear toxin into Orochimaru's gaping maw, burning his mouth. The two roared simultaneously, counting on with their battle.

Naruto was starting to think he should just let these two take on another out. If he just stayed here and kept taking in Nature Chakra, he'd be just...wait, didn't Jiraiya say once that there was such a thing as taking in too much Natural Energy?

"_Remember though, you've got activate Sage Mode at just the right moment, and too soon is better than too late. If you do it too late and end up taking in too much energy, you'll end up transforming into a statute...a toad statue to be exact. Don't ask me why, believe me, I've got no freaking idea how to logically explain that. All I know is that the Toads swear up and down that's what happens, and I've never had the balls to test it and find out. I wouldn't recommend you try it either. Just keep in mind that you wanna try to activate Sage Mode before you get to that point, arlight?"_

"Shit shit shit," Naruto repeated in his head, realizing that had no idea how much Natural Chakra was the correct amount, "Kurama, do you have any idea how much chakra is enough for Sage Mode? Don't fuck with me right now, this is life or death!"

This wasn't exactly Kurama's area of expertise, but he figured it couldn't hurt to take a guess, "I've fought guys with that kinda power before, so I'll wait until it feels about right. When I say so, you need to realse all that energy you've been saving up. Won't take us long to figure out it worked are not."

No, it most likely wouldn't. Naruto continued to watch the villains duking it out, trying not to focus on how risky what he was attempting really was. Every second that his friend didn't tell him to release chakra was one more second he feared he'd turn into a tacky statue fit to decorate Wayne Manor with. After what felt like an hour, though really it was barely a minute, Kurama finally ordered him, "Now Kit!"

Orochimaru and the Scarebeast both felt a surge of power exploding in the room, turning to see what possibly could've made it. What they found had them both certain the ante was about to be upped...

* * *

"Come Deathstroke, aren't you supposed to be legendary are something?" Sasuke taunted as he dodge the various slash Slade made at him, "You're about as tough as that Ubu guy was. Seriously, show me something I haven't seen yet. I want something to get my blood pumping!"

Sasuke, along with the rest of the false Suicide Squad, had been mostly holding off the seemingly endless supply of henchmen that had filled the walls of the old Ace Chemicals building. Of course none of them proved to be a challenge for the group, as none of them were masterful fighters and any of them who had guns immediately got them knocked out of their hands by one of many ranged attacks. It got so easy for them after awhile, that actually made a game out of who could take the goons down and how. They'd even gone so far as to agree extra points would be given for style and creativity. Zabuza won the first round, entirely thanks to the sheer number he knocked out, Catwoman one the second, mostly due to how flashily she fought, and Haku had won the third, using a combination of the two in order to claim victory. Most of the group seemed entertained, but the game ended up boring Sasuke rather quickly, so he instead seeked out a larger threat to test his skills against. He eventually found the infamous Deathstroke, challenging him almost immediately. What he discovered was the villain might not have been the quite the challenge he was hoping for. To be far though, it was rather tough to find any hand to hand fight challenging when one was endowed with the power of the Sharingan.

"If I were you, brat, I'd wait until I'd already won to start taunting my foe," Deathstroke advised him, "I've only been getting a feel for you moves so far. When I go for the kill, you'll realize what you've gotten yourself into."

While Sasuke had been busy sizing up Slade's movement with his Sharingan, trying to find patterns and predict movements, Deathstroke had been making some observations of his own. It didn't take much for him to deduce that the young man was adjusting based on Slade's attack pattern. The mercenary had trained enough men to know an adaptable combat style when he saw one. This was a challenge for most, but Deathstroke knew how to deal with these types of fighters. One completely off the wall move that went against everything Sasuke had been shown thus far would likely be enough to off the little pain in the ass, as the time who took processing it would prove fatal. With that in mind, Slade started to sweep for the legs, a move that he'd used on his enemy before, but midway through he did a complete 180, digging in his feet for some leverage and bringing his blade towards Sasuke in an upward motion. Deathstroke could see by the teen's wide eyed reaction that his plan had worked, "Get ready to eat your words, pretty boy."

Sasuke leapt back and closed his eyes, expecting a sharp pain to come any second. When he heard the sound of steel tearing through flesh though, it wouldn't be his own. Daring to take a look, the Uchiha found Zabuza with his massive sword shish-kebabing Deathstroke, who had an empty look in his eyes. The Mist Shinobi pushed the mercenary off his blade and turned to Sasuke, snapping at him, "You cocky little bastard! Don't toy with an enemy you don't know well enough! If you've got a shot, fucking take it! Thanks to you, I'm gonna have these heroes on my ass about killing that motherfucker!"

"I didn't...you weren't supposed to," Sasuke stuttered, but soon dug his heals in, "I was fine! And it's not like you had to kill him anyways! You could've just deflected the shot or something."

"I'm a trained killer, kid. It was all instinct. I didn't think about it for so much as a second," Zabuza said, turning back to the wall of goons, "Come on, I'll finish being pissed at you later. Just don't expect me to save your ass again if you fuck up. Yo, Haku, who won round four?"

Haku called back to his surrogate father, "Kankuro, though Killer Croc was nipping at his heels! Come on, we're just about to start round five! I wanna see who gets two wins first!"

* * *

The power Naruto now had surging through him was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It was like he was aware of things he didn't even know exist before. Sounds seemed clearer, images were more crisp, and every little piece of motion was immediately caught and processed by the Red Fox's mind. If you looked under his mask, you'd find his eyes had changed to an orange sort of pigment, and his pupils were now rectangular. Energy radiated off him in waves as well, adding to his intimidation factor. Naruto's whole body felt completely rejuvinized, like he could a run across the globe without stopping. This little taste made the shinobi understand why the power of Sage Mode was so coveted in the Ninja Nations, "Kurama, are you feeling this? I don't know if I've ever felt this strong before!"

"I'll admit, this is some powerful chakra you've got going," The Kyuubi agreed, a rare thing for him to concede, "Still not as good as the kind of power I could give ya, but it should enough to take out these two jokers."

Naruto hoped he was right, considering that Scarebeast and Orochimaru were now heading towards him at full speed. The snake was the first one to act, launching himself the blonde. With his enhanced reflexes, Naruto ducked under the move with ease and had enough time to turn and watch Orochimaru smack into the concrete wall behind him. It made the Red Fox chuckle the way the Sannin crumbled up like some sort of accordion, "You know, it's a lot of fun getting to see things in slow motion. It lets you see all the enjoyable little screwups that you couldn't before."

His laughing fit didn't last long with Scarebeast breathing down his neck. Naruto could see the villain was sprinting right for him, so he flipped back to get in a better position. Once the villain was right in front of him, the Red Fox attacked using a technique he wasn't even aware he knew. He flattened out his right palm, pointing his fingers up vertically, and struck the Scarebeast in his back. Rather than taking it like a normal hit, there was a power behind it that sent the villain flying, crashing into Orochimaru, and shaking the entire room. Both creatures howled, enraged by this new development. Kurama could see how shocked Naruto was by his own power, so the he explained it to the boy, "Sage Mode does more than just give you a power boost; it affects every part of you, right down to your basic instincts. You'll get new moves you've never seen or heard of before. That right there looked like something called a Great Toad Slap. Congrats Kit, you just used your first Sage Art."

"A Sage Art?" Naruto repeated, pride filling his chest, "Holy shit, that's awesome! I wonder what else this mode can do!"

There was no better time to find out than the present. Naruto wanted to see how this new form affected Justus he already knew, so he started to form a Rasengan in his hand. The sphere formed in record time, startling even the one who'd created it. Usually, Naruto needed the assistance of a clone just to make one, now he'd pulled it out faster than a kunai. Deciding to push things a little further, he added some chakra and made the Rasengan even larger, again without much trouble. Not yet satisfied, Naruto wanted to see how difficult it would be to throw his element in there as well. He began to chanel in some wind chakra, finally finding something that actually took a little focus. Since Scarebeast and Orochimaru were back to scuffling with one another though, he had time to make sure it was created correctly. Before long, Naruto had a fully formed Rasenshiruken in his hand, and once again he felt his instincts take over. In act of what felt like insanity, he pulled his arm back and threw the Rasenshiruken at his battling foes, the deadly ball of chakra now hurdling towards them. Kurama was certain he'd love whatever came next, "That one's sure to do some damage. Don't try that when you're not in Sage Mode though, or you'll probably break your arm off. Speaking of, you might wanna tone it down with the Sage Arts foe now; you've alright burnt through half your natural chakra. Once it's gone, we're not exactly in a position to recharge it."

"It'll be fine," The Red Fox waved off his friend's fears, "That move should be enough to make sure they stay down for awhile. We'll find something to hold them with, and figure out how to change them back later. With them under control, I'll track down Batgirl and we'll all get the hell out of this nuthouse...actually, scratch the nuthouse part. Even Arkham isn't this bad."

That final remark entered his mind right before the Rasenshiruken hit Naruto's combatants. With the two of them so close together, the attack tore through each one simultaneously, all sorts of odd liquids flying around the battlefield as it did. It was impossible for Naruto to see exactly how much damage his move did at first, since the blue sphere flashed like a neon sign when it burst. Once the aftermath become visible though, it was quite the show. Scarebeast had been torn in half, separated at the waist to be precise, but was still alive, as the Red Fox knew he would be. Thanks to his regenerating factors, Crane was already using his arms to crawl over and grab his legs. Orochimaru hadn't fared much better, though his body was still in one piece. There wasn't much else the Sannin had going for him right now, seeing half of the snakes on his body had been ripped off by the unstoppable winds Naruto had created. After taking a glance through his containers eye's at the way Orochimaru was struggling to move, Kurama noticed something, "Looks like the snake's not doing so well. I think he grows weaker the longer he's stuck like this without a host. Stay away from him Kit. With how desperate he's getting, he might think just about anyone's a suitable host for him."

Kurama was right about how desperate Orochimaru had become, but the Red Fox wasn't the one who needed to be afraid. Any fool could tell you that trying to take over Naruto's body while the Kyuubi stilled lied within him was a death sentence (just ask the Joker). This meant Orochimaru had to go for a next closest thing to him...even if it wasn't fully human. The Sannin, or what was left of him anyways, dove at Scarebeast, who was preoccupied with getting his legs reattached to his torso. Orochimaru moved with enough force to break through the villain's skin, burrowing into him as if he were a maggot. Scarebeast had reattached the lower half of his body by this point, but was dealing with a tug of war for his free will. Bubbling and slithering movements could be seen underneath the skin of the monster, and the sounds coming from it played like a horror movie. By then, the Red Fox had started to put a little distance between him whatever this combination would result in, "Hey Kurama, tell me we've got something above Sage Mode we can use on partnership from hell back there!"

"Wish I could, but the only thing I could think to do would be to exit your body and fight it myself, which would probably kill ya since you're still not properly trained to use my power just yet," Kurama responded, making Naruto hang his head, "I'll give you all the chakra I can, but again, without knowing how to use it, I'm not sure what it might do to ya. We're gonna have to play this one carefully, Naruto, that's all the advice I've got."

Those unpleasant thoughts were replaced with new ones when the duo heard an animalistic cry and saw that the transformation of their new foe was complete. The amalgamation produced a sort of new version of the Scarebeast with white, snake skin patches on his arms, a forked tongue, and one golden eye. Not to mention he had large fangs, slimier skin, and was even taller than before. Naruto wasn't even sure who'd won, but he didn't imagine either would be all that fond of him, "I am so royally fucked! Think dammit, think! There's gotta be something I can do!"

The creature, which was nameless at this point, considering that it didn't seem smart enough to name itself and Naruto couldn't have cared less what to call it, charged at the Red Fox, screaming and out for blood. Naruto dove out of the way, the angle the monster rather apparent to him when he landed. It was right in line with a large vat of chemicals, giving the hero an idea. He knew he more than likely only had enough chakra left for one more Rasneshiruken, and he had to make sure it would incapacitate the beast long enough for him to at least get away. As strong as that thing looked, Naruto had a feeling that a good blow followed by crashing into that vat might be just what he needed. If it wasn't, well then he'd have to pray for some kind of miracle.

"Guess this is one of those 'hail mary' things I always heard the football kids at school talk about," The Red Fox muttered, forming the Rasneshiruken in his hand as the creature from hell turns to face him, "Let's see you get up from this, you ugly motherfucker!"

Flying off from his hand, the Rasenshiruken went jetting towards the monsters, clashing with it after it'd taken only a few steps and sending it crashing into the vat. The attack shredded much of the beast's gut and caused it to go right through the metallic shell. A liquid began to pour from the vat, a brown one with an orange tint. Whatever it was, Naruto's new friend didn't care for it, and promptly crawled out of the hole screaming bloody murder, "Sccccrreeeeegaaawarrrr!"

Naruto's Sage Mode ran out right then, his body returning to its normal form. He felt exhausted, but no so much that he couldn't run, which is what he planned to do while his enemy attempted to recuperate. He didn't know how much time he had, so Naruto leapt up to the steel bridge above him, his feet clanging on the thick metal, and headed for the door, hopeful he could get some reinforcements. A new noise caught his attention though, so the Red Fox turns back to see what was making a sort of banging sound below him. It was the creature, ripping out what looked like a gas canister that was connected via a pie to the side of the vat. Most likely it was meant to be thrown at Naruto, but the sparks caused by said action were what had the hero worried, "Wait, stop! The stuff coming from the vat, I'm pretty sure it's,"

The sparks hit the liquid before he could finish, igniting and causing the vat to explode. This sent balls of flames at two other near by vats, which made them suffer the same fate. A chain reaction had begun that was going to cause the entire mixing chamber to come down and take the factory with it. Naruto could already feel the place shaking like an earthquake had hit, and he could see down below him a bloodied pile of whatever Orochimaru and Scarebreast had mixed to become trapped under half a ton of collapsed metal.

"Shit, I don't think there's anyway for me to get to them down there," Naruto cursed, leaving Kurama utterly stunned.

"For fuck's sake Kit, this isn't the time to worry about the well being of a guy who's sole purpose in life has been to destroy you," Kurama snapped, "I'm not saying you have to be the one who ends him, but you sure as shit don't have to be the one who saves him either! You've got other people who aren't psychopathic murderers that you need to save!"

Naruto knew Kurama was right. Of all the people he wanted to make it out of here, Jonathan Crane wasn't one of them, or Orochimaru for that matter. Turning back to the door, the Red Fox made his exit from the room. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if it was really over. He didn't know it yet, but he'd find out shortly.

* * *

Batman would've needed to think hard to remember a time he felt as desperate as he did while he searched every room in this facility for Batgirl. No doubt, he wasn't thinking about that right now, as he was laser focused on getting to his lost student. This focus proved hard to maintain with Ivy's faceless, humanoid plant creatures chasing him down the various corridors of the chemical plant. These creatures had green skin, no identifying marks on them, and seemed impervious to any attack that Batman or Spoiler, who was running right beside him, could try. As the duo made another left, one the plant people fell from the ceiling and plopped right in front of them. The Dark Knight pulled out two of his batarangs and threw them as it raised its arms up to strike, the sharp projectiles slicing clean through them.

"Nice shot," Spoiler completement as they ran past creature, who seemed less in pain and more confused. Two more of the humanoids ran up behind them, so she decide it was her turn to take a couple out, "Don't worry boss, I've got this!"

Grabbing two explosive pellets from her he belt, Spoiler threw them at the walking gardens as she ran. They both hit right on target and had her foes tumbling back as the heroes reached a metal door. Batman wasted no time in kicking it open, hopeful that this would finally be the door that they'd been looking for. Thought it was where Cassandra was being kept, just as he'd hoped, it also proved to harbor an infamous bioterrorist as well, "Well hello there Batman. Did you happen to lose one of your strays?"

Poison Ivy stood before them, holding Batgirl by the neck with one of her vines. The villainess could see more of her planet soldiers coming up behind the heroes, but raised her hand up to stop them. Batman seemed none too happy to see her, "Ivy, it's been awhile. These new creatures you've been creating are an improvement, but looks to me like they still need a puppetmaster."

"They have their own free will, I just find they work better when I take handle of them myself," Ivy replied, "They've would've been better if I'd had more time to work with them, but as you can see, I got some uninvited guests. Rather rude of you and your friends to show up like that, but I think we just might have a party favor for you right here, if you're willing to co-operate that is."

Batman knew Cassandra's life could hand in the balance, so he was going to play along for now, "Negotiation isn't typically in my wheelhouse. If you want something, I'd advise that you don't ask for much."

"What I want is rather simple," Ivy began, running her hands by Casandra's cheek as she spoke, "You see, there's something hidden away in this place that I need protected, and I don't mean the monstrosity that Jonathan's stashed away…"

Usually this was where Batman would ask what monstrosity she could be referring to, but a series of booms that shook the entire factory stopped him from doing so. Ivy didn't say another word. A look of determination spread across her face and she dropped Batgirl, running past the heroes in mad dash to retrieve something. Rather than looking a gift horse in the mouth, Batman grabbed Cassandra, who was out cold, before turning to Spoiler, "This whole place is about to come down! We need to get out of here, now!"

"Did someone need a ride?" Came the ever cheerful voice of the Flash, grabbing Spoiler by the waist and speeding off with her. Two seconds later, he was back and grabbing Batgirl from his friend's arms, "I'll take that!"

Again, disappeared and reappeared mere seconds later, this time grabbing the Dark Knight and running him out of the factory as well. After having this done to him a few dozen times, Batman wasn't the at all phased by the great speed at which they traveled.

* * *

"Let's see here, that's one, two, three, four," The Flash started to count, making sure that everyone important had gotten out of now blazing factory and to the safe little park he'd chosen. It was in view of the chemical plant, so they could see it burning from a distance, "Yup, that's everybody! Good move coming to me first, Fox. Batman's taught you to think things out pretty well."

The Red Fox shrugged, holding onto his aching head, "I guess, yeah. Man, there isn't a part of my body that doesn't feel it got run over by a train right now. I'm gonna need to sleep for a week after all this...hey boss...I'm sorry about blowing my cover back there."

Everyone knew he was speaking to his father, who didn't seem too upset over the matter, "You're safe, the mission's complete, and everyone in the city can rest easy. That sounds like a pretty good night to me. Flash, I know you got all the Justice League and fake Squad members out, but what about the other villains and their henchmen?"

"I don't really know," Flash admitted, "By the time I was done getting all the good guys out, it was dangerous to go back in there. There were a lot of people running out, so I don't think we should have too many casualties to worry about."

Batman looked down at his son and asked the million dollar question, "What about Scarecrow?"

Ace Chemicals collapsed in on itself in a blaze of glory in the middle of the question, a small explosion going along with it. After checking with Kurama to see if he could feel the villain's presence, Naruto answered, "He's dead...I didn't kill him, but the bastards dead. His rampage is what made the place go up like that. Jonathan Crane, my superhero arch villain, is finally gone. Kinda funny that I don't know how to feel about that."

"I wouldn't expect you to," His father responded, putting a hand on his shoulder, "You didn't do anything wrong. Scarecrow sealed his own fate the moment he chose to give into the darkness. Let's go home and check up on Cassandra. I have a feeling she's going to need all the help she can get, and you need your rest."

Naruto nodded and stood up, walking towards the Batmobile. Bruce could see off in the distance that Superman had at last arrive, using his super-breath to put out the fire Scarecrow's lair had left behind. Since it was now safe to check through the rubble, Batman decide there was something he needed to check up on, "Spoiler, you and Naruto uses the autopilot to get home. If Tsunade's still there, have her look over Casandra, making sure to check her out both mentally and physically. I'll be home after I see about a couple of things Ivy said…"

* * *

"You know Batman, digging through an old building isn't exactly my idea of a crazy night on the town," Powergirl grumbled, digging through yet another pile of rubble, "What makes you so sure Scarecrow was building anything? For all we know, Ivy could've been lying."

The kryptonian wasn't wrong, but Bruce had to be sure, "I'll ecstatic if she was trying to play me, but until I know for sure there isn't something else down here that we need to be worried about, I'm going to keep looking. She ran off to get something. The question is; what?"

Batman kicked over another few piles of stone, but didn't find much of anything. That is until Catwoman start screaming for him, "Um, Bruce, there's something over here you might wanna see. Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but it sure is hell seems freaky."

"Freaky is exactly what I'm looking for," The Dark Knight said, making his way over to Selena with the rest of group. What she'd found was a dome of scorched vines that was several layers thick. Near it was the dead body of woman, burned beyond recognition. Batman was confident he knew who it was, "Looks like we've found what Ivy was looking for. She gave her life to protect this. Saying it was important to her would be an understatement. Selina, do us a favor and slice open that dome. I need to know what we're dealing with her."

Using her claws, Catwoman made quick work of the plants, amazed at how well protect whatever was inside must've been. What they found inside was something that none of them could explain it. All they got at first was a noise, a small cooing. That cooing soon turned to crying...the crying of an infant child.

* * *

Buried beneath their feet in a hidden bunker Scarecrow created a hundred feet below the ground, a containment cylinder opened. What felt out was a naked humanoid male with pale, green skin. He stood up, trying to walk, but failed like a baby dear. A few minutes later, he got the hang of it, and explored his surroundings. There was an elevator that lead up to the surface, though it would take him a few minutes to figure that out. It didn't try to leave at first though, rather, it found two more containment units inside the small concrete room with it. The nameless creature ripped open both units with it's bare hands, two more humanoids that looked just like it falling out.

Both these other creatures were slightly less formed that than first, but seemed friendly, as though they wanted to greet the one who'd freed them. They would find that their liberator wasn't nearly as kind...


	50. Birthdays Pt 1

Here we go again folks, time to pick up right where we left off. I'm sure the bit at the end where I mentioned the baby and that thing down in Crane's secret lab threw everyone off, but hey, it was meant to. You'll get an explanation for the infant soon enough, but the new villain, well, more on him later. This chapter will be a bit of a wind down one after all the craziness last time, though that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of interesting things to come. I'll stop talking and get to it then. Thank you all so much for reading and please be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack: The Impression That I Get-The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

* * *

Diana Prince rocked back in forth in the living room of Wayne Manor with the small baby in her arms. The boy, who looked no more than a couple of days old, slept peacefully with her as she sang him an old Amazonian lullaby. Tsunade had finished looking the boy over ten minutes ago, finding that he was a perfectly healthy infant, despite a paler than usual tone of skin.

Well, that wasn't all she'd found, as she explained to Bruce only a few feet away, "The closest thing I can compare his DNA to would by my grandfather's. There are plant cells mixed in his genetic material, not to mention there's a complete lack of a belly button. That tells me he had no umbilical cord, so he wasn't born of what you or I would consider natural means. He'll age naturally, at least from what I can tell, but I think he was grown in some kind of embryonic chamber. Before you ask, yes, both the DNA samples you gave me were a match, so they're his biological parents. Mind letting me know who they are?"

"The first one you probably already guessed," Bruce said, a hand on his chin, "Pamela Isley. I knew she couldn't conceive naturally, and her psychological profile mentioned she wanted to be a mother, but I never thought she'd go this far. She must've used one of her own eggs along with her new biological experiments to make it usable. Then she acquired a little semen, fertilized it, and used her equipment to make closest thing she could manage to for a womb to grow it in. Knowing her skills, it's best explanation as to why her son shares her plant like makeup, though not to quite to the same extent."

Clark Kent was in the room with them, and recalled there was one question left unanswered, "Who's the father? Come on Bruce, who is it?"

He sighed before he gave his response, "Jonathan Crane. I'd heard rumours they'd been sleeping together, so I figured he was the most likely candidate. Based on what I observed myself and what I was able to dig up, sounds like it was more than physical. The two cared for another, but I don't know whether or not Crane was aware he had a son."

"Wait, you're telling me that's the child of Scarecrow and Poison Ivy?" Clark asked, to which his friend nodded, "Well, this complicates the situation considerably."

Bruce didn't need to be reminded of that, "We need to decide carefully what we do with him. Based on what Tsunade said, he'll end up having some sort of powers manifesting eventually. Not to mention both his parents had a genius level intellect, so he'll probably inherit that as well. Something tells me sticking him in the foster care system isn't our best option."

Based on the look on his face, Clark agreed, "No, we need to make sure he doesn't fall into the wrong hands if he's got even half the potential we suspect. Hm, when's Mei supposed to give birth again?"

"What? Oh, we're inducing labor tomorrow so that she can have a couple of days to recuperate before the party," Bruce answered, uncertain of the connection, "It'll give everyone a chance to meet Jikusume and make sure Naruto isn't too overwhelmed by everyone at his surprise party. He doesn't like having too much attention on him."

"So you guys finally picked out a name for her," Tsunade remarked, a small smile on her face, "Jikusume, that's really pretty."

Clark glanced over at the dark haired boy in Diana's arms, an idea popping into his head, "That mean's she and Crane's son are going to be only days apart. Almost the exact same age."

It was then that Bruce realized what he was getting, "Clark, tell me you're not going to suggest what I think you are."

"All I did was make an observation," Clark said, his point becoming much more clear, "Maybe it's something you can point to your wife as well. Something that you can discuss with her, you know?"

Bruce stood up and walked over Diana, looking down at the infant she held, "Why is it everyone always expects me to take in the strays?"

"I'm guessing it has something to do with what a wonderful father you make," Diana said, handing of the child to him, "Do you have some other suggestion?"

None that seemed all that reasonable to Bruce as he shifted his arms to make certain the boy was comfortable, "At the moment, no, I don't. Waller would do her best to protect him if we gave him to her, but I can't say the same for the rest of the US government. None of the other League Members have the same experience or recourses I do in terms of caring for him. Not to mention I'm the only person with the perfect cover story for him: Jikusume's twin brother."

Tsunade was thinking the same thing, "You've gotta at least think about it, Bruce. See what Mei thinks, maybe have him stay the night here, and then make your decision. Think you can do that?"

"Not sure I have much of a choice," Bruce grumbled. His deep voice caused the boy to open his eyes, looking directly at man. The child's eyes were big, green, and filled with innocence. He started to coo, seemingly quite pleased to be in Bruce's arms. Even the Dark Knight couldn't stop his heart from melting, "I'll run the idea past her, but I can't make any promises. Clark, Diana, you guys should probably head back to the Hall of Justice and make sure everything's okay. I'll call you tomorrow to tell you what Mei thinks. Tsunade, let's go check up on Cassandra. Hopefully Ino's made some progress with her while we've been busy here."

* * *

Physically, the damage to Cassandra's body could've been much worse. Thanks to the Red Hood's intervention, Scarecrow had only allowed surface injuries to the girl. It was true that she'd been sliced, beaten, and burned, but at least there had been no rape and nothing that couldn't be healed up. The Riddler had inadvertently helped her as well, as his prying into her mind had made Cassandra less aware of the pain she was felling. That didn't mean all was well with her mind however…

Mentally, she had been all but destroyed. The device Nygma had attached to Cassandra tore apart nearly every section of her psyche, even if he'd been unable to control it. When she'd awoken after Tsunade had repaired her physically, Cassandra started thrashing like a madwoman, and no one, not even Naruto, had been able to calm her down. If she was awake, she only ever screamed, never once saying an actual word as far as they could tell. It was decided only a few hours after she'd gotten home that a Yamanaka needed to come in and try to piece her mind back together. Ino arrived not long after, soon finding that Naruto would've been willing to do anything to help her. Although, it seemed he was the only one who felt his assistance was needed.

"For the last time son, I don't think you going into her mind with Ino would be a good idea," Mei told Naruto, a hand resting in her extended stomach, "I'm sure she can handle Cassandra's condition just fine on her own. There's no reason to put you at risk too."

Naruto, who was in Cassandra's bedroom with Barbara, Ino, and Mei, was feeling rather defiant, "Mom, I have to do something for her, it's my fault she's in this condition! Come Ino, back me up here!"

His friend didn't respond right away, Cassandra beginning to thrash again before she could think of something to say. Naruto was already making his way towards her, so Ino jumped and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the room while Barbara and Mei took over. He ripped his hand away as she closed the door, but Ino but a finger to his lips before he could speak, "Hold up! No opening that big yapper of yours until I'm done talking. Look, when I was helping to defend your head from the Joker, that was one thing. There was no need to be delicate there. With this though, I'm trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together, and that shit requires focus. All you would do is make things harder on me. Do you understand?"

"I can't believe you know who Humpty Dumpty is," Naruto said, to which Ino only stared, "Okay fine, I get it! Don't expect it to be easy for me though!"

Ino wasn't going to expect anything of the sort, "I won't. All I need from you is to stay back and let me do what I do best; mess with people's heads!"

That last remark got an eyebrow raise from Naruto, "You really did get messed up from seeing Joker in my mind, didn't you?"

"I prefer to think it made me a little more fun," Ino said with shrug, turning back to head into Cassandra's room, "You hang tight while I see what I can do with our friend in there. Don't worry your pretty little head Naruto, I've got this!"

* * *

News of Scarecrow's defeat spread like wildfire throughout Gotham. The iron grip he held over the city was no more, and that gave a great sense of relief to the Police force and citizens who resided there. Rumour had it that many other villains had fallen that night as well, leaving some to wonder who all still remained alive. Harley Quinn was one of those people.

"Dammit Riddler, I'm worried sick about losing my friends here, and all you can think about is how much money I'm gonna pay you for this," Harley screamed through the phone after having heard Nygma's price for the information she desired. Though he'd left the plant, he still had camera's inside the place that let him see who all had perished, and he planned to use that information to make himself a pretty penny, "Fine, I'll wire ya the cash as soon as we're done talking! Now tell me who all bit the big one last night!"

The Riddler could tell by her tone that he'd toyed with her enough, so he got right to the point rather than asking for a down payment, "_As you wish Ms. Quinn. Who in particular did you wanna know about?"_

Only two names concerned her at the moment, "I've gotta know if Pam's okay, and I need to ask about Deathstroke for a friend of mine."

"_Slade Wilson is dead, killed by one of those 'Squad' members," _Nygma answered, nervous at how she would react to the next revelation, "_And Ivy...I'm sorry Harley, but Ivy's gone. Based on the footage, she burned up when the explosion hit. There's no way she's not dead."_

Harley gasped. Her eyes began to water and she became choked up, "I told her...I told Red that she needed to get away from Scarecrow, or she was gonna end up dead right along with him...I'll wire you the money in a couple of hours. Thanks for ruining my day, Riddler."

She hung up and threw the phone onto her bed. Tears streamed down Harley's face as she sat down on her bed and placed her head in her hands. Poison Ivy had been more than just some passing friend to her; she had been one of the only people who ever understood the girl. To Ivy, Harley was more than just that crazy nut in the jester outfit; she was a loyal, fun, and even understanding individual. Harley had been one of the first people who treated Ivy like a real person, and that meant a lot to the botanist. They loved one another, viewing themselves as a twisted work of art and a blood stained rose. Now that rose was dead, and Harley didn't know what she would do without it.

"What's wrong, Mother?" Jason asked, making Harley look up and realize the boy was there. He wiped one of the tears from her sobbing face and urged her to speak up, "You know you can tell me anything."

Harley reached out and hugged the teen, grateful to have him there, "It's Ivy, sweetie...she's dead, and I feel lost with her. That girl was like my sister, more than that even. What am I supposed to do now that she's gone?"

"I don't know, Mother," Jason replied, trying to decide how long he should wait before asking about Rose's father, "Not to seem uncaring, but did you find out-"

She answered before the question was even over, "Slade's gone too. We'll tell his kid in a little bit, I wanna sit with ya for now. If you don't mind anyways."

Jason never minded. He got up from his knees and sat down on the bed next to Harley, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. All the talk of sister's and losing those closest to you got Jason thinking about those he'd left behind at Wayne Manor, particularly the boy he'd grown to think of as his brother. The date also occurred to him, October 6th. He whispered to Harley, "Mother, I've got a request to make, and I want you to keep an open mind about it."

"I always do," Said Harley.

"Okay...so Naruto's birthday is in about four days," Jason began, immediately followed by Harley giving him an odd look, "And you know I still think of him like a sibling. With everything that's been going on, I'm starting to think,"

That was yet another sentence she didn't let him finish, rolling her eyes as she said, "For pete's sake Jason, if you wanna go see your 'brother' on his birthday, go ahead. Just make sure he's the only one who sees ya and it's fine with me."

Jason kissed her forehead as a little way to say thanks, and they continued to sit in silence. Moments like these were what made Harley so grateful to have him around. After losing so much, it was wonderful to have one constant in her life.

* * *

"Adopting the son of the man who made our son's life a living hell?" Mei asked, having to take a breath after she finished the sentence, "Not only is that a mouthful, it doesn't sound like the best idea."

Bruce had just finished setting up the crib he'd retrieved from the attic. It was the same one he'd used when he was little, and he gave it a fresh coat of white paint only a week ago. He'd retrieved it to use for Jikusume, but with Crane and Ivy's son staying with them, Bruce found he would need it a little early, "As much as I'd like to agree, I'm not sure what else to do for him."

There were a couple of things Mei thought of, "The powers he'll end up with we'll make him stick out here, but what about in Hidden Mist or Leaf? We could pass it off as a bloodline."

"Maybe, but how would explain the bloodline without him having any chakra?" Bruce asked, a rather good question."

"Okay, so he wouldn't fit in there either," Mei admitted, still thinking, "If we're not careful about who adopts him, he'll end up as a weapon. Are you sure there are no League members who have the time and the cover to take him?"

Mei could tell by the look on his face that the answer was no, "Think about it babe. We need someone who can watch him at all times, while also monitoring him to see what kind of abilities he might end up with. Oliver and Dinah are the closest options we'd have, since they're a couple so they could split up their time. Thing is though, they've never raised a regular child, let alone one with powers they'd have to carefully monitor. Clark doesn't have the time, Diana doesn't have the time, Martain Manhunter doesn't understand half of earth's customs, Wally is a manchild in his own right-"

"I get the picture," Mei cut him off, pointing out afterwards, "Considering that Dinah's a metahuman though, her and Oliver will probably have a metahuman child."

"Fair point," Bruce replied, watching the baby they were speaking of sleep in the crip, "They'll have an idea of what expect with them though. This little guy's still mostly a mystery to us. Face it, we're the only ones with the time and resources to watch after him. There's always someone in the mansion to keep an eye on him. Besides, he didn't chose to have two psychopaths as parents. If anyone can give him an honest shot, it's us."

No matter how much sense that made, Mei simply couldn't say she was sure. She came up behind her husband and looked into the crib as well. The baby was sleeping peacefully. Mei only knew one thing about the boy right now, "We can't keep calling him 'the baby' or 'the little guy.' If he's gonna stay here for even a couple more days, he needs some kind of name."

Bruce knew she was right, "I was thinking the same thing myself. His name can always get changed later, so for now, how about John?"

"You wanna name him after his father?" Mei asked, clearly offput by concept, "Don't you think that seems a little...risky? It's like we're saying we expect him to be another Scarecrow."

Didn't look that way to Bruce, "Just like Naruto did, sooner or later this kid is going to find out where he came from and what kind power lies within in him. There's no changing the fact that he's Ivy and Crane's son, and if nothing else, his mother clearly loved him. She sacrificed his life for him after all."

Mei understood what he was trying to get across, but felt there were better ways of achieving, "That's true, but Crane never even knew about him. If you wanna name him after one of his parents, go with Ivy. Although, you can't really make Pamela a boy's name. Ivy could be turned into Ivan though."

"He doesn't look like an Ivan to me," Bruce pointed out, and looking the infant's chubby little face, Mei had to agree, "Maybe Ivan could be a middle name. Johnathan Ivan has a nice ring to it."

The more she heard him called that, the more Mei grew accustomed to calling the little guy John. He started to fuss inside the crib, so she brought a hand down and stroked his head, quickly calming him down, "May you're right. It might be good for him to have a name that shows he knows where he came from, and he's not ashamed of it. Yes, his parents did some horrible things, but he can do something greater with his life. Pity he won't understand what it means until he's older."

Bruce and Mei watched as the newly dubbed John opened his eyes little by little. He cracked the faintest of smiles when he saw them, reaching out his tiny hand and latching onto the woman's finger. Mei was a bit startled by it, but it didn't take long for the action to feel almost natural. The emotions that Bruce had felt before began to stir again, "How can two monster's like Scarecrow and Poison Ivy make something this precious?"

"I don't know," His wife responded, "But for now, I think we'd better let him sleep. We can make up our minds about John here tomorrow. Looks like we might be giving Jikusume a playmate sooner than we thought."

* * *

Naruto had never been a patient person, particularly when it came to his friends and family. His number one goal in life was to make certain he could protect them, so being stuck outside the door while others tried to save Cassandra was like torture to him. The fact that she was in her current condition because of Naruto made things all that much worse. Scarecrow had hurt her to get to him, there was no way around that. How could he ever make up for the type of things Cassandra must've gone through.

These thought continued to torment the teen until Ino opened the door behind him. Naruto shot up and grabbed her by the shoulders, "Is Cassandra okay? How bad was it? Why did it take so long? I thought you said tha-"

"Would you give me a second?" Ino snapped, slapping him across the face with something rubber. Naruto rubbed his cheek and looked down to see that she was holding a rubber fish.

"Should I even bother asking where you got that or why you have it?" Naruto wondered out loud, sighing.

Ino threw the fish off to the side and shrugged, "It would probably save us both some time if you didn't question it. All I'll say is that those sealing skills you helped me out with have gone a long way. Now then, Cassandra is fine for the most part. She's not thrashing around anymore, and she can talk normally again. Most of what happened to her, she can't remember, which I don't need to tell you is a good thing. I don't think she'll have any PTSD, but we'll have to keep her out of battle until we can be certain. Any damage that machine Riddler used on her did was pretty easy to undo, so that's another win for us. She'll probably never be quite the same, but really, I don't think we could've gotten a much better result when you consider what she went through. Cassandra is a lucky girl."

A sense of calm washed over Naruto. He grabbed Ino and pulled her into a hug, squeezing her so tight that she almost couldn't breath, "Ino, thank you so much! I knew I could trust you!"

"Naruto, are you gonna make me get the rubber fish again?" Ino asked, which got the teen to let her go, "You're welcome by the way. Oh, and Cassandra was asking to see you. Don't try and hug her like you were me. She's still just a little bit fragile."

That was something he'd be sure to keep in mind. Naruto took a deep breath and walked into the room, the other ladies walking out to give him some privacy with Cassandra. They closed the door as the young blond got a look at his longtime friend. He forced himself not to stare at the markings on her face, but Cassandra could tell he'd reacted to them, "You don't have to pretend I don't have some scrapes and bruises, Naruto, I'm well aware. Come over here and sit down, it's been awhile since I've seen you."

Naruto, still unsure of how to act about all this, did as he was asked and sat down next to her. With everything that'd happened, there was but thing he could think to say, and he was fighting off tears as he said it, "Cassandra, I am so sorry, for everything that you had to go through. Scarecrow did all those awful things to you, and it was all my fault. You have to believe me, if I had any idea that he was going to use you to get to me, I would've done something, anything, to try and save you!"

"Let's get one thing straight," Cassandra began, silencing Naruto, "I don't blame you for what happened to me. In the kind of business that were in, these kind of things are a part of the job. Anyone of us could have someone obsess over them and go after the ones we love. How many times must've the Joker done something like this? There's always going to be someone out there to test us like this. It's not your fault you're his favorite victim."

"Was his favorite victim actually," Naruto corrected her, "Scarecrow's dead, ended up blowing up his own hide out before he could escape. That's one less thing for us to worry about I guess."

Cassandra didn't necessarily seemed pleased by the death, but she was by no means shedding any tears either, "I have a feeling the afterlife is going to be none to kind him. Naruto, may I ask you something?"

That nervous tone was something Naruto didn't hear from her often, "Of course, anything you want."

"When you were gone, did you miss me?" Cassandra asked, placing a hand on Naruto's, "And no, I don't mean as a friend. I know we spoke out this before, but-"

Now it was Naruto's turn to interrupt someone, "I get what you mean...and yeah, I thought about you almost every day. That kiss kind of left an impression on me."

Cassandra blushed at the memory of feeling his lips connected to hers, "I see. What about Temari and Hinata?"

"I missed them too," Naruto admitted, looking at the ground, "I've got three of the most perfect women in the world interested in me, and no idea what I did to deserve them."

He felt her soft hand brush against his cheek. Cassandra, despite her sore and aching body, leaned over to kiss the teen. With everything that had happened, Naruto had no desire to push her away. He mimicked her movements, their lips soon meeting in the middle. Without thinking, Cassandra snaked her arms around Naruto's neck and deepened the kiss. Naruto moaned as she slid her tongue into his mouth, soon returning the favor. The two feel back onto the bed, the kissing becoming more intense as they did. A knock at the door made them break away, which Naruto knew was likely for the best, "Sorry Cassandra, maybe another time. There's a few things we need to talk about before we do anything like this anyways."

Naruto was about to stand up when Cassandra grabbed him and pulled him down into one of the most intense kisses of his life. She let the stunned boy back up for some air a few moments later, "That's to hold me over until we can be alone again. I know Temari and Hinata want you just as badly as I do, but I promise, they won't get you all to themselves without a fight."

"Hehe...right," Naruto said, recomposing himself and walking to the door. He opened it up to find an old friend waiting for him, "Waller? Holy shit, how've you been? Seems like it's been forever since I've seen you. Well, forever since I've seen you when you didn't have to brief me for some dangerous mission anyways."

It seemed there surprise visitor was none other than Amanda Waller, a long time friend of the hero's. Though she had softened a touch over the years, he demeanor still commanded respect. She allowed the boy to give her a small hug, something few people were permitted to do, "It's good to see you too, Naruto. There something I need to speak with your father about, but I thought I'd stop and say hello. Also, couldn't hurt to congratulate you on a successful end to your mission."

Naruto remembered right then that he still hadn't talked to her about blowing his cover, "Look, Amanda, about me going off script during the mission; I know that I lost my cool, and that was stupid of me."

"Yes it was," Waller didn't hesitate to confirmed, "But given your age and the circumstances, I wouldn't expect anything less. Besides, everything went well and the Scarecrow was going to set off the Cloudburst in a matter of hours. You did what you felt you had to. What I'd rather talk about right now is the birthday present I got you."

"You got me a birthday present?" Naruto asked with raised eyebrows, "You didn't have to do that. My birthday isn't even for a few days."

Waller handed the boy a small box with red and blue wrapping paper, "I won't be around on your actual birthday, so I wanted to give it to you now. Go on, open it. I'm sure you'll love it."

Naruto was intrigued by her confidence. He tore open the wrapping paper and found a small case underneath, which he soon opened. Inside was a long, three pronged kunai with paper wrapped around it. There was writing on the paper as well, "Oh cool, it's a replica of one of my dad's kunais. Thanks Amanda, this awesome."

"Why don't you look at it little closer for me," Waller suggested, "Particularly at the symbols on it."

At first Naruto had no idea what she was talking about, but once he realized that it was a genuine seal on the kunai, he got a lump in his throat, "This...this isn't a replica. It's actually one of my dad's kunai. He used it, you can tell by all the scratches. I thought these were all either destroyed or bought up by collectors. How did you get this?"

"I found out a couple of weeks ago that our weapon's department had one on hand for studying ninja technology," Waller began to explain, "Of course they made no progress with it, and so they didn't make much of fuss when I confiscated it. I have to imagine it'll mean more to you than anyone."

Naruto could hardly believe it. He never thought he'd get to hold one of the legendary kunai in his hand. Next thing Waller knew, she was being half tackled into a hug by the teen, who had tears running down his cheeks, "Thank you! I don't know what to else to say!"

There was nothing else he needed to say. Waller accepted the second hug, whispering to him as she did, "You've come a long way since I met you in the Hidden Leaf. The little boy I saw there is all grown up. He's done some great things, and think he's gonna do ever more down the road. Remember Naruto, if you ever need anything, anything at all, just call."

"Believe me, I will," Naruto replied, wiping his eyes, "By the way, you might not have gotten here at the best time. Mom just went into labor."

"I thought they weren't going to induce labor for another couple of hours," Waller recalled, "I don't usually mix up times in my head."

Naruto couldn't help help but laugh, "Actually, you didn't mix up anything. She went labor two hours before they were gonna induce it. Talk about the mother of all coincidences...no pun intended."

An unlikely turn of events, but not one that changed what Waller needed to do, "Is there any chance Bruce could pop out to have a quick word? He was the one who requested this meeting in the first place."

"If you value your life at all, you do not wanna go see them," Naruto warned her, "You didn't hear the way mom was screaming in there. Right now, I'm just praying that dad makes it out okay."

* * *

"Aaaaahhhhhhhh," Mei screamed from the hospital bed they'd set up in one of the guest rooms in Wayne Manor. Her husband was beside her holding her hand while Tsunade looked her over, "Bruce, I love you, but I swear to god I'm going to fucking kill you for putting me in this kinda pain!"

Bruce felt like she was crushing his hand, as well as destroying his eardrums, "Tsunade, tell me we're almost finished down here. I'm not sure how much more of this Mei can take."

Pulling her head up from between her patient's open legs, Tsunade did her best to reassure her, "Don't worry Mei, you're doing great. Just one more big push, and Jikusume will be here. Come on, you can do it."

"That's easy for you to say, you're not to push a human being out of your body," Mei screamed once more, trying her hardest to muster up one last bit of strength, "Come on, Jikusume, give mommy some relief here!"

Mei gave out a scream along with one final push, after which she heard the faintest of cries. After hearing that sweet sound, she relaxed, turning to Bruce, "Is that her? Is she here?"

Taking a glance at crying infant in Tsunade's arms, Bruce whispered to his wife, "It's her alright, and she's beautiful. She's got a little bit of red hair on her head, but I think she's gonna get my eyes. Hold on, Tsunade's bringing her over."

"Just had to clean her up a little bit," Tsunade said, having wiped the goo off from Jikusume with a towel, "Here you go, Mei, your little girl."

Tsunade set the baby on her chest, letting Mei look at her for the first time. Jikusume was still crying, but to her mother, that was the most beautiful sound in the world, "Oh my gosh, she's perfect. Jikusume, my daughter. You almost tried to kill mommy, you know that? I'm so happy you're here though."

"Okay, I let you hold her a little, but now I've gotta take her and do some routine checks," Tsunade said after a few minutes, "Don't worry, I promise I'll take good care of her. It'll only be a couple of minutes, then I'll hand her right back to you"

"Be careful," Mei replied, letting Tsunade lift the infant off from her, "She's fragile."

Bruce kissed his wife's sweat covered forehead, "She knows honey, she knows. You did, Mei. Jikusume is here. Can you believe it?"

"After all the pain I just went though, yeah, I kinda can," She said, already missing her daughter, "Bruce, I wanna hold my baby. Tsunade better be quick about this."

This woman was going to make a wonderful mother, "Relax Mei, I'm sure she's working as fast as she can. I need to pop out to sign those papers for Waller. Remember, if I do this, there's no going back. John will be our son. You seemed pretty happy about the idea this morning, but I need to ask again; are you sure you wanna do this?"

Mei had absolutely no doubts, "After we talked it over some more this morning, the only reason I could see not to do it would be Naruto. The fact that John is Crane's son didn't seem to bother him though, and if that's the case, then there's no reason not to do this. Go, sign the papers."

"You've got it," Bruce said, giving his wife's hand a small squeeze, "You never cease to amaze me, you know that? You're truly a miracle of a woman."

That got an eye roll from Mei, "Normally I'd think that's sweet, but right now I'm too exhausted to care. You go see Waller, I'm going to rest until Tsunade gets back in here with our baby."

Bruce nodded, making his way to the door, "I will. Give Jikusume lots of love for me."

"If you insist," Mei said with a giggle, leaning back into her bed before sighing, "I don't even think chakra exhaustion was this bad…"

* * *

In the living room, which was a floor below where Mei had just given birth, Naruto was sitting in between Barbara and Amanda Waller, holding little John in his arms. He was sleeping, which is almost all a newborn does, with the two women fawning over him. Barbara looked ready to grab baby right out of Naruto's arms and cuddle him, "Oh, he's just so cute! I wanna pinch his chubby little cheeks."

Waller couldn't help but notice how well he slept in Naruto's arms "Seems like John's taking a liking to you. Gotta say, I'm impressed at how easily you put aside whose son he is. I would think you of all people would be nervous with him."

"Hey, nobody knows what it's like better than me to have something you can't control held against you," Naruto replied, rocking the boy, "Yeah, he was my arch enemy's kid, but it's not like his genes are evil or something. The way I see it, not only am I getting a little sister, I'm getting a little brother now too. How awesome is that?"

That was a pretty healthy healthy way to look at it. No had time to answer though before Bruce entered the room, to which Waller promptly stood up. She pulled some papers and a pen from her coat pocket and handed them to him, "Here you go Bruce, the documents you asked me to draw up. These will give you custody of John, and make it appear that he was born on the same day Jikusume. In the eyes of the outside world, there's no reason to believe they aren't twins. With how close they are in age, they might as well be. How's Mei doing?"

"Good, now that the baby's out of her," Bruce said with a grin, making both Naruto and Barbara shoot up as he signed the papers, "Before you ask, yes, everything went fine, and you can see her yourself shortly. You can follow me in when I bring these paper to Mei so she can get her signature on there as well."

Everyone started to follow Bruce until Tsunade met them at the entrance to the living room, "Hold up guys. I need to snag Naruto away for a second so I can talk to him. The rest of you can head in. Jikusume seems pretty happy with her mother though, so I don't know if you'll get to hold her for too long."

None of them seemed to mind. Bruce took John from Naruto, bouncing him a little as he started to fuss, "Alright then, we'll take this little guy in to meet his sister while you talk to Naruto. Have fun you two."

"Who ever has fun talking to her?" Naruto joked, finding it a bit odd that the jab failed to get a rise out of Tsunade, "What, did you grow thicker skin or something?"

Once the others were out of earshot, Tsunade got right to the point, "Naruto, I'm going to be blunt with this...do you know what the Clan Restoration Act is?"

"Um, yeah, it's this thing where if there's a valuable set of the genes that the village wants to make sure stays safe, they have him marry a bunch of," Naruto started, realizing half way through what she was getting at, "NO!"

"Yes," Tsunade countered, her head hanging, "I'm sorry Naruto, I did everything I could, and I held it off for as long as humanly possible, but the council finally managed to strong arm enough of the votes. They've enacted the Clan Restoration Act on you. There's no way around it. If you refuse or try to run, they'll declare you a traitor and do everything in there power to capture you. Please tell me you wouldn't be stupid enough to try and pull something likes that?"

Naruto was grinding his teeth and she knew it. Hell, she could feel the rage radiating off from him, "I know there's no way out, at least not one that won't put those I love in danger."

She leaned down next to him, her eyes growing wet, "I'm so sorry Naruto. You know if there was anything I could do, I would. I've prevented it as long as I could."

"I have no doubt that you did," Naruto said, his body shaking, "All I wanna do is scream at someone right now, but I know you aren't the one to do it to. You've done everything you can. So that's it then? I don't get to be a normal person who falls in love with someone slowly, finding the person I meant to be with. That's what the rules say, isn't it? All I get to pick is one of my wives, which the council will have to approve of, and another two will be picked out for me? Fucking great!"

Tsunade did her best to comfort him, "It's not as bad sounds. First of all, it doesn't matter who you pick, because I've got the power to make sure they're approved. As for the other two, well they've already been picked out. I struck early to make sure you'd get your dream scenario."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, "Who did you set me up with?"

At last, Tsunade had some good news for him, "People I know you already care about deeply; Hinata and Temari. Hinata was a perfect choice, since she's a clan heiress, which the council loved, and Temari was part of a major family in the Hidden Sand, so marrying her will approve our relationship with them. It was too good for me to pass up!"

Naruto was no doubt happy with the choices, but they did leave him with more questions, "Temari and Hinata? Do they know yet? If they do, are they okay with it?"

"Believe it or not, yeah, they are," Tsunade replied, getting Naruto to raise an eyebrow, "You have to understand, both of them knew they were strong bargaining chips to begin with and that they likely wouldn't get to choose a husband anyways. If they were gonna be forced to marry someone, they want it to be you. I already sent the request while you were on your mission and both of them accepted without many questions. That's the two council choices out of the way...though we need your choice for your final wife picked out within the next month to get the last of the paperwork in order. I'm sorry, but this was the best I could do Naruto, really."

That claim got a sigh from the boy, who pulled her into a hug, "I know it was, and I'm really grateful. I'm still pissed that we come from a village that uses women as bargaining chips and forces people into harems, but hey, at least we're making the best of it."

Tsunade felt a little better knowing that was how he saw it. Naruto had always been good at finding the best way to look at the bad situation. It was likely what had gotten him this far. He'd likely be needing it if the test the lied ahead were anything like the ones he'd faced before.

* * *

Another two days past, most of them filled with getting to know the new additions to the Bat Family. Jikusume Martha Wayne was, according to the Alfred, the most beautiful little girl the world had ever seen. Naturally, she liked being held her mother above pretty much anyone, though her father proved to be a close second. John Ivan Wayne was accept rather fast into the group, with Bruce unable to not take joy in the fact that he now had a son named 'John Wayne.' When he found that almost none of the ninja families members knew who that was, he decided he'd have to show them some westerns ASAP.

Jikusume and John were difficult to raise simultaneously, but at least there were many people to watch over them. They brought a lot of joy into the manor as well. After all the darkness they saw during the day, it was nice for the heroes to know they had such precious things to come home to. Mei had made a visit to the Mist to show them off, with everyone falling in love Jikusume's infectious smile and John's soft voice. After she finished letting the council croon over them, Mei let everyone know that she'd be back up to full strength in no time, and taking on the full duties of the Mizukage once again. Though she did plan on bringing some cribs into her office to keep her children near her as much as possible.

Those two day had given everyone time to adjust, to the point where it almost seemed like the group was tailor made to take care of the infants. That was quite the stroke of luck, considering that they had a party to set up for…

* * *

"Barb, why do I have to cover my eyes like this?" Naruto asked, blind as a bat as Barbara guided him to the Wayne Manor living room, "Come on, this is ridiculous."

"Hush up, I don't want you to ruin the surprise," Barbara scolded him, placing him right in front of the living room entry way, "Okay, now you can look!"

Naruto uncovered his eyes to find a room full of people waiting for him, bright decorations all around, and one phrase being screamed out for all to hear, "Happy Birthday Naruto!"

* * *

The Creature didn't know what to make of this city. It had only been a few days since it escapes its confines in Crane's lab, which was not an easy thing to do. Those two sibling like beings he'd been born with proved to have a suitable amount of organs and muscles to complete the few pieces he'd had missing from his body. After that they served as nourishment until he could dig his way free from his birthplace.

Now it wondered Gotham, unsure of what it was. It was a fast learner, that was for certain. It managed to pick up a few words, and understood that it was sort of the like a human, but not exactly. He was more...green. At least, it thought it was a he. In an alleyway one night, when it was picking through the trash for food, he saw two of the humans doing, well, something. The first human, the one that she referred to as a 'he' handed her some paper and pulled down his pants. Attached just below his waist was a 'thing', a dangly 'thing.' Since the creature had one of those 'things' too, it must've been a he, right? That's what it, or he, assumed anyways.

Once he'd pulled out his thing, the human grabbed the other human, the 'she', and pulled up her skirt. What they did after that, the creature wasn't sure, but they seemed to enjoy it. Should he try that? Should he try wearing clothes as well? Again, he wasn't sure, but he knew he needed more. More food, more water, more everything. It seemed there was much yet for him to discover, and he would waste no time in doing so...


	51. Birthdays Pt 2

Hello there ladies and gentlemen, you all ready for a party? Yup, this chapter of the Red Fox is all about Naruto's birthday celebration! Now, there will be a lime like moment in this chapter, but it comes in relatively early, I'll give you a warning, and there's nothing too plot major that happens during it, so if you'd like, you're free to skip it. Be ready for a shock this time too, one that you won't get a good answer for until the next chapter. Also, I'm going to give an apology in advance, as I am starting a new semester of college, and as such, it'll be difficult to keep the updates flowing regularly. I'll do my best to keep up a decent schedule, but please keep in mind that I have to worry about real life problems above all else. I do, however, have a special surprise coming up that I do think you'll all enjoy. Thank you so much for reading and please review.

Shoutout to acw28-Once again, I need to thank my friend and fellow author for all this help in making this fanfic possible. I've mostly referred to him as my produce on this fanfic, since it's the closest thing I can think of. He's a great guy and a great author. I highly recommend checking out his stories when you get the chance. It'd be a good idea, considering that he might relate back to that surprise I spoke off...

Chapter Soundtrack-Urge Overkill: Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon

* * *

Naruto was having the time of his life at his birthday party. It seem just about everyone he knew, whether it was from the ninja nations or Gotham, had turned out to celebrate. On the couch was a large pile of gifts he hadn't been expecting, and all around him were friends trying to get their chance to say happy birthday. The only thing that kept Naruto from feeling overwhelmed was the fact that there were new babies around to draw the attention away from him.

"...anyways, Happy Birthday kid, we're all really proud of ya," Dinah said, giving the boy a small peck on the cheek, "I'm gonna go say hi to your little sister, but you be sure tell me what you think of what me and Ollie got you when it's time to open presents, okay?"

"I promise I will," Naruto said, a bright smile on his face, "Thanks for coming."

Dinah nodded and walked towards Bruce, who had Jikusume in his arms. As she left, two more well wishers came up to him, though these were two that made him a touch more verous. It was Gaara, Temari's brother, and Neji, Hinata's cousin. Naruto didn't know Neji all that well, but did know that the boy had patched things up with the clan heiress and was becoming more and more protective of her. Gaara didn't exactly take his sister well being lightly either. There was no way of telling what to expect from either of them, "Naruto, old friend, it's good to see you again. I believe it's customary to wish you a Happy Birthday."

No matter how hard everyone tried, it seemed Gaara would always talk in the most official of manors, "Thanks Gaara, I'm glad you could make it. Neji, how've you been?"

"Fine, until I discovered my cousin was to married off to someone halfway across the world," Neji replied, making Naruto cringe, "Though I suppose she's happy, so that means I am too. Consider my blessing your birthday present...harm her, and I'll end you before you can speak."

Gaara was chuckling by this point, "I don't believe that's something I need to spell out for Naruto. I'm sure he knows that, no matter how close he and I are, I won't hesitate to act if anything should happen to Temari."

By this point, Naruto was sweating, "Hehe...right. By the way, where are those two? I've been looking for them for over an hour, and they're nowhere in sight. I kinda feel like I should talk with them, you know?"

"Ah yes, I almost forgot," Gaara said, pulling out an envelope and handing it to Naruto, "Temari told me to give this to you, adamant that no one put you was to open it. I'll leave you to open it while I freshen up my drink."

Naruto thanked him as Gaara walked off, Neji following him. Once they were gone, he opened the envelope and found a note inside which simply read, '_Dear Naruto, your fiancee's would like to give you a special birthday present. Come and find us in your room when you have the chance. Make certain that we aren't disturbed. Love, Temari, Hinata, and Cassandra."_

"Wait, Cassandra," Naruto said, repeating the final name, "Did I say Cassandra was one of my brides yet? I mean, I was considering her, yeah, but I don't know if I ever said it. Hm, I probably should go talk to them."

Flagging down his father, the young man managed to get Bruce to come over to him, "There something you need, son?"

Naruto didn't know how much into detail he should go, so he tried to remain vague, "My future wives wanted to have a word with me, I'm guessing about the whole CRA thing. Is there anyone I still need to say hi to, or can I head up to my room and talk to them?"

"Oh right, the CRA," Bruce said, not even trying to hide his bitterness. He had accepted that his son had no choice in the matter, but he didn't have to like it, "You've been here for an hour and seen pretty much everyone, so yeah, go ahead and see them. Just make sure you're back here in 45 minutes so that we can start opening presents and have some cake."

That didn't seem like it would be a problem. He nodded and headed off to the stairs, wondering what kind of things he should expect to see up there the entire way.

* * *

Trying to focus on getting to his room with everything that was going on around him proved a challenge for Naruto. Part of that was because he was surrounded by so many friends and family, but there was also the matter of what he'd learned the day after he arrived home. Tim had run off to figure out who he was, or at least that's what Alfred said, meaning Naruto had lost a member of his family. Still, he couldn't be mad at Tim, as this was something that he felt he needed to do. That didn't stop it from being any less distracting though. Even more troubling was the fact that Jason Todd, someone that Naruto consider a brother, wasn't dead as he'd once believed. No, he was alive and well, and working for the other side. It was something he was having a hard time dealing with, no matter how many times he talked his through it, "It still doesn't make any sense to me. He's alive, so why wouldn't he come home? For shit's sake, couldn't he tell me he's alive at least?"

"I'll admit, that was kind of a dick move on my part," A voice called as Naruto turned the corner, which made him spin around on his heel. With the speed he'd gone at, it was miracle he didn't leave burn marks in the wood floor. From a window at the end of the hall, Naruto saw a face that he hardly recognized after so many years, "Hey bro, how've you been?"

It seemed Naruto found this too hard to believe. He slapped himself in face to make certain he was still awake. Jason Todd, roughly three or four years older looking than the ninja remembered, hopped into the window of Wayne Manor and walked over to Naruto. He went up to the birthday boy, who hadn't said a word. The two stayed like that for a long time. Clenching his fist, Naruto broke the tension by punching Jason in the face, snapping as he did, "You asshole!"

"Ah shit, that really hurt," Jason cried, holding onto his nose. After a couple of seconds, he shook it off, "Okay, you know what? I deserved that."

"You bet your ass you did," Naruto growled, lowering his voice so that other wouldn't hear, "Do you know what I went through when I thought you were dead? How much pain I was in? Then I find out that you never even died at the Asylum, and you're working for the bad guys as some kinda fucking killer! If anything, I should punch you again!"

Jason held up his hand, "Woah, I don't think that's necessary. Look, I came here to apologize and explain myself...and to tell you happy birthday, if you'll let me."

For a moment, no one said anything. Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself, "I'm listening."

"Thank you, that's all I'm asking for," Jason replied, "Before I say anything else, just let me admit that you were right, and I shouldn't have let you or the others keep thinking that I'm dead. It wasn't right of me put you and the rest of my old team through that. Having said that...I won't be coming back to the manor any time soon."

Naruto figured as much, "If you were gonna come home, you would've already done it. What I wanna know is why."

"I was getting to that," Jason defended, "The person who saved me that night was Harley Quinn, but you probably already knew that."

"We figured," Naruto admitted, "Best we could tell, she brainwashed you."

That was far from the way Jason saw it, "She didn't brainwash me! I mean, yeah, in the beginning she tried to teach me a lot, but she never forced me into anything. All she did was open my eyes to how crazy what we'd been doing is. You guys have been using nothing but half measures, and it's only gotten you half way. Sure, you get the criminals behind bars, but what good does that do you when they bust out and do more damage in retaliation? If you what a solution, you need to use a permanent one."

This wasn't the first time Naruto had heard this argument, "By saying that, you're saying that nobody's got the potential to change. We've seen people go from bad to good, more than once."

"I'm talking about the ones that can't change," Jason countered, his morals unshifting, "The people out there that I've taken down, they aren't exactly saints Naruto."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "You killed Wayne Tech security to get that decoder chip from us. You telling me the men guarding it deserved to die?"

"Oh please, all four of the men I shot were worthless bastards," Jason told him, "It took me all of ten minutes researching them to find out they were ex-guerrilla militants from Africa."

Another thing Naruto was already aware of, "Yeah, we hire them to make sure they're working for us and not the bad guys. One of the ways we try to make the world better."

Jason rubbed the bridge of his nose, "You have your ways, and I have mine. This isn't what I came here for."

"I know," Naruto sighed, scratching the back of his neck, "I guess, as long as you're not causing trouble in Gotham, I've got no reason to come after ya. Thank you, for coming to see me. I'm really glad to know you're alive."

"Good to hear you still care about me," Jason said, accepting a hug from his brother, "I decided to come hear at the last second, so I don't really have a present to give you."

Naruto didn't care in the least, "Seeing you tops anything you could've given me, so don't worry about it. You probably shouldn't stick around too much longer. We don't want someone seeing you and starting a brawl in this place."

"Good point. I've got a friend outside keeping watch, so I should go check up on them," Jason replied, turning back towards the window, "I promise I'll find a way for us to talk to each other a little more. Have a good rest of the night."

The teen jumped out the window, leaving his brother to return to heading to his room to see whatever present awaited for him. Considering he had the best girls in the world cooking it up, Naruto figured it was bound to be good.

_Small Lime-ish Moment_

When Naruto got to his room, he found the last thing he was expecting waiting for him. It was Cassandra, dressed in a robe, with red eyeshadow and red lipstick. This was a girl who didn't wear makeup often, so when Naruto stood in front of her, he was at a loss for words, "Cassandra, you look...wow. I don't know any other way to say it. Don't get me wrong, you're just as beautiful without makeup, but this sure as hell isn't bad either."

"Thank you my love," Cassandra whispered, making Naruto blush, "Yes, I called you my love. I'm aware that Temari and Hinata have both been chosen as your fiancées. I spoke with them at length about it. You have a month to pick one final bride, or at least that's what I've been told. So, for the next month, I'm going to make certain that you choose me to fill that final spot. Temari and Hinata support me in this, which is why we've prepared a special gift for you tonight."

Before Naruto respond, Cassandra dropped the robe. What she wore underneath took even more of his breath away.

Cassandra was clad only in red lace lingerie, a skin tight bra and thong to be exact. Her breasts, though only a B-cup, were perfectly suited for outfit, her nipples poking through the thin fabric. She spun around, allow him to see how little the thin piece of fabric between her cheeks that left nothing to imagination. It wonderfully showed off her tight, perfectly firm bottom. Naruto had always found it to be her best feature. Every other inch of her tan skin was visible, and it sent shivers down Naruto's spine as she took his hand and opened the bedroom door, leading him inside. If he thought that he was weak in the knees before, it was only about to get worse.

As Cassandra closed the door behind him, the click barely even registering in his mind, Naruto found himself completely in the dark. He heard familiar giggling before Cassandra hit the lights, revealing a stunning Temari and Hinata sitting on his bed. Temari had a playful grin on her face, along with a sultry look in her eye. She wore a black garter belt with fishnet stockings and a matching bra, her bust a bit larger than Cassandra's. Her lips were covered in a thin layer of gloss, and she wore a semi-dark shade of eyeshadow. Based on the look on her face, she liked Naruto's reaction, "I'm guessing you like what ya see. Can't say I blame ya, big boy."

"I uh-um, well," Naruto stuttered, his eyes drifting over to Hinata, "Oh shit…"

Hinata wore a lingerie styled, strapless silk nightie that was completely white. On top of that, it was see through, the top band only just hiding her nipples. It was barely holding in her massive breasts, showing off a fair amount of them. Those mounds were something Naruto had dreamed about. Her legs were shown off in all their glory, the nightie stopping just before her waist. She only had a light pink lipstick on her lips, with matching eyeshadow. Though Hinata was blushing rather hard, she seemed certain of what she wanted to do, "Are you ready, Naruto? I want this to be the best night of your life."

"I'm starting to think that it's gonna be," Naruto mumbled, his other two lovers standing up so that all three could surround him, "Not that I'm complaining, but what did I do to earn this kinda treatment?"

"We just thought it would be a good way to celebrate your birthday, and let you know that we're okay with the CRA," Cassandra answered, pulling him towards the bed, "Since we knew we'd have to share you, we're going to jump right in instead of trying to get our feet wet. Is that alright with you?"

She pushed him onto the bed in between the two other girls, who were now lying down. Naruto was sweating by this point, "Believe me, it's great. Just keep in mind, we've only got about half an hour before I gotta go back down to the party."

"We're first timer's, Naruto, ten minutes apiece should be plenty," Temari assured him, "Now then, let's stop talking and skip straight to the part where we rock your world."

Naruto was wondering if he'd be able to walk when this was all said and done. In mid-thought, Hinata climbed up to his lap and straddle him, whispering into his ear, "Don't worry Naruto...I'll be gentle."

_Small Lime-ish Moment Over_

* * *

H.I.V.E. was an Academy that few people knew for certain existed. Many rumours had surfaced about it over the years, most them claiming that H.I.V.E. was a school that trained supervillains. This was mostly false, but did bear some resemblance to what the Academy actually was. It was a place where young metahumans could come and learn to harness their powers without having to worry about the implications of the law. These weren't the kind of kids who dreamed of being heroes, but rather those who wanted nothing more than fame and fortune. Mercenary's were trained at H.I.V.E., and in exchange, said mercenaries would give 5% of their earnings back to their old home. With nearly four dozen students graduating every year, all of whom had salaries well in the seven figure range, that seemingly small percentage quickly added up. Those who did know of it often wondered how H.I.V.E. insured that these mercenaries would honor their end of the bargain, but the answer turned out to be rather simple. No one said no to Brother Blood.

Brother Blood was something of an enigma in terms of where he'd come from. He didn't have much of a traceable past, but there were some who believed he was at one point the leader of a cult on a remote island, but no one could prove it. The only thing anyone could confirm was that he was a charismatic older man, with grey hair and soul piercing blue eyes that would sometimes change to red, not that anyone knew why. For the past ten years, he'd been the headmaster of H.I.V.E., using a mysterious set of powers to maintain control. His school had started out small; only ten students in a warehouse near the slums of Jump City. In five short years though, he 'convinced' other investors to join, and grew his organization. That once pitiful Academy was transformed by Brother Blood, into an institution of wealth and power. Many great criminals had taught there, increasing the quality of the mercenaries they pumped out. It wasn't enough for Brother Blood though, so he'd decided to get the best teacher he could ever imagine, even if it meant he'd have to play every card he had in the crime capital of the world: Gotham.

"Look you wacko," Harley snapped from over the phone, "I just told ya, I don't wanna be a teacher at your crummy little school!"

"_I don't think you understand the kind offer that I'm making you,"_ Came the soothingly sinister voice of Brother Blood back to her, "_We're talking about a rather large sum of money here, Miss Quinn."_

Harley rolled her eyes, "I know how much it is, I just don't give a fuck. How can you even afford to waste that much on me and still have some money left over for yourself?"

A soft chuckle came in response, "_Money for myself? I didn't start H.I.V.E. to make some quick cash, a started it to build a great empire. I've come far in that endeavor, but not quite far enough...yet. With you on as my psychology and acrobatics professor, I can continue to improve H.I.V.E. Academy, thus further cementing my legacy in this world."_

"I don't wanna hear about your cement, Brother Fucker," Harley taunted, "Do you get that? You'd better, cause I'm gonna hang up either way."

Brother Blood's voice only grew more calm, "_I see. I'm not used to being told no, Miss Quinn. I'll have to tell Deula about how strongly you've been defying me next time I see her."_

"What the fuck did you just say?" Harley panicked, composing herself just as quickly as she'd lost it, "Seriously, what are you talking about? I don't have a damn clue who Deula is."

That shift in tone didn't go unnoticed by Brother Blood, "_Oh really? Well she'll be heartbroken to hear you said that. She was counting on her mommy to come and save her. You won't let her down, will you?"_

Harley knew when it was time to drop an act, "If you touch so much as one fucking hair on her head, I swear to god, I'll rip you apart and feed you to my pet hyena's!"

"_I would never hurt such an innocent little girl...without a reason," _Brother Blood responded, "_Tell me though, does her 'brother' know about her?"_

"What Jason knows doesn't matter," Harley snapped, shaking with rage, "What matters is what I'm going to do to you when I get my hands on ya!"

Brother Blood yawned, "_Your threats are starting to bore me. Do I have a new instructor for H.I.V.E. or not? Keep in mind what's at stake here. I'm not the kind of person who bluffs."_

Options weren't all that abundant for her at this moment, "I'll come to Jump City and have a word with ya, but if I get there and Deula seems at all shaken up,"

"_You'll commit some kind of horrible act on me and likely anyone who works for me" _Brother Blood finished, "_I'm not deaf, I heard you the first time. For the record, I haven't done her any harm yet. In fact, contrary to what I may have said before, she doesn't even know she's been kidnapped yet. We've set her up in a nice hotel with a gentle handler, so she just thinks she's on a little trip. Please remember how kind it was of me to set that up when we have our chat."_

Harley wanted to reach through the phone and strangle him, "Oh shut up. What happened to the guy who was supposed to be watchin' her?"

"_You mean Two-Face?" _Brother Blood asked, "_He thinks you're the one who set this whole thing up. I had plenty of evidence to make him think it was true, so don't be too hard on him. Babysitting isn't really on his resume. By the way, how much are you paying him? He might make a good addition to the staff here at H.I.V.E."_

There was comment that finally got Harley to hang up. She'd call back eventually to set a time and place for the meeting, but for now, she was through talking to that mad man. Harley had other things to occupy her mind, "How in the hell am I gonna explain all this to Jason?"

* * *

Naruto's birthday present from his three lovers proved to be the greatest gift he'd ever received. It had been half an hour of pure bliss, which, for a virgin, was a pretty impressive amount of time. Although his partners needed some time to regain their senses, Naruto got back down to the party as soon as he could, since he's promised his father he'd be back in time to open presents. With all the sweat he was covered in, the young man had barely had time to wipe himself down and get his clothes back on. He made it, though only by the skin of his teeth, and found himself sitting in the middle of his living room surrounded by his friends and family, who eagerly awaited for him to open the first gift.

"Okay, looks like this one is from Dinah and Oliver," Naruto said, reading the tag while taking note of the green wrapping back with black ribbon, "So what've we got here?"

Under the paper was a box that was a few inches wide and roughly a foot long. When Naruto peaked inside the box, he found an arrow, though not an ordinary one. No, this was one from Green Arrow's personal collection. Oliver spoke up to elaborate a little further, "That's the arrow from the first time you and I spared. I still remember how crazy I thought it was that a 12 year old kid thought he could take me. When Bruce seemed to think you could too, I got all pissy, and was stupid enough to take you on right then and there."

"Watching you match him blow for blow was one of the funniest things I've ever seen," Dinah interrupted him, "The way he left in a huff was priceless. I ended up keeping one of the arrows he shot at you and kept it on the mantle in our apartment. Figured it might keep him humble."

Oliver shot her a half hearted glare, "I guess I needed that. Long story short, I don't need it anymore, and we thought you might wanna have it. You know, so you can start up your own trophy room like Bruce's got."

That suggestion got a smirk from Naruto, "Huh, that's actually not a bad idea. I've got a couple things down in the Batcave that I could add to it, if Dad's okay with that anyways. Thanks guys, this means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it," Dinah said, winking to the birthday boy, "Go on, open another one."

Naruto did as he was told, grabbing another present and reading the tag, "Looks like we've got one from Zabuza, Haku, and Sai."

As he said that last name, Naruto looked over at Haku and Sai, who were sitting close to one another. No one wanted to say anything about it, as both of them were easily spooked, but the two of them had been spending an awful lot of time together. Zabuza yelled over to Naruto, "You just gonna sit there, or keeping staring at until it opens itself?"

"Fair point," Naruto replied, opening the bluish bag he'd chosen. Inside was a set of tools designed for sharpening and polishing blades, one with far more components than he'd ever seen. Special cloths, stones, and various other things filled the gift bag. Looking at each tool, Naruto let loose a low whistle, "Wow, this best sword cleaving kit I've ever seen! We're talking about the kinda stuff it's hard to get a hold of these days. You three are awesome; thank you for this!"

Haku bowed his head to his old friend, who bowed right back. With another present out of the way, Naruto moved on, grabbing a small box that seemed that was labeled, 'From Tsunade and Jiraiya.' When he chose, the white haired Sannin looked up from his wife, who had Jikusume in her arms, and told his student, "With you getting married and all, we got you a little something we thought you might need. Honey, you wanna watch him open it?"

Hearing that, Tsunade stopped cooing at the baby for the first time in ten minutes and looked up, "Huh? Oh, of course I do. Anyone wanna take this little girl? I can't focus while I'm holding her."

"I call the dibs," Came the voice of Starfire, who flew over like a bullet to grab Jikusume, "I must practice holding a baby for when my own comes, right darling."

Dick came up behind her, wrapping his arms around his soon to be wife, "Sure as hell couldn't hurt. You know, I think you look pretty good holding a baby."

"And I think I need another drink," Barbara mumbled from across the room in a voice too low for anyone to hear. She turned towards the doorway and left the room with her empty glass, calling as she left, "I've gotta go grab something from the closet. If anyone wants to help, I could probably use it."

Kankuro jumped up and chased after her before anyone else could even think about it. He wasn't quite fast enough to hear the redhead repeating the phrase 'You're happy for him' to herself over and over again. While she tried to convince herself of her own words, Naruto got back to opening his presents. Jiraiya and Tsunade's was contained in square box about six inches across, "Let's see what we've got here…huh, looks like some kinda wedding ring."

He was right about it being a wedding, one with an elegant diamond on the top, suggesting it was made for a female. Considering how confusing that might seem, Jiraiya figured it couldn't hurt to give Naruto a little more info, "That wedding ring used to belong to your mother. It's got a diamond in it that your father tracked down from the Hidden Waterfall, her home village. When your parents passed away, I saved it for when you decided to get married. Figured you could give it to one of your brides."

"This used to belong to my mom?" An awestruck Naruto asked, "I never thought I'd have any kinda family stuff to pass down, let alone to give my wife. Guys, you don't know what this means to me."

Tsunade felt a warm sensation building up inside of her as she saw the joy within her cousin's eyes, "We do know Naruto, and we're so happy we could do this for you. Go on, open some more gifts. You can thank us later."

She had the right idea, considering how many more present the guest of honor still had to open. It was hard for him to imagine that this many people cared enough about him to get him gifts like this. He had a lot of precious people in his life, and he'd do everything that he could to protect them. For now though, it was time to open a few more gifts.

* * *

"Wait, what are we doing up here?" Kankuro asked as he and Barbara searched around an old closet on the other side of mansion, "I'm happy to help, but it is kinda cold in here with just my street clothes on."

Barbara couldn't stop from wobbling a little while she searched, "There's some decorations back here from Naruto's first birthday party in Gotham that I meant to get out, but I never got around to it. It's not a big deal, but at least it gets me away from...you know what, never mind. Thanks for volunteering to come with me."

"Don't mention it," Kankuro replied, glad it didn't seem offputting that he offered so quickly. He was going to ask for a description of what what they were after when the two of them turned at the same time, bumping into one another. Barbara nearly tumbled into a pile of dusty cardboard boxes, but Kankuro caught her by the waist just in time, "Woah there, careful now. We don't need you cracking your pretty little head."

Without realizing it, the puppeteer had pulled her close to him to the point where their chests were touching. He was a little taller than her these days, though not by much, meaning they ended up face to face. Both of them blushed, and Barbara looked up to find an important Christmas decoration hanging above them, "Would you look at that; a mistletoe. You know what means?"

Kankuro's heart started racing, "I mean, it is tradition. You don't have to, but I guess if you want to, I won't say that you can't-Mph!"

"Mmmmhhhh," Barbara moaned, stopping the boy's rambling by pressing her lips to his. Her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer. Kankuro let the kiss grow more heated, finally fulfilling his fantasy of making out with his dream girl all alone. It was everything that he'd dreamed it'd be, so it was only natural that a bulge began to form in his pants. As she pulled away, Barbara made it clear she didn't mind, "Is that a kunai in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? Can't blame you either way. I know how good of a french kisser I am. We are all alone down here. If you'd like, I can show you what else my tongue is good for."

As desperately as Kankuro wanted to say yes, there was one major problem, "On any other day, I'd take you up on that offer in a second, but you're drunk as hell. I can taste it on your lips. Plus, you're just feeling shitty since your ex is here and acting all happy-go-lucky. No way can I take advantage of you like that."

"You're not taking anything, I'm giving it to you," Barbara snapped, quickly realizing that wasn't a good strategy to get into a man's pants, "You know what? I bet I've got something that'll change your mind."

The red head began to unbutton her blouse, making it difficult for Kankuro to stay strong, "Barb, you have no idea how bad I want this, but I can't just-holy fuck!"

Kankuro's jaw dropped as Barbara's shirt hit the floor to reveal she wasn't wearing anything underneath. She put her hands on her hips and struck a sort of pose for him, "What do you think? Pretty nice, aren't they? You wanna give em' a squeeze. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Before he could protest, she grabbed his hand and brought up to her C-cup breasts. Kankuro gave it a squeeze out instinct before Barbara's hand snaked around his neck. She shoved his head into her other breast, letting him pop one of her nipples into his mouth. He moaned for a second, letting his tongue swirl around it, but regained his bearings and pulled away, "Dammit Barb, no! I can't have the first time I sleep with you be when you're drunk! Get your shirt back on so I get you the fuck home!"

"Are you kidding me?" Barbara snapped, pulling her shirt back on, "Fine, take me home! Excuse a girl for wanting a little comfort!"

She turned around and headed for the door, Kankuro wiping some lipstick off his face as she did, "Remember, she'll thank you for this in the morning…"

* * *

"Jason, make sure the hyena's are ready to go, we don't have much time," Harley called to her son as she packed up her clothes in her room, "Did you find out if your new girlfriend's coming or what?"

It seemed that, only a few moments after getting home from the party, Jason had walked in to find his mother packing up half their home into a series of suitcases. She wasted no time in putting him to work, not that he knew what it was about, "She's not my girlfriend, but yeah, I think Rose is coming, and hyenas are already set for travel. What the hell are we packing for? I know we talked about moving, but we don't have to do it right this second."

Harley was trying to zip her bag with all her might, but it was difficult with how poorly it'd been packed, "Yeah, we kinda do. Is Rose packed up? I'm not waiting on anything I don't have to."

"Relax Harley, I've always got a few bags packed incase I need to travel fast," Rose said, poking her head into the room. She noticed a scrapbook with pictures of Harley and Ivy on the cover sitting on the bed, with one of said photos being of them sharing a small kiss, "Huh, it looks like what they said about you and Ivy were true. Must've been difficult for you to lose your lover."

"More like Girlfriends without the jealousy of monogamy," Jason corrected her, using the exact words his mother had used to describe their relationship, "Speaking of losing somebody you love, how are you holding up Rose? You haven't talked much about your dad much lately..."

Rose fold her arms and shrugged, not looking him in the eye, "We weren't that close. Besides, he died just the way he wanted to; In the heat of battle."

As lame as it may have been, Jason would have to leave that excuse alone until he knew what was going on with his mother, who had finally gotten her bag closed and was trying to leave the room, "Mom, will you hold on for just a second? You know I can tell when something's wrong, so why don't you just give it up and fill me in already?"

"Honey, please don't," Harley began, stopping when she saw the look on her son's face. She dropped the bags and sighed, "I knew I was gonna have to tell ya eventually, I just figured I could push it off a little longer. You remember that trip I took a while back, the one that was just a few months shy of a year? I told ya I was just gonna take care of some interests Mr. J left around the country after he died? Well, turns out, that might have been a little fib."

"Little fib?" Jason repeated, "You don't fib, at least not to me. What's so top secret that you couldn't even let me in on it?"

Harley gulped, her eyes glued to the ground, "Well, I was actually going to take care of Deula...my daughter...with the Joker. I had her right before he died, and um...well I think someone's taken her hostage. We need to head to Jump City so we can track her down and save her."

Silent did not begin to describe how quiet the room became. All Harley could do was pick her bags back up, "I don't have time to explain it all here. Let's get moving and then I'll tell you the whole story. Should make for a fun conversation in the car though, right?"

"I'm not laughing mom…"

* * *

Back at the mansion, several more presents had been opened, including a specially carved glass Kyuubi statue from Gaara, a scroll for a high level wind jutsu from the Sarutobi clan, and some classic rock CD's from Dick, just to name a few. Now though, it was time for the big present. The one that his father and mother had been waiting ages to give him, and now it was finally time.

"Oh come on. Barb already made me wear a blindfold earlier, now I've gotta wear a second one just to seem my last birthday present?" Naruto asked, sighing as he was led down some steps, "I mean, I know we're in the Batcave, it's not like it's a secret."

Mei patted her soon on the shoulder, "Stop complaining and have a little fun. Never hurts to have some suspense. Besides, you should be thankful to have the blindfold after what we saw when we passed the guest bedroom. Would it have been too much to ask for Chojuro and Karen (Powergirl) to close the door if they were going to do something like that?"

It was too good a joke for Bruce to pass up, "Considering that she had her top off, I don't think it was something that Naruto would have minded seeing."

"Be that as it may, I'll be having a talk with her once we're done here," Mei said, "If she's going to be sleeping with Chojuro, there are something's I need her to know. I'll never be able to get the image of those two tangled together out of my mind."

They'd have to put a pin in that issue, because it was time to unveil Naruto's final gift. It was just the three of them at the moment, and Bruce had his son pointed towards a platformer coming off from the trophy room that looked as though it had only recently been finished. He reached for Naruto's blindfold and pulled it off, allowing him to see what all they'd created for him, "Good, finally I can...hold up, is this what I think it is?"

"Your own trophy room," Bruce confirmed for him, looking out on the room with dozens of glass boxes and hooks on the wall, "We were building it while you were off on your undercover mission. We had to hide it a couple of days after you got home, but a hologram wall wasn't all that hard to set up. A couple of people knew about it, but we managed to keep it a secret for the most part. So, what do you think?"

Naruto's mouth was gaping as he looked around at all the new spots he'd have to fill, "It's amazing! You guys are the freaking best! I've got a lot of stuff that's about to get moved down here tomorrow!"

Glad to see that he liked his present, Mei and Bruce embraced their son together, enjoying the rare perfection of the moment, "Happy Birthday Naruto."

* * *

It would seem that He was an even faster learner than He'd thought. The creature that started out as nothing more than a collection of plant cells and chakra had begun to take in knowledge at an amazing rate. Through discarded books and newspapers among the street, He had learned to read, though not much better than an elementary schooler. Radios in people's windows had helped teach him to speak, even if they were only basic phrases for the time being. Thanks to that human in the alley before, He'd learned what sex was, and it seemed that He liked it quite a bit. He'd discovered that from the human woman he'd knocked out and dragged to the ally. Sadly, He didn't yet know why she was so upset when she woke up and found her clothes torn and body violated. It was when He needed to stop her screaming that he remembered how to kill, a skill he'd picked up back in the lab in which he was born.

Now, in that same alley, He flipped through the pages of a book He'd found in the woman's bag. The words 'The Holy Bible' were on the cover, but He couldn't understand most of it yet. He did manage to find one name though, a name that spoke to him in ways he couldn't explain. It was a name He'd soon take for himself, uttering it for the first time in that dingy alley, "...Abbadon."


	52. Unanswered Questions Pt 1

Hello there everyone, and welcome to yet another chapter of the Red Fox. It was tough to decide where to pick up from after the last chapter, given that I left so many plot points needing to be explained. In the end, I went with Harley's reveal, since that had the biggest shock factor, and I think my readers want to hear about that first. This chapter will be the final of this slower paced period, after which I'll be jumping right back into the heat of things. The end of the this story is drawing ever closer, and it's going to be one hell of an adjustment when I finally have to move onto something else. Anyways, thank you all for reading and be sure to review.

**THANK YOU!**-While I'm thinking about, thank you all for helping me reaching 350 reviews, over 400 followers, and nearly 400 favorites, along with over 115,000 views! You guys make it all worth it!

Chapter Soundtrack-Don Henley: In a New York Minute

* * *

The group was halfway through their long trip to Jump City, and yet no one had brought up the subject everyone was thinking about; that Harley had a child with the Joker. This was a difficult subject for the jester to approach, but the silence had began to drive her insane. Now was the time to give in to the pressure, "It all started about a year or so before I first saved you," Harley began as she drove her red lamborghini through the streets of Gotham, "I'd gotten pregnant, and since Mr. J was the only fella I'd been with, I knew the baby was his. Thing is though, no matter how much I loved him, I knew he wasn't the fatherly type."

Jason rolled his eyes from the passenger seat, "You don't say?"

"Oh don't be like that," Harley scolded him, "I'm not gonna get into it with you about Mr. J again, so I'm just gonna skip to the part where I decided to leave town until the baby came. I had to be quick, since it wouldn't take him long to figure out I was gaining weight and my boobs were balloonin' up. So, I told him some story about scouting out some new vacations spots for us, and disappeared until the baby came. All of the sudden, I was the mother of beautiful green haired baby girl that I named Deula."

The green hair didn't seem to thrill her son as much as it did her, "Oh good, the hell spawn of the Joker is already taking after him. Isn't that a fun thought?"

Harley knew she deserved this after lying to him about it for so long, "I get why you feel that way, but I'm telling you, she's a sweet little girl. After I stayed with her the first few months to make sure she was alright, I found someone I could trust to take care of her just outside of Gotham. Everyday that I could, I called her and Skyped her, and all that good stuff. Deula knew who her mommy was."

"Does she know who her father was, or what he did?" Jason asked, a question Rose had been wondering about as well.

Silence followed until Harley found the best way to put it, "She kind of knows who her daddy is...she knows he's a clown, who loved to make people laugh, which he was. That's about as close to the truth as I was gonna get with her, at least for now. Anyways, after the Mr. J died and I found you, I knew I'd need to find a safer place to keep Deula until she was ready to face the world. Taking care of you and her ended up being too much me, so a few months after you were on board, I hired the most sane criminal friend that I could think of to look after her."

Rose knew she was going to regret this, "Who, if any of your friends, do you actually consider somewhat sane?"

"Two-Face," Harley answered, earning a glare from both of her passenger's, "What? Other than the coin thing, he's a pretty smart guy. Plus, with Scarecrow movin' in, he didn't have a whole lot to do in Gotham. At first he didn't wanna do it, but lucky me, I got him to flip the coin and it landed on the right side. He'll do anything that piece a' change tells him to do. He moved her out to a safehouse he had just outside the city after that, and he'd check up on my little girl every couple of days while his men keep an eye on the place. I call her as much as I can and she's gotten pretty close with Two-Face. Overall, I think I've been a pretty good mother."

Most of that sounded fine, but something was bothering Rose, "Wait, doesn't Two-Face have half of his face burned almost to the bone? That's where his name came from in the first place. How is a little girl not freaked out by that?"

"She's been around Harvey since she was a baby," Harley said as they entered barely lit tunnel out of Gotham, "Besides, by the time she got old enough to even know there was somethin' different about him, he'd already saved from some crazy nut called Deacon Blackfire. There was something about him wanting to sacrifice her, but Two-Face took him out before he could get too far with Deula. Ever since then, he's been her Uncle Harvey. Anyways, some bastard called Brother Blood wants me to teach Psychology and Acrobatics at H.I.V.E., and he kidnapped Deula to make me do it. So now I've gotta go to Jump City, where he's got her stashed, to make sure she's alright. I can count on you two to help me get her home safe, right?"

Jason was chewing on his cheeks when he answered, "You can always count on me for help, but what I wanna know right now is why you thought it was okay to lie to me for over three fucking years?"

Swearing at Harley wasn't something Jason typically did. The level of how bad this was going to be for her was just starting to become apparent, "Honey, I know what I did was wrong, but with how strongly you felt about Mr. J, I never felt like it was a good idea to tell ya. The longer I put it off, the harder it got to decide when I was gonna fill ya in."

"No better time than after she gets kidnapped," Jason muttered, "I guess I'll just have to get over it. To be clear, I'm still pissed about all this, and I'm not done complaining, but you're only human. You made a mistake, and I'll move past it...eventually."

Harley squealed with joy at that answer, giving her son a little kiss on the cheek, "Oh, thank you baby! I promise, you're gonna love Deula! She's the sweetest little girl that you could ever meet!"

The tone she used was one Jason knew well. It meant he was about to spend the next half an hour hearing his mother rant and rave about whatever was on her mind. This time, he didn't mind though…

* * *

"Wow, this place seems pretty dead after how crazy they said it got last night," Kiba remarked, walking into the front door of Wayne Manor with Akamaru by his side. He'd been only major friend of Naruto's who ended up being unable to make it. As he walked in, Ace ran up to him, jumping on his pant leg and yipping happily. It didn't take long for Kiba to pick up the furry bundle energy, "Ace, hey boy! I haven't seen you since you left the village. Naruto and his friends have been good to ya, right?"

Ace yipped once more, the closest he could come to showing approval. After licking Kiba's face a couple of times, he jumped down and started to nip at Akamaru. It seemed he wanted to play with the older dog-nin, who was happy to comply. Being much larger than Ace though, Akamaru was careful with his bites and swipes. With them preoccupied, Kiba was able to get a better sniff of the air in the mansion. After a couple more confirmation sniffs, there was something he couldn't even hope to deny, "This whole place reeks of sex! Man, everybody's getting some but me!"

Though the scent was coming from a few different places, the main source of it was upstairs in the area that Kiba knew Naruto's room was. He figured it couldn't hurt just to see why it was so strong in that area, so he started to make his way for the stairs. A screech of joy made him jump like a small child watching a horror movie, "Awwwww! They're so cute!"

"Wait, what?" Kiba wonder, a blonde girl whizzing past him. He turned around to find Kara, better known as Supergirl, in her street clothes, meaning she must've stayed the night. She had jumped into the wrestling match between the two dogs, giggling the entire time. This was something Kiba had never gotten her to do, "Come on, even the dogs have better game than I do. Screw it, I'm going upstairs."

Kiba left Kara to have her fun with the pups, hopeful that he wouldn't have too much trouble finding Naruto. He hadn't been able to make it to the party, but based on the smell of things, his friend found a way to have a good time without him.

* * *

He'd been waiting outside the door for about ten minutes now. When Kiba had knocked on Naruto's door, he'd responded that he'd need a couple of seconds. Considering what he was doing, Kiba should've known better, "Naruto, I'm happy for you bro, I really am, but I can't hang around here all day. Finish up so I can wish you a happy birthday."

"Huh? Oh, shit, that's right," Naruto cursed, after which his friend could hear him running to the door. It opened only slightly so that girl's wouldn't be shown off as the blond exited the room. Once he was out, wearing nothing but a robe, he greeted Kiba as warmly as he could, "Hey man, how've you been? Sucks you couldn't make it to the party last night, but I'm glad you stopped by. How've you been? Any luck with the girls back in the Leaf?"

Kiba shrugged, leaning back onto the wall, "I've been alright. Best I've gotten so far is a mediocre handjob from a civilian chick. I'm telling ya, everyone I talk to says the same thing: civilian girl's have got no skill and no endurance. I need a girl with who'll put some effort into it."

"That hasn't been a been a problem for me," Naruto said with a goofy grin on his face, "All three of my vixens know what they're doing, and them being hot as hell is just a bonus. Hinata's got a chest that even Power Girl's impressed by, and thanks to her family's techniques, she can move her hand faster than anyone I've ever seen, which both me and the girls appreciate! Cassandra's ass looks like it was made by a fucking sculptor out marble, and she's flexible enough to get into any position I could ever ask for! Temari's the most adventures out of all of them, as in she was making out with the other's like it was nothing, and since she learned told her breath so long for the sandstorms she gets back home, she can deepthroat me longer than I ever thought humanly possible!"

This was all too much for Kiba to hear, "Dude, don't even tell me anymore, you're gonna give me a fucking hard on. Seriously though, it's awesome you're doing so well. I can't say much about the other two, but I know Hinata loves you a lot. Make sure you're good to her."

Naruto knew how much his friend cared for his teammate. It was to be expected he'd want what's best for her, "I promise to treat her like the princess she is. So, do you have to go already, or can you hang out a bit longer?"

"Nah, I really did just have time to stop by," Kiba replied, standing up straight, "Happy Birthday. I left some chew toys down stairs for Ace to use. There was nothing I could think to get you, so I figured you might want some stuff for him that only a Inuzuka dog could appreciate. The kinda toys you got around here usually can't hold up against their teeth."

Considering Ace had destroyed every chew toy they'd ever given him, that sounded perfect, "That's the best thing you could've given me. Thanks man, I'll see ya soon as we both got some free time. Take it easy."

"You too," Kiba called back as he head down the hallway. With that taken care off, Naruto was free to head back into the bedroom. He knew he'd have to get back to training and things like that soon, so he was going to enjoy every second he had with them while he could.

* * *

Karen Starr was not the kind of woman who got nervous. She was fucking Power Girl! She was one of the most powerful people on Earth! What did she have to be afraid of? As it turned out, the Fifth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village, who she was currently sitting across from at the Wayne Manor kitchen table. It seem odd that the woman could look so threatening while she breast fed Jikusume, "I'm sure you know why I asked you to come here this morning. After what I saw you and Chojuro doing last night, I need to have a brief word with you."

"Okay," Karen said, weary to make eye contact, "Can I ask why we're doing it in the middle of you feeding your daughter?"

"I'm a busy woman," Mei said, stroking her daughter's head, "Sometimes I've got to multitask. Now then, you and Chojuro are a couple now. At least I assume you are, considering I walked in on your riding him like he was a freaking stallion."

That was a pretty accurate description, "We had a pretty great time last night. Neither of us have put a label on it or anything, but yeah, we're definitely an item."

Mei's facial expression didn't change, "Put any sort of label on it you'd like. The simple fact of the matter is; you're seeing someone I care a great deal about. Chojuro seems to like you, so I'm more than willing to give you chance. I want him to be happy, after all. However, that chance come with a warning...hurt him in any kind of a way or do something that I don't like, and I'll end you. You might have faced some tough shit around here, but you've got no idea what's in store for you if you piss me off. Is that clear?"

"Um...yeah," Karen said, feeling abnormally small under the red head's gaze, "I'll make sure not put him through any kinda real pain."

That answer seemed to please Mei, as her face went right back to its typical pleasant self, "Good. Now then, Jikusume's almost done eating. Would you like to hold her after I get done burping her."

Karen nodded, though she was only half listening to what was being said. She was going to have an interesting conversation with Chojuro the next time that she saw him.

* * *

"Oh god, it feels like I got into a fist fight with Bane...again," Barbara groaned as she walked into the living room of her apartment, "What in the hell did I do last night?"

She was attempting to suppress her massive headache when she got a glimpse of the brown haired man sleeping on her couch. Barbara could tell it was Kankuro, but didn't have any clue why he was there, "Oh man, tell me I wasn't _that _drunk at the party! Okay, he's not in my bed, which is a good sign, but I'm in nothing but my panties, which is a bad sign...a really bad sign...fuck, what did I do?"

Kankuro must've heard her speaking. He opened his eyes and let out a yawn, stretching his arms, "That couch has gotta be one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever slept on. So um...hey Barb, how you feeling?"

"Like a complete idiot," Barbara replied, grabbing the nearest blanket and covering her chest, "Kankuro, please don't take this the wrong way, but last night, you and I, we didn't-"

"No, we didn't have sex," Kankuro assured her, "Although holding that blanket there is kinda pointless. Who do you think it was that put you in bed after you passed out?"

Barbara cringed as she asked, "Fair point, but what actually did happen last night?"

That was the Million Dollar Question, "We made out for a little bit, which I stopped, and then you shoved my head into your bare chest. It was tough, but I managed to convince you to go home, where you tried to jump me again. After that, I put you into bed, jerked off to make sure I wouldn't do anything stupid, and slept here so I could tell you what happened."

"That's all? Thank you Jesus," Barbara said, adjusting the blanket and putting her head in her hand, "This is so embarrassing. Kankuro, you're such a good guy! You deserves some kinda medal for this! I know a lot of guys who would've done something way worse in your situation!"

Kankuro wanted to sigh just thinking about what he'd passed up, "You're telling me. I mean for shit's sake, you've been my dream girl since I was like-"

"Dream girl?" Barbara interrupted him, making Kankuro realize what he'd said, "Are you trying to say you've got a thing for me?"

The first thing Kankuro could think to do was lie, but it seemed too far gone for that to work. From where he stood, all there was left for him to do was double down, "You could call it a thing...you could also call it me being crazy for ya. As in, just being around you makes me go fucking insane. It's more than just a little crush."

Barbara's mouth was gaping open, "I had no idea. That must've made turning me down last night even harder for you."

"No shit," Kankuro agreed, "But I know I'd do it again. Don't get me wrong, I'd give anything to be with you, but not if you're just doing it cause you're drunk. It's stupid, sure, but if I ever do get to have a first time with you, I want it to be one you'll remember."

"It's not stupid. In fact, it's really sweet," Barbara said, shuffling her feet, "Kankuro, you're a great guy, but you can't tell me you haven't thought about how far apart we are in age. I'm what, six years older than you?"

Kankuro had thought about that, more than once in fact, "I know there's a gap, but come on, it's not like you're old enough to be my mom or anything. We're both adults, we can make our own decisions, right? You know decisions like...whether or not you might wanna go on a date with me."

With that last move, the young man really put himself out there. Barbara knew everything he'd said was true, and she had to admit, he was pretty damn cute. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if she did what she mentioned before and rewarded him for being such a gentleman, "Alright, I'll let you take me out on one date for a sort of trial run. You seem like a good guy, so I guess one little date couldn't hurt. You've gotta really impress me if you want a second one though. I'm free tomorrow night, if that'll work for you."

"Hell yeah, tomorrow night sounds great," Kankuro replied, jumping up from the couch, "I'll pick up around what, like 6:00?"

Barbara couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm, "That'll work for me. Now get the hell out of me so I can shower and get the booze smell off from me."

With a grin on his face, Kankuro headed for the door. Something peaking out of Barbara's painties caught his eye as he was leaving though, something he couldn't let slide, "Do you have the kanji for 'Bat' tattooed on your ass?"

* * *

"I'm afraid I don't understand what exactly you're proposing, Ms. Waller," Gaara said, taking another bite of his steak, "Well, that's not entirely true. I understand the proposal itself, I just can't fathom the idea that you'd suggest something so foolish."

Waller could see she had an uphill battle in store. She was sitting in an elegant restaurant in the dead of night with seven other individuals seated around her at the table. Each one was a representative of some sort, and she needed all of them on board for the next step of what she had in mind. There was Shikamaru for the Hidden Leaf, who, despite being a jonin, clearly didn't want to be there, along with the previously mentioned Gaara for the Hidden Sand. Sadly, he was the only Kage that could make it. To represent the Hidden Cloud was a dark skinned young man with shaggy white hair by the name of Darui, also the right hand man of the Raikage. Chojuro represented the Hidden Mist, though he found himself a bit distracted by his girlfriend, Karen Starr, who was also present. The granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, a pale girl with jet black haired named Kurotsuchi, was the representative of the Hidden Rock. Lastley there was Dinah Drake, aka Black Canary, as both she and Karen were there to voice any concerns the Justice League might have. It was a large group, and one Waller would need a bulldozer to gain any ground on. As for what exactly it was she was suggesting, well...

"I'll admit, exposing the Great Ninja Nations to the world would be a drastic thing to do," Waller began, a statement that had everyone at the table rolling their eyes, "The extremeness of it is why I need all of you on board. If I take this to my bosses, or anyone else for that matter, without your guy's support, I'll be laughed out of the room. I paid for your meals, now all I ask is a few moments of your time. Can you let me explain before you shoot me down, please?"

A groan came from Shikamaru's place at the table, "How troublesome. I knew I shouldn't have let Lady Tsunade talk me into this. Ah well, let's get it over with."

Kurotsuchi, who already didn't have the best view of Leaf ninjas, found his complaints particularly irritating, "We're talking about changing the entire world here, and all you can say is that it's 'troublesome?' How did the Hidden Rock ever lose a war to idiots like you?"

"We had two of the most brilliant military strategists of all time, a larger army, more resources, and picked our allies more carefully than you did," Shikamaru listed off, silencing his attacker, "Those are facts you should be aware of before you call anyone an idiot, just so you know."

Seeing as Kurotsuchi looked about ready to rip his throat out, Waller decided to intervene, "You two continue this little history lesson later. I don't have you long enough to let you waste time on petty arguments. Now then, as I'm sure you're all well aware, the threats that the Great Ninja Nations faces have begun to overlap with those of the rest of the world. Criminals like the Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul have reached out to vicious shinobi like Orochimaru for help, and we've seen how deadly the results can be. They've opened the floodgates for the technology of our world and the chakra of your world to collide. To put it simply, the bad guys are finding new ways to screw us over, and we haven't been able to do a damn thing about it."

"I don't think anyone at this table would argue with that," Dinah said, taking a sip of wine before she did, "But how would dropping a bombshell like this on the world solve that problem?"

If nothing else, at least Waller knew they were listening, "It would take away the greatest weapon criminals like this have: the shadows. Once the entire world knows what kind things these villains are doing, the villain's job becomes harder. They have to start looking over their shoulders constantly to make sure no one's picking up on what they're doing. People start recognizing the signs, and lower levels of law enforcements know what to look out for. By doing this, we'll be gaining millions of eyes and ears to use in our fights."

Karen had to point out the other side of that coin, "And we'll also have millions of eyes and ears suspicious of every person that sneezes funny. Don't you remember what happened when people first found out about Metahumans? It was like the Red Scare, but with superpowers! How are we supposed to protect these people while also having to put PSA's every other day to tell them not everyone with chakra's bad?"

"That's true. We'll have to do a lot of work making sure the public doesn't overreact," Waller agreed, "And yet, I believe the benefits of our two worlds working together will outweigh that cost. It did with Metahumans, and I believe that it would here too."

Darui figured now would be a good time to speak up, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the whole reason the chakra users cut themselves off from the rest of the world because they didn't want anyone else to know about them? Wouldn't going against their wishes kinda kill the entire point of a civilization?"

There was yet another argument Waller was prepared for, "In a sense, but it's looking more and more like that point didn't hold much weight to begin with. Research has shown that what makes someone a chakra user and what makes someone a Metahuman actually aren't all that different. They share several of the same genetic markers, and it was likely the closing off of what was originally a small group of chakra users that cultivated an entire society of them. In other words, chakra users may be a select subgroup of Metahumans."

"Huh, that's a pretty interesting theory," Chojuro said, scratching his chin, "It doesn't stop me from thinking this would be a really bad idea, but a cool idea nonetheless."

"I'm with Chojuro on this one," Shikamaru pipped in, "It doesn't matter what should've been done, what matters is what we do with what was done. I might be able to bring this to Tsunade if you get me some plans that wouldn't stun the public so much, but until you too, I just can't see myself supporting this."

Kurotsuchi was shaking her head off to the side, "Hate to agree with the tree hugger, but there's no way my grandpa would go for it. I'm not saying no for sure, I'm saying you've gotta find a hell of a lot better way to do it."

"Is there anyone here who isn't of that mindset?" Asked Gaara, looking around the room to find that no one was objecting, "Well Ms. Waller, it appears you know what you have to do. Make some adjustments to proposal, and come back to us when you've got something a little more reasonable. Sound fair?"

It wasn't much, but it was likely all that Amanda was going to get, "For the time being, that'll have to do. If allow me to step outside for a moment, I've got to make a few calls. Excuse me."

Waller pushed herself away from the table and walked towards the door. As she left, a white spider crawled up from under the table, making its way towards the center. Dinah raised her arm to smack it, "Nobody move. I'm gonna kill that thing before can crawl on one of our plates."

"Huh, that thing looks kinda familiar," Kurotsuchi remarked before her eyes grew wide, "Everyone, get on the-"

A flash stopped her from finishing her warning. The spider exploded with more force than any of them ever would've predicted, sending everyone at the table flying back. Waller was just outside the blast radius, which meant she was able to turn and watch two matching cloaked figure descend from the ceiling. One was a younger looking blonde man with long hair, and the other was an emotionless looking man with a cloth covering the lower half of his face, and patches of black hair on his head. Slithering out of his cloak, which was black with red clouds, was what looks like some kind of sharpened iron tail. It was the blonde who spoke first, "Ya see Sasori, it's like I told ya; Art is an explosion!"

Sasori's voice was muffled by the cloth, or at least Waller thought that was what was muddling it, "I told you Deidara, explosions are too fleeting to be art. We'll discuss this after we acquire the target. Now, where might he be?"

"I wouldn't worry about him right now," Came Waller's voice, making both men look at the woman to find she had a gun pointed at them, "Both of you, get on the ground, now! Don't think for a second I won't shoot!"

The two aggressors looked at one another, then burst into laughter, "A gun? That's real cute. Sasori, show her how much we're afraid of her toy."

At the speed of lightning, Sasori tail whipped out from his cloak and sliced off the barrel of Waller's gun. She glanced at the now useless weapon and tossed it off to the side, noting Sasori's tail was still on alert. He didn't appear to be finished, "I don't know who you are, and I don't really care. We came here for the Kazekage, and if you intend to stand in our way, then I'll have to show you what this work of art to do."

"If you want me, just turn around," Came the dry drawl of Gaara, making both cloaked shinobi spin around, "You Akatsuki fools came all this way just to strike at me here. Why?"

"There were too many people in the Hidden Sand who wanted to protect you. We figured there'd be less of a fuss if we ambushed you in Gotham," Deidara replied, looking at the heroes all around him who were getting back on their feet, "Obviously, we were wrong about that. It's a good thing we brought some back up. Itachi, Kisame, you guys are on!"

With those words, two more Akatsuki member jumped down from the ceiling, one with long dark hair and onyx eyes, and the other with blue, shark like skin. The dark haired one, Itachi, had a face as stoic as stone, "Hm, there seems to be a rather dangerous predicament here. What do you think we should do, Kisame?"

Kisame, the shark resembling one, grinned to show off his rows of sharpened teeth, "I think we should show the Kazekage what happens when Samehada gets hungry! Let's go boys!"

"We don't ever get a break, do we?" Dinah depended, watching as Kisame charged Gaara, "Karen, you need to get Waller out of here before she gets killed by the crossfire. Then get your ass back here so we can kick the hell out of these guys!"

Nodding, Karen made a mad dash for Waller, watching Kisame out of the corner of her eye. Gaara could see him coming head on from where he was, so the Kazekage built up a wall of sand to protect himself. When Kisame reach that wall, he took a large swing at it with his blade, an attack that should've proven useless. Much to Gaara's shock, however, his sand began to lose its structure, Samehada slicing right through it. It was as though the blade was sucking the chakra from his usually impenetrable defense. Once his protection was gone, Gaara expected to see Kisame standing in front of him. Instead it was Itachi, and the Kazekage made a fatal flaw in regards to him. He looked the Uchiha directly in the eyes, "I think it's time you got some rest, Mr. Kazekage."

Itachi's Sharingan was activated, and more than able to knock Gaara unconscious. The double play the two Akatsuki members had pulled caught him completely off guard. In the near instant it took for that to occur, Karen had reached Waller, which displeased Sasori. He wasn't a fan of being threatened, "You don't get to point a weapon at me and leave as if nothing happened. Let's see if you ladies can make it out of this."

"Oh shit, what's he got coming?" Karen wondered aloud, trying to get Waller behind her, "If you wanna live, don't move!"

Sasori had ripped off the mask over the lower portion of his jaw, revealing a mostly wooden face. It seemed to be that of a puppet, which soon opened it's mouth and aimed itself at the two women. Like a monsoon, a rain of senbon shot from Sasori's mouth, each of which was dipped in poison. That was something the puppeteer wanted them to be well aware of, "Those senbon are so toxic, even one would insure you a slow and painful death! I'm afraid it's all over for the two of you!"

Hearing this, Chojuro shot up to attention. With the growl of the feral beast, he charged at Sasori, his blade up and at the ready, "If you fucking touch her, I'll kill you!"

"Lovely, another fool," Sasori depend, sending his tail whizzing towards the swordsman, "I'll make short work of you!"

Chojuro hardly had time to register that the attack was coming, but that wasn't a problem. With a blue chakra covering his blade, he slashed at the deadly tail two times, slicing it into three even pieces, all of which hit the ground with a metallic clang. Sasori didn't have time to be shocked, as Deidara pulled him back to avoid any other attacks, "We don't have time for this! Let's grab the kid and get out of here!"

Grabbing some clay out of a pouch slung over his shoulder, Deidara molded a bird the same color as the spider from before. A puff of smoke burst from it that engulfed the entire room, destroying anyone's ability to see. Out of that smoke flew a gargantuan white bird that all four Akatsuki members rode on. Poking outside the bird's beak were Gaara's feet. Before any of the shinobi or superheroes could act, the bird broke through the ceiling and flew off. By the time the smoke was completely clear, the Akatsuki members had vanished, taking the Kazekage with them. As soon as he could see, Chojuro sprinted to Karen to check up on her, "Karen, are you alright? Those senbon, did they knick you at all?"

"Chojuro, my skin's like steel, they never had a chance of getting hurt me," Karen remarked, pointing to all the senbon on the ground around her, "You were so busy with Sasori, you didn't even notice they all bounced right off. I was just trying to make sure that Waller didn't get hit...Waller!"

As she spoke, it occurred to Karen that she hadn't thought to check on Waller since the senbon attack. She whipped around to see if her friend was alright, finding Amanda searching her body to see if any of the poisons had gotten to her, "Doesn't looks like I have any marks on me. I think I'm in the clear."

"Are you sure?" Darui asked, looking her up and down, "From what I've heard, even a drop of Sasori's poison is enough to take out even the biggest of guys."

"For pete's sake, I'm fine," Waller instead, starting to wobble, "I'm just a little...a little bit...tired…"

Waller fell to the ground with that last word, everyone running to see what was wrong. Much to their terror, there was a small knick on the side of her leg. By usual standards, it would be nothing, but when dealing with Sasori, a knick was all that was needed. Karen didn't waste anytime in picking her up, "We need to get her to a hospital, now!"

* * *

"Bruce, you know I'm not the sorta person who makes a big deal outta nothing," Jiraiya said as his feet clanked on the metal floors of the Batcave. The entire group was frantic, trying pick up the pieces after what just happened, "So when I say this is serious, I mean it. The Akatsuki aren't the kinda people you can rush into a fight with and come out alive. What just happened with Gaara and Waller is all the proof you could ever need of that. We can't let anger cloud our judgement. Right now, we need a real plan, not blind fury."

Walking beside the Sannin was the previously mentioned Bruce, along with Clark and Diana. This was a matter so important that it required the presence of the entire trinity. A threat like that was few and far between, and the fact that Naruto and his friends were involved didn't make matters any better. Bruce wanted his son to stay out of the war zone for a while, "I believe you, but we need to make this quick. Waller could be dying in that hospital, and I'll never forgive myself if I don't give Naruto the chance to say goodbye. Assuming what you're saying is true, just how much danger is Gaara in? I've only ever dealt with one Akatsuki member before, and beating him wasn't exactly a cakewalk."

Clark had to clear something up before they moved on, "This group, the Akatsuki, could you explain them to me one more time? I know they're from the same place Naruto is, and that they want the power he and few others have inside them, but where my knowledge on these guys stops."

"Sure, brushing up on them actually wouldn't be the worst idea. Always good to know what you're dealing with," Jiraiya remarked, leaning up against the Batcomputer as they reached it. Bruce sat down in front of it and began to pull up Akatsuki files as the white haired shinobi continued, "Like you said, they're from the Great Ninja Nations and want the power of the Tail Beasts, like the Kyuubi, but there's more to it than that. They're a group of S-ranked, meaning incredibly dangerous, criminals who are attempting to recover all nine of the Jinchurikis, like Naruto, and extract their power for unknown reasons. They're coming dangerously close to accomplishing said goal, as only Gaara, Naruto, and a Hidden Cloud ninja by the of Killer Bee still remain with their Tailed Beast intact. Based on this, my sources thought it was pretty safe to assume the Akatsuki was gonna be sending some of their agents to Gotham fairly soon. I was already planning on meeting with you guys about it when the whole fiasco in the restaurant went down."

Taking a look at the files Bruce had pulled up, Diana couldn't help but be disturbed by the fact that only a few of them had pictures or an ability list on them, "These members, it doesn't look like you know much about them. What makes you so sure they're as dangerous as you say?"

"First off, there's Bruce's encounter with Kakuzu," Jiraiya said, something the other heroes remembered well, "Second, the ones I have been able to confirm, Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha, are even more dangerous than he was. That's not even counting the ones we just confirmed tonight like Sasori and Deidara, and ex-members like Orochimaru. As far as I can tell, you've gotta be the worst of the worst to be invited to join the Akatsuki. I can't even imagine how powerful the person who keeps all these guys in line must be."

Bruce's fear for his son's life began to grow, "The Uchiha name I recognize as Sasuke's brother. Apparently he's one nasty piece of work. Kankuro's told me some stories about Sasori as well, none of them pleasant. Lovely to think they're after my son. So, what about Naruto? What's the best course of action we can take for him?"

That was tricky question, even for Jiraiya, "Tough to say. He's a strong kid, and he's got decent control over both the Kyuubi's power and his Sage Mode. There's a little bit of work I could do with him, but I honestly think he may have surpassed me. If we wanna train him to be ready in case we can't stop these wackos, we're going to have to branch out and ask Killer Bee for some help."

"Killer Bee? You mean the Hidden Cloud ninja you mentioned before?" Diana asked with a raised eyebrow, "What makes you think he can help?"

"Killer Bee's one of the few people known to man who's nearly perfected his connection with his tailed beast, The Eight Tails-Gyuki," Jiraiya began, well aware that they'd need more infomation, "Naruto and Kurama have a pretty good team going, but they could be so much more given the proper training. Killer Bee and Gyuki have this synergy with their abilities that the kid and the Kyuubi just don't have yet. Once their powers are properly combined, there'll be no stopping them."

Considering how powerful they were already, Clark didn't see how they could turn it down, "I know it's Bruce's call, but these Akatsuki guys are even half as strong as Jiraiya seems to think, Naruto's gonna need this. Besides, it's not like more training could hurt him, right?"

Diana wasn't so sure of that, "They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Naruto's a good kid, but giving someone as young as he is those kind of abilities could change that. I hate saying things like that, but someone's gotta play the devil's advocate here. Bruce, you wanna weigh in on this?"

"Hm? Well of course I do," Bruce had actually been going over a list of concerns is head when she asked, "If I were ask him to take on this training, where would Naruto have to go? Could it be done here, in Gotham?"

"To be frank, I have no idea," Jiraiya said, half shrugging, "Your son isn't a normal case for them. They don't need him to get in touch with his tailed beast; that part's already been done. I know that step is something they have a special place for, but anything that comes after it is a mystery to me."

That was far from the answer Bruce had been hoping for, "I guess we'll have to put a pin in that. Killer Bee, and the rest of the Hidden Cloud, can we trust them?"

"It doesn't matter," Jiraiya dismissed the question, "Trust is something most of the Hidden Villages are being forced into right now. The Leaf, Sand, and Mist are all allies, and the Cloud knows that the Akatsuki need to be taken care of above all else. Some Hidden Leaf Ambassadors made sure of that. Pretty soon even the Hidden Rock, who hate our guts more than Superman over here hates Kryptonite, are gonna cave in and start working with us. There's no need to worry about anyone betraying our side right now."

Diana felt as though she was only now grasping the gravity of the situation, "There's one thing that still bothers me...how did this just now come to our attention? You make these guys sound as though they have the potential to stomp out the entire world. If the Akatsuki are as bad as you say, why weren't they snuffed out sooner?"

There was the question that had been plaguing the Sannin for months now. The only response he could come up with wasn't one he was particularly proud of, "Because they were smarter than we were. These guys knew just how to fly under the radar, building their influence in shadows and dark corners they were certain we'd never check, and they were right every time. Half the conflicts the Hidden Leaf has been taking down over the past few years have been things the Akatsuki started up in secret to keep us distracted. Sure, there was a group of criminals out there, but not one dangerous enough for us to do anything about. We we're fighting a battle of espionage, and we didn't even know it. No wonder we got our ass kicked."

"Well the shadow war is over now," Bruce remarked, standing up from his chair, and cracking his knuckles, "These guys have come into the light, so that's where we're gonna kick their asses. Waller was the one who introduced me to my son, and I can't let this attack her go unpunished. We need to get a team ready to retrieve Gaara. Myself, Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro are all going for obvious reasons. Jiraiya, I'll trust you to decide who else is coming with us. You know these guy's skill set better than I do, so you know what we'll need to take them. Once we get done visiting Amanda...we're going to make the Akatsuki wish they'd stayed in the dark."

* * *

While things grew more hectic above Gotham, the same was happening down below. In a bedroom located in the lair of the nefarious League of Assassins, a woman was throwing what could only be described as a tantrum. Tables had been flipped over, glass broken, and anything still in one piece was scattered across the stone confides of the room. The one doing all this damage to said lair was Talia Al Ghul, daughter of the late Ra's Al Ghul. With the latter's death being confirmed to be permanent, she was next in line to take control of the League. That meant certain things had come light, and as it turned out, they were things that sent her over the edge.

"How could father have kept this from me from so long?" Taila screamed, banging her fist against the wall, "All this time, I thought he was keeping me busy because he wanted to see if I was ready to be his successor. Now I find out he just didn't want me to know what had become of my beloved!"

Nyssa, Talia's sister, did her best to calm her, "It's going to be alright, I promise you. Yes, Bruce is married, and has a family, but that doesn't change what must be done in the name of the League of Assassins. Father trusted you to insure his work went on. You must move past the Wayne's and rally our organization to become what it was always meant to be!"

It took all the restraint Talia had not to slap her sister when she told her to get over her long lost lover. Bruce meant more to Talia that Nyssa could ever understand. Still, her sister had a point. She had to think of what was best for the League. Composing herself, Talia addressed her sister properly, "You're absolutely right. I need to think of the League and not myself in this instance. Bruce Wayne, or more accurately the Batman, has been a thorn in our side for too long. Please, go fetch Damian for me. It's time for my student to receive his first mission."

* * *

Abaddon was growing stronger. He was discovering that he could do things no other 'human' could do. This was something Abaddon learned when a policeman found his way into the alleyway he called home. The officer had of course taken issue with the dead body of the hooker he found near Abaddon, a corpse that looked as though it had been rotting several days. Said corpse was soon joined by another, as Abbadon showed the officer what becomes of people who bother his home. The interesting part didn't come until after he explored the dead policeman's body though.

There were these things that Abaddon could grow from his fingers, these slithery, vine like things. He could control where they went and when they sprouted out of him. They'd proven useful for getting things out of the nooks and crannies, (Abaddon had discovered them while trying to dig something out of the sewer) and it was when he was searching the dead body that he got an interesting thing about them. Using these vines, Abaddon began to dig around the officer's insides, going in through his nostrils and mouth. At first it was nothing but squishy bits of the useless flesh, but when he got the skull, Abaddon became interested in the brain. Abaddon had been digging out and consuming pieces of the policemen for a while and nothing special had occurred. Yet, when he began to do that with the brain, something strange happened...he began to learn.

With every piece of brain that Abaddon took in, new pieces of knowledge became apparent to him. Skills that he'd never heard of we're suddenly simple to understand. He knew how to shoot a gun, how to load it, how to tie a shoe, how to use a radio, things he'd never dreamed off before! Before long, Abaddon wasn't even eating the brain, he was sucking it in through the vines, learning with each piece he absorbed. The policeman's skull was now empty, but Abaddon didn't care. In fact, he was all too pleased with his new discovery, "Interesting...I wonder if other humans have things for me to learn?"


	53. Family Ties Pt 1

My wonderful readers, it's time for another chapter of The Red Fox! After the cliffhanger I left last time, I'm sure I've got some people less than happy with me. Don't worry, all will be resolved in this next chapter...well some of it will be resolved...eh, you'll see. Not the longest chapter I've ever written, but I'm in college, so cut me some slack. We've got Waller, Gaara and a whole lot of other things that need to be checked up on. I suppose then, that I should jump right into it. Get ready for some action, some drama, and some real emotion! There won't be as much action in this chapter as I originally planned, but that mostly means the next chapter's gonna be more of a throw down. Thank you all so much for reading, and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack: The Eagles-Peaceful Easy Feeling

* * *

"You know, of all the things I thought would kill me, I gotta admit...poison was in the top five," Waller said, coughing in her hospital bed, "But I suppose being surround by friends like you isn't the worst way to die, now is it?"

The friends she was referring to were Bruce, Naruto, Clark, Diana, and Colonel Rick Flag. Said Colonel was someone Waller had known for a long time, even back in her darker days, and the two of them hadn't always gotten along. Over time, mainly after Waller reexamined the way she ran things, the two came to respect one another, becoming each other's closest ally in the cloak and dagger government world. He was supposed to be the one guarding her room, but really he just wanted to say goodbye, "I'm so sorry Amanda. I should've came with you, to back you up against those freaks."

"Oh please, they would've handed you your ass," Waller told him with a smile, "But I appreciate the thought Rick. You're a good soldier. I'm counting on you to take care of things we I'm gone."

Rick's eyes began to water. Rather than say anything, he put his arm up and gave her a small salute, then cleared the way for others to speak to her. Diana step up next, looking uncertain of what to say, "Amanda, even though we didn't always see eye to eye, and there's a lot of choices you made that I didn't always agree with, I want you to know that I'm certain you always had the best intentions. You made the kinda decisions I hope I never have to, and I can't help but respect that."

A grateful nod told Diana she'd said all that needed to be said. Waller could only think to add in one thing, "Thank you, and you keep on showing the works what a badass lady like us can do."

"I don't think she'll have any trouble with that," Clark said with a short laugh, "Amanda, you once tried to weaponize kryptonite in case you ever needed to kill me, and now I'm standing by you on your deathbed. Not sure what to make of that. I guess I'm trying to say that you've come a long way, and I wish you could've gotten the chance to make even more of a difference in this world. You aren't just leaving a hole in our lives, you're leaving a blast crater."

"For being the Man of Steel, you sound like you're going a little soft," Waller joked, "But I'm grateful for everything you've said, and I'm grateful that Krypton sent you to us. You be sure and keep Luthor on his toes for me."

Bruce was one of many who chuckled at that line. It wasn't long before he found himself brought back down to the reality of the situation, "I've gotta say Amanda, you're taking this far better than I would be. You aren't afraid of what's coming next?"

She could only shrug in response, "Yes and no. I've read the good book a couple of times, hard as that is to believe. I know I've got a lot to answer for, but I'd like to think sometimes the angels need a sharp sword too. I do know that if I do get up there, I'll be sure tell your parents what you've done for Gotham, and that I can't imagine a world without you. The same goes for you, Naruto."

"Thank you. I've seen a little taste of what comes after this, and I know you'll end up in a happier place" Naruto managed to mumble out, looking on the verge of tears, "Amanda, I just...I just wanna say thank you, for everything. Without you, I don't know where I'd be right now...I don't know what I gonna do when you're gone either."

By the end, there were tears running down Naruto's cheek. Waller motioned him over, pulling him into a tight hug, "Come on now, don't cry over me. You know something? Out of everything I've done in my lifetime, bringing you to Gotham has to be the one I'm most proud of. Playing even a small part in the man you're going to become was an honor. Now's not the time to cry, now's the time to be strong. You've got dark things up ahead, but they're things I know you'll conquer. There's not a force on this Earth strong enough to stop you, Naruto."

Naruto pulled away, wiping the tears from his eyes, "Thank you. Is there anything that we can do for you?"

"Just stay with me, until it's my time," Waller said, lying back onto her bed, "Something tells me it won't be much longer."

That was something the group was happy to do. They all stood by Waller, holding her hand when the pain of the toxin's set in. It was beyond difficult to watch, but Waller found a way to stay strong through it all. A little over 20 minutes after they'd said their goodbye, she flatlined. The legend that was Amanda Waller was gone, and it was time for action.

"Jiraiya's got the team all picked out for us, and we leave in half an hour," Bruce said as they left the hospital room, well aware that his son wanted to act earlier, "I know that you're angry and want to make this right, but charging in against the Akatsuki will get us killed. We've got a plan now, we have located Gaara's chakra signature, and we're ready to kick their asses. The only one who's not at the Manor yet is Kankuro, and we didn't wanna tell him or Temari at the risk of them overreacting. He's on a date with Barbara right now, one they set up last night. As soon he's ready, we'll move out."

"Good," Naruto replied through his teeth, "These bastards want Tailed Beasts so bad? We'll they're about to get one!"

* * *

Kankuro walked Barbara back to her apartment after their date in a state of complete uncertainty. Part of him thought it had went really well, since Barbara seemed to be having a good time the entire night. The problem was; that seemed unlikely given how many things had gone wrong. None of them were Kankuro's fault, in fact he'd done everything he could to make sure he fixed whatever came up. When the night began with the restaurant he'd planned on them eating at losing their reservation, Kankuro made a mad dash through a nearby store and they had a picnic in the park. To counteract the nippy October air, he used a flame seal to make them a small, contained fire, even going so far as to have the two of them make s'mores on it. Not getting into the restaurant meant they didn't have a decent a dancefloor, but a small band playing on the corner worked just as well for them. Indeed, Kankuro had done his best, though he feared that it wouldn't be enough.

When they reached her front door, Barbara began to dig in her purse for her keys, glancing up at her date occasionally. The silence proved too much for Kankuro, "I hope you had a good time tonight. Not everything went as planned, but I gave you the best time I could. It was really awesome of you to give me a chance, and I get it if you feel like you and me aren't right for each other. If by some miracle you actually wanna go on a second-mph!"

"Mmmmmm," Barbara moaned as she kissed Kankuro to silence him. The young Sand shinobi was almost too dumbfounded to kiss back, but soon had his hands on her hips. They parted ways a couple of seconds later, Barbara holding her hand out to him, "You've got a phone to use while you're in Gotham, right? Give to me."

Kankuro wasn't about to argue. He handed her the phone, after which she took out her own. A few of moments worth of typing later, she handed the phone back to him, "There, now you've got my cell phone number and I've got yours. Text me the details of when we can go on a second date, okay?"

"W-wait, really?" Kankuro asked, trying to keep his voice from jumping up an octave, "I can't believe it. I never thought I'd actually manage to get a second date with you."

"It's kind of adorable how nervous you got when the tiniest little thing when wrong," Barbara giggled, returning to her purse to look for her keys, which she soon found, "Not many guys would've gone the length you did for one date. You did great, Kankuro. I'm really looking foreword to the next time we go out."

Barbara gave him one last kiss before slipping inside. A smile slowly grew on Kankuro's face as he turned to head down towards the stairs. He practically danced down each step, still in slight disbelief over what just happened. Before long he reached the bottom floor and headed out the door, the goofy grin still on his face. Kankuro had only taken a few steps when he felt his phone go off in his pocket. When he pulled it out and looked at the message, getting a little weak in the knees, "Oh baby…"

It was a picture Barbara had sent to him of her from the waste up...not wearing a thing. Her beautiful chest was on full display. Underneath it were the words, 'A little reminder of what a gentlemen gets when he's patient. You've seen them in person once already. Play your cards right, and you'll see more than that.'

"God, please let me play those cards right," Kankuro mumbled, his phone soon beginning to ring, "Huh, Naruto's calling me."

Kankuro put the phone up to his ear and answered, "Hey, Naruto, you aren't gonna believe this! I just had the best date of my...Wait, what was that? When? How did he...well fuck. Holy shit man, I'm sorry you lost her. Have you found out where he is? Well then what the fuck are we waiting for, let's go get him! Yeah, I'll be there in not time. Yup, bye."

The puppet master hung up the phone, fighting the urge to crush it in his hand, "You could bust up my puppets, smack me around, and spit in my face...but you don't mess with my little brother. Motherfuckers, it's game time!"

* * *

"Listen to me you two: I'm gonna be fine on my own," Harley Quinn told Jason and Rose as they waited outside the head office of H.I.V.E., "I'll tell that bastard where he can put his offer, get Duela, and then we'll all go out for pancakes or something. Go wait wherever they tell ya to, enjoy whatever free stuff they give ya, and let me handle the rest."

Jason was never a fan a leaving his mother on her own, "Isn't this the same guy that stole Duela right out from under your nose? I don't wanna be rude or anything, but he sounds like a pretty shady dude. Maybe we could help."

That idea earned a scoff from Harley, "Please, I just didn't know anyone else knew about Duela. Now that I do, his advantage is gone, I'll kick his ass up the street and back. You kids go have fun, I'll handle Brother Blood. Actually, Rose, can you hang back just one second. Jason, you can go."

"Um, okay," Rose said, shrugging to Jason. It must not have seemed that odd to him, as he headed off to the little waiting area H.I.V.E. had set up for them, "What did you need?"

Harley reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pouch, giving to Rose, "I've been meaning to give this to ya. It's something Red made for me back in the day, put I've never had much of a use for it."

Opening up the pouch, Rose found four tubes of lipstick within it, each one with a different marking on it. She had no clue what to make of it, "Not that I want to be ungrateful or anything Harley, but why are you giving me makeup?"

"Honey, that's Poison Ivy brand makeup," Harley said with a laugh, "It's not just regular lipstick. She would always make different kinds to do different sorts of things. Red was real good with the chemistry and all that. Since she worried about me so much, she made me those to use in case I was in an emergency. Sweet gesture...thing is though, they're not my kinda weapon. I like going all out with a bat and some guns! That stuff seems right up an assassin's alley though, and you wear the same color I do, so I figured you might want them."

Rose looked at the tube of fire engine red lipstick, a small smile on her face, "I'm not gonna lie; that does sound pretty useful. So what does each one do?"

"The one with the crossbones on it is poisonous, so you know, don't mix up that one," Harley began, "The one with the little C on it is for mind control, but it only works for about an hour, the one with the K on it knocks people out, and the one with the F on it will stop a person's pulse for a while to make it look like they're dead. Got it?"

Seeing as it was a pretty simple system, Rose figured she'd do just fine, "Yeah, I've got it. Thanks Harley, I've got a feeling these will come in handy. Good luck with Brother Blood in there."

Harley nodded and headed towards the door, letting Rose join Jason in the waiting area they'd set up, though she took a small stop to apply and little something. It looked like it was typically some kind of break room for employees of the office, but they'd set it up with some extra food and comfy chairs. Rose sat down next to Jason, who was popping a grape from a fruit salad into his mouth, "Everything alright with you and mother?"

"Everything's fine, you're mom just wanted to give these lipsticks Ivy gave her that have all these crazy powers," Rose said, leaning in for a kiss. Jason backed away before their lips could meet, "Something wrong?"

Jason gulped, "You're lipstick, it um...looks pretty fresh. You weren't hoping to test one out on me, right?"

The assassin smirked, "I don't know. Why don't you kiss me and find out?"

"A tempting idea," Jason admitted, feeling her breath on his neck, "It's gonna be awhile before I can kiss you and be sure that you're not screwing me, isn't it?"

Rose winked at him, "Yes, yes it is. Come on, you know making out usually leads to something even more fun. We haven't had sex in almost a week. You aren't gonna pass that up, now are ya?"

She pressed her chest up against his and placed a hand on his knee, unbuttoning a couple places on her shirt to show off a little cleavage. Her lips grew ever closer to his, forcing Jason to stand up to get away from her. Rose snickered at how nervous he was getting, though her lover didn't find it nearly as funny, "Rose, don't screw with me like this. How do I know you aren't wearing the mind control one? You'd be able to make me do freaking anything!"

"You never know, you might enjoy what I make you do." Rose said, jumping up to stand directly in front of Jason, "Come on, pucker up. I promise, the first one will be on lips, and then I'll trail them down until I get to your,"

"Hey Jason, can I get your help for a bit?" Harley asked, interrupting Rose's seduction attempt, "Brother Blood just told me where Duela is, so I can send somebody to pick her up. No clue why he just gave up his biggest bargaining chip, but hey, I ain't bitching. I'm gonna go in there and see what he's up to though."

Jason didn't hesitate, considering that he needed to get out of that room right away before Rose realized how bad he wanted her right now, "Sure, no problem, I'll go see her. You go kick the crap out of Brother Blood and I'll go get Duela."

That went off far easier than Harley expected it too, "Oh...thanks. Just take her to that park we passed a couple miles back, and I'll come and take over in a bit. Be nice to her, okay? I promise, you'll love her!"

"Yeah, whatever," Jason said, letting his mother head back for Brother Blood. Rose started to walk towards him again, swaying her hips, but Jason stopped her, "No, you stay here. We'll talk later, when I'm not distracted by your...fucking 10 out of 10 body...dammit, no! I'm leaving!"

Rose crossed her arms as Jason left the room, sighing to herself, "Fine, I'll find someone else to test it on...pussy."

* * *

"What do you think Sasori? Is the kid actually gonna live through this?" Deidara asked as he watched the One Tail's power being sucked out of Gaara and into the Gedo statue, "He seems pretty tough, but I don't think anyone's ever lived through this before."

Sasori didn't seem all that optimistic, "He's got a small advantage, since it's only the One Tail, but I still don't think his body can take it. I'd wager that no one's can. I still believe it was unwise of Pain to leave just the two of us to defend him though. We had to summon the Gedo statue in Jump City because we weren't in a position to lug him all the way back to the Great Ninja Nations, I'll admit that part, but what was so important that Itachi and Kisame couldn't stay and help us?"

That wasn't the kind of question Deidara could answer, "You're asking the wrong guy. All I know is that we'd better get ready, cause Gaara's friends should be arriving any minute now, and something tells me they ain't all that happy with us."

"Way to state the obvious, Deidara."

* * *

Jason really had no idea what to expect in terms of meeting his 'little sister.' He'd gotten the location of the hotel from the one of Brother Blood's people, and was about to see what the spawn of the man he hated more than anyone in the world looked like. Needless to say, he didn't know what to expect. Once he got passed the guard and into the room, what he saw was far from what he figured he'd see, "Huh...I don't know what to make of this."

A small child was kneeling on the hotel floor, playing with a pair of action figures. One was of Superman, and the other was of the super villain Solomon Grundy. She was charging them at one another, even going so far as to imitate their voices, "And then Grundy goes, 'rawr, I'm gonna beat you Superman,' and Superman goes, 'No way, I'm invincible!' Boom, blam, pow! Hehe, Mama says that Solomon Grundy is super nice, even though he looks scary…kinda like Santa."

"That's freaking priceless," Jason snickered, making the girl's head shoot up, "Oh, um...hey. I'm Jason; you're mommy sent me to-"

Duela jumped up like a rabbit, "You're Jason! Yay, I finally get to see you!"

She continued on like that for a few moments, and Jason grew so annoyed by the girl bouncing on her heels that he blurted out, "Stop that!"

"Sorry, big brother," Duela said, making Jason throw up in his mouth a little bit, "But I'm so excited to meet you! Mama always talked about you during our phone calls, about how cool and strong you were! I'm just happy to finally meet my big bro!"

Jason didn't have the heart to tell her not to call him that. Though he did feel the need to ask, "What else does mother say about me, other than how awesome I am?"

"That you're on your way to being a stud and she wants at least three grandbabies to spoil, whatever that means," Duela said, nearly making Jason smack his head, "So, big bro, what are we gonna do now? Are we gonna go see Mama?"

"Huh? Oh, in a little bit, yeah, but not right now," Jason replied, "Right now we're gonna go to the park for a little bit and then Mama's gonna come get you. Does that sound okay?"

Duela grabbed Jason's hand, pulling him out the hotel door, "The park? I know where the park is! There's lots of fun stuff for us to do there! Come on, I'll show you! We're gonna have so much fun, I just know it!"

As he was dragged by the surprisingly strong girl, Jason could hardly believe this bubbly little bundle of joy shared any sort of relationship with the Clown Prince of Crime. Hopefull the surprises with her would continue to be pleasant.

* * *

"Red Fox, Kankuro, Temari, when we get in there, I'm going to need all of you to stay calm and do everything exactly as we planned," Batman warned his son and his friends while they approached the warehouse where they'd picked up Gaara's chakra signature. With them was Kakashi, who'd rushed through the Leaf's seal system to get there, and Lady Chiyo, a small, elderly woman with grey hair. She was an unknown element to Bruce, but one that Jiraiya felt was necessary, so he'd go along with it. The last member of their group, on the other hand, he was none too happy to have along, "And as for you, Spoiler, I'm half tempted to make you stay in the Batmobile."

The Dark Knight was furious with his purple clad prodige, and with good reason. Stephanie had been having a rough time since Tim went off to God knew where, and it showed in her actions. Everyday she grew more and more reckless. She'd gone on missions without telling anyone, crossed lines during interrogations, and practically ran into bullet fire on multiple occasions. Her stowing away on the Batwing to fight these deadly criminals was merely the latest example, "Why would make me stay? If that old lady is supposed to help you, then why can't I?"

"Because Jiraiya cleared her, and he didn't clear you," Batman growled, turning to Lady Chiyo, "I'm sorry about her rudeness. If you don't mind, why don't fill my young friend in on why Jiraiya sent you along with us?"

Lady Chiyo didn't seem all that disturbed by Stephanie's words, "Certainly. First though, I must apologize again, Kakashi, for attacking you when we first arrived. You really do bare a striking resemblance to your father."

"Don't worry about it. It happens more often than you'd think," Kakashi said, which was necessarily untrue, "My dad made a lot enemies during this time."

There was no way Lady Chiyo could argue with that, "Indeed he did. Well, as for why I was asked on this mission, first and foremost, I'm one of the most accomplished puppeteers the Hidden Sand has ever had. In my hay day, there wasn't a soul in Ninja Nations who would cross me, and I've still got plenty of those skills left. Not to mention, I know Sasori's battle style better than anyone."

The Red Fox felt almost obligated to ask, "Why is that?"

"Because he's my grandson," Lady Chiyo replied, making everyone go silent. Kankuro and Temari already knew about it, but that didn't mean they knew what to say, "I raised him, and taught him everything he knows about puppets...well, I suppose he's picked up a few new tricks while he's been away. His parents died at the hands of Kakashi's father, and I did my best be there for him and give him something to focus on other than his loss. Sometimes I think I did too good of a job on that last part."

Rather than let a statement like that hang in the air, Batman decided to get things moving, "On that note, it's time to bust into the warehouse. From what Jiraiya said, they're gonna know we're coming. They won't bother to lock the door or set any traps. They're too confident for that."

Something wasn't adding up to Kankuro, "Hold on, why just the six, er, I guess seven of us? Why not get an entire army in here to take on these guys?"

"Because the more people we send in there, the more destruction there'll be. Gaara's got a better shot if they're aren't attacks flying in every which direction," Temari reasoned, "And it probably wouldn't hurt to keep this quiet too, to keep the public from going into a panic. A small, well thought out team is better for this."

Batman couldn't have said it better himself, "Exactly. Now then, Stephaine, you stick with me, and the rest of you know what you're doing. Our operation is officially a go."

* * *

After a brief walk, or run, more accurately, to a nearby park, Jason and Duela spent about half an hour playing together, with the little girl sharing her climbing tricks with her big brother and showing him how good she was at drawing in chalk. Shortly after, Jason settled in and watched Duela climb up the jungle gym and head towards the slide. Oddly enough, he couldn't help but smile as the clown's spawn giggled while she slid. It was true, he still hated the Joker with every ounce of his being, but maybe the little girl wasn't so bad. From there his mind began to wander back to what Rose had told him about the lipstick, and he couldn't help but worry if it was true and what other uses the teenage assassin might think of. He was so lost in thought that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone hug him from behind and whisper in his ear, "You're a hard man to track down, you know that?"

Once he was able to calm his heart, Jason turned to find his long lost friend, Ino. Quickly collecting himself, the teen said, "I don't think you're suppose to be here."

"And you're suppose to be dead," The girl replied as she swung herself over the bench and took the empty seat, "And yet here we are."

Knowing it was pointless to argue, Jason instead asked, "So how'd you find out I was alive?"

"Saw you when I was following Naruto to make sure he got his present, and based on the little girl out there, I'd say you and your "friend" are pretty happy. But really? Harley Quinn? Now that takes some balls."

"One, it's not like that with me and mother," Jason began, "Two, Duela isn't mine. And three I am happy with a girl named Rose...even though I don't know where we stand."

"Rose...Rose...Rose," Ino thought aloud as she tried to place the name, "Isn't she the daughter of the pirate looking assassin or something?" When Jason nodded, Ino released a low whistle before adding, "Way to go lover boy, I always knew that you'd get a nice piece of ass."

"I don't exactly have it," Jason mumbled. Seeing Ino's questioning looks, he continued, "We slept together once, but she doesn't want to go out. And now I've been around her when she's practically naked for the past four days but, thanks to how close mom is, I can't really get a release."

Ino couldn't help but to laugh as she said, "You think you're ur the only one that's been blue balled? My folks finally leave the house on their third honeymoon but no guy wants to come over, and now we're out of batteries."

It was Jason's turn to be confused, "Really? I remember back in Gotham you use to get all the school boys drooling whenever you decided to surprise Naruto."

"That was then and this is now," Ino said, "I had to help Naruto get the last of the Joker virus out of his head, but I didn't get away unscratched. Now with my new sense of humor, guys tend to get scared away. That's actually why I'm here, mandatory vacation to "ease my nerves" as Tsunade-sama said," An idea began to form inside Ino's head, "Hey, you know I had a crush on you when we were younger," Jason nodded his head, fully aware of the blonde's affection for him, and recalling his plans to ask her out after the Joker's last scheme, "Well we're both adults now who can help each other out, soooo...my place or yours?"

If he hadn't lived around his mother so long, the casual way Ino offered everything might have shocked him. Instead Jason said, "Can't right now, got to watch the brat."

"There you are Jason," the pair turned to see Harley Quinn, for once without her makeup e up on, walking up behind them, "Thanks again for watching Duela while I finished up back there. Look like we're gonna be staying here for awhile, but in a good way. Brother Blood is being a gracious host to us. I'll tell ya later," The woman's eyes passing over Ino, she asked, "Who's your friend?"

"Hi ma'am," Ino began in a tone completely unlike her usual self, "My name's Ino. Your son was just helping me after I tripped and sprained my ankle." Only now did Jason realize the shinobi in hiding was wearing a sports bra and workout shorts that clung to her legs, showing off her near perfect body, "In fact I was just about to ask him to join me for some coffee as a thank you."

"Alright then, you two crazy kids go have some fun," Harley said, taking their seats as the two got up, "Oh and Jason, don't be out too late, I need to head back to Gotham later tonight and I can't find a sitter on such short notice. Also your friend mentioned something about a surprise waiting for you at home. Hopefully not anything that'll upset our new host."

"Got it mother." Jason said as he followed after Ino so as to not give his friend away. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something different about his mother. She's been cursing Brother Blood's name before, and now, she was calling him 'Gracious?' Something was off.

Ino interrupted those thoughts when they were a good distance away, Ino asked, "So...my place?"

After a moment of internal debate, Jason said, "You know what? Fuck it. I've had blue balls for like the past week. Let's do this!"

* * *

"Would you look at that, Sasori? You leave the door unlock, and some insects think they can just walk in," Deidara muttered as the Red Fox and the rest of the hero's crew entered the warehouse, "What do you think we oughta do with them?"

"We already did the witty banter thing earlier, Deidara. It's time to focus now," Sasori said, noticing Lady Chiyo moments after, "Grandmother? How nice of you to come visit me. Never thought I'd see you again."

Lady Chiyo narrowed her eyes at the shell that used to be her grandson, "Well, when I found out you had a hand in the kidnapping and possible murder of the Kazekage, I thought it'd be time to visit and smack some sense into you."

As long as they were mentioning Gaara, Kankuro had something to say, "You guys have probably already figured out we're not gonna let you leave here, but if you give us Gaara now, we won't be quite as hard on ya. Make us fight, and…well, you don't wanna find out."

"Considering that the vigilantes here don't spill any blood, I don't really think that's much of a threat," Deidara quipped, looking at Batman, Red Fox, and Spoiler, "Come on 'heroes,' tell me I'm wrong."

The Red Fox was smirking under his mask, "That's true, we won't kill ya...but we would have a pretty hard time stopping these guys if they decided they wanted to. Give us Gaara, or call our bluff already. We don't have all day."

This was hardly the time for Deidara to be backing down. He took some clay from his pouch and molded it with the terrifying mouths on his hands. Before long, there was a puff of smoke and a giant bird similar to the one he'd summoned at the restaurant appeared, snatching up the Akatsuki member in its talon. It crashed through the glass ceiling, Deidara calling as it did, "I'll head out and give Sasori some room so he can start kicking your asses. Any of you got the guts to chase me?"

"We've got the guts alright," Spoiler called, grabbing her grappling hook and firing it at the ceiling, "And we're gonna fuck you up!"

"Spoiler, hold on a second," Batman yelled, but the girl was already gone, "Dammit! Alright, split up to the teams we discussed! Work as fast as you can! Every second, Gaara's condition gets worse! Don't screw around!"

Upon Batman's command, the Red Fox and Kakashi both lept up after Spoiler, the Dark Knight following behind him on his grappling hook. With them gone, Kankuro grabbed his summoning scroll off from his back and Temari took out her fan. Chiyo seemed to be preparing something as well. Sasori got into his battle stance in response, "Two puppet masters and wind expert against me? Perhaps I've got a fight that'll get my blood flowing."

"Oh don't worry, there'll be plenty of blood," Kankuro growled, summoning his first puppet, Sanshouo. Sanshouo was shaped like a massive salamander, and was one of Kankuro's more defensive puppets, as it could shield him from just about anything. He had a good reason for picking it first, "Chiyo, Temari, I'll cover you guys while you set up something nasty for this bastard. Sasori might be the most powerful puppeteer to date, and respect the hell out of him, but you don't fuck with my family! Let's tear shit up!"

* * *

The walk to Ino's hotel proved to be a lengthy one. Along the way, the two shared stories about what had happened in the past few year, neither judging the choices the other had made. After all, neither of them had a past worth bragging about. Ino only had her closest friends left back in the Leaf, thanks to her more than off putting personality, and Jason, well, he was a wanted man. Misfits was the best way the two could be described.

Once they reached their destination and got up to the room, they didn't waste any time. They were on the bed making out within minutes, though Jason was doing so hesitantly. Feeling that something off, Ino pulled back and asked, "What's wrong? I thought you wanted this."

"I do," Jason began, rubbing his tired eyes, "And I know I don't have anything with Rose other than stress relief, and that she's encouraging me to get more practice, but still," he paused briefly and stared ahead of him, feeling Ino's weight shift off the mattress as he continued his explanation, "I'd like there to be something with her someday, and I feel like it could happen, but I'm not helping myself by...well, you know."

"So what you're saying," Ino began as she walked in front of Jason, the boy's jaw dropping when he realized she'd stripped out her clothes when he wasn't looking. She then turned with her back facing him, looking over her shoulder with a grin as she finished, "Is that you don't wanna fuck my ass?"

"I never said that," Jason quickly said, all his doubts vanishing as he pulled the girl onto the bed, letting her work at getting his pants off, "I am gonna have to get some champagne sent up to the room later to celebrate though."

Ino had his close off in no time, making a little idle chit-chat as she worked, "Did Rose ever let you try the back door, or is this your first time?"

He laughed at the very idea of that, "Are you kidding? Rose made it damn clear she wouldn't even consider anal. It freaks her out or something."

"Well let's stop talking about your first fuck buddy," The blond turned around, bring her head to the mattress and her ass up in the air, which she wiggled as she said, "And focus on fucking me! By the time we're done I don't want to be walking straight for at least a week."

Jason felt like he needed to thank god at that moment, "Sweet Jesus, I think I'm in love."

* * *

Abaddon was beginning to like his surroundings more and more. He'd killed a few more people since the police officer, and learned a great amount from them. Apparently those prostitutes he killed wouldn't struggle as much if he paid them, which was nice, since the struggle was an inconvenience for him. Though he'd simply pin one down in a heartbeat if he was horny and didn't have the cash, it was easier from time to time to simply use the money he found on the dead bodies for them.

His skin though, with it's green tint, was apparently off putting. Abaddon knew from the minds he absorbed that humans weren't supposed to have that color of skin, and that they couldn't do the sorts of things he could. As best he could tell from what he'd learned, it seemed like he was at least part plant, sort of like that Poison Ivy woman the cop knew so much about. There was more to Abaddon though. Not only could he do things with this plant power, he had other power inside of him too. He could make this...stuff glow from his hands. The stuff, whatever it was, was red, and it seemed to have an energy to it. Something inside him kept telling him to mold it, to shape into something. A sphere maybe? In a strange sort of way, it was like he could almost remember something, something that he was born able to do, like a spider spinning a web. Did that even make sense?

In a nearby glass window, Abaddon could see his reflection, with his blonde hair and blue eyes. If it wasn't for the odd skin color, humans probably would've called him handsome. Perhaps once he perfected these powers, he could show them how much more he was than meets the eye...


	54. Family Ties Pt 2

Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting chapter of The Red Fox. I'm sure you're all wondering what to expect out of these fights, and really, all I can say is that you can expect shit to get intense. We've got the heroes vs two of the Akatsuki's most dangerous members...which actually could be said for almost any of them. The Red Fox and friends have got a tough battle ahead of them, so I suppose it's time to jump into it. Strap in, this is gonna be a fun one! There will be some evil cliffhangers, the kind that you're gonna be pissed at me for, a couple of which have to do with the fights. This a pretty stuffed chapter, less for the word count and more for how densely it reads. Anyways, thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Small Note/Disclaimer-The chapter title 'Unanswered Questions Pt 1' wasn't supposed to have the Pt 1 in it, I merely did that out of habit. Don't read into that at all. Also, the powers may not perfectly line up with those in canon, but it's a fanfic, so that's to be expected.

Chapter Soundtrack: Fall Out Boy-This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race

* * *

Blood had been spilt on the rooftops of Gotham more than a couple of times, to the point where some people were surprised they weren't permanently stained red. Deidara, with his explosives and twisted form of art, seemed to be doing his best to continue that tradition, "Haha, now this is what I call a battle! Come on guys, keep it up! I haven't had this much fun in ages!"

Deidara took some clay into each hand and molded it, releasing two small, white grasshoppers at his opponents. The Red Fox, feeling almost as though he was moving in slow motion, weaved in between the two insects, letting them hit the ground and explode. Though the ground shook beneath his feet, the Uzumaki continued forward, drawing his sword and channeling some of his wind chakra into it. With a mighty swing, he sent a deadly gust hurdling towards his foe, "Try and make some art outta this!"

"Wind? Is that the best you've got?" Deidara asked, ducking under the attack with little trouble, "Come on, give me something a little more-oof!"

That was when Deidara's cockiness got the best of him, as Batman leapt in front of him and smacked the shinobi in the jaw while he boasted. The ex-rock ninja reeled back, spitting out a small bit of blood as he did, "Guess I shouldn't have been making rookie mistakes. Here's a little something only a veteran could pull off!"

Deidara threw a smoke bomb onto the ground, vanishing in the cloud that followed. Spoiler didn't plan on letting him finish whatever he had in store, "Oh no ya don't!"

"Spoiler, wait," Batman screamed as the heroin jumped into the smoke. She came back out with a tackled Deidara and a triumphant smile on her face. Spoiler wouldn't keep it for long, as the shinobi turned white and began to expand. The Dark Knight grabbed his grappling hook from his belt and fired it at Spoiler, grabbing her by the utility belt and pulling her to him before the clone exploded, "It was an explosive clone; one of Deidara's most dangerous attacks. That's why you don't go into a fight with something this dangerous when you don't know what they can do."

"Enough talk! I'm not done kicking your guy's asses yet," Deidara screamed from above, descending upon them on yet another of his massive white birds, "Let's see you morons dodge this!"

The Akatsuki member lept from the bird's back before it hit the roof, all of the heroes scrambling to get away from it. All except for Kakashi, who instead lifted up his headband and freed his Sharingan. It looked different than usual though, with a pinwheeling spinning in it as opposed to the usual three tomoes. A black mist began to envelope the bird as Kakashi called out, "Kamui!"

Deidara's eyes widened as his attack vanished into a black swirl, almost as though it'd never been there. It was a technique Deidara had never seen before, and one that render him unable not to call out as he landed, "What the hell was that? You made my art disappear!"

"What can I say? I'm a tough critic," Kakashi deadpanned, beginning to channel lightning chakra into his hand to form a chidori, "Why don't we see if you can handle some more harsh reviews?"

The Red Fox smacked his forehead and groaned, "Even for a good guy, that was a corny line. Seriously though, when the hell'd you learn to do that? What'd you call it? Kamui of something?"

"I'll fill you in later," Kakashi replied, starting his sprint towards Deidara, "Right now, I've got work to do!"

Just like that, the battle raged on. Many shots were being fired in the fight, but few were landing. It was a constant stream of back and forth that needed to be broken up, and Deidara had a plan to do it. He reached into his pouch and began to sculpt his clay, this time with both hands at once. As Kakashi was about to reach him, he threw his latest creation into the air, a puff of smoke covering his escape. Kakashi stopped channeling chakra into his arm long enough for the cloud to clear, soon finding that Deidara's latest creation was his most dangerous piece of work yet. His latest clay monster was a dragon, the same color as everything he'd created before, and it was large enough for Deidara to stand poised on its head comfortably, smirking with absolute confidence, "Behold, the C-2 Dragon! This beautiful beast is going to be the beginning of the end for all you fools! You're all about to be a part of my latest masterpiece!"

* * *

_Jason's worries in regards to his mother were well justified. Before she'd arrived to keep an eye on Deula, she'd planned on ripping Brother Blood a new one for all the trouble he'd caused her. When she got into his office though, things took a turn she had no way of preparing for._

_"Now you listen to me, and you listen good you little creep," Harley screamed across the desk inside Brother Blood's swanky office, "The next time you come after a member of my family or anybody else I care about, my hyena's are gonna be picking you outta there teeth! You got that?"_

_Based on the way he was leaning back into his chair, Brother Blood was less than threatened, "I'm sure you wouldn't hesitate to make me puppy chow for your pet's, Miss Quinn, but I don't think you have any sort of reason to be rude to me. I've been kind to your daughter, offered you a wonderful job, and have given my warmest hospitality. Don't you think you should say 'thank you?'"_

_Harley's jaw nearly hit the floor, "Look into my eyes right now, motherfucker! Do I look grateful to you?"_

_"Look into your eyes? Well, if you insist," Brother Blood replied, meeting her gaze. The look on her face was dead serious, not that the headmaster seemed thrown. No, in fact, he seemed all too calm, "Tell me, Miss Quinn, what do you think of the color of my eyes? I've been told their quite something."_

_"Color of your eye's? What the hell kinda question is," Harley began, focusing on the sky blue color of Blood's eye. Midway through her sentence, she noticed a change them, morphing from blue into dangerous shade of crimson. It was mezermising to what one color overtake the other, so much so that Harley found it difficult to focus, "Hell kinda...kinda…"_

_Brother Blood chuckled at her confused state, "Something wrong? Perhaps it's that you still haven't thanked me for being such a gracious host? Why don't you remedy that right now?"_

_"Thank you, Brother Blood, for being such a gracious host," Harley mimicked, sounding almost unsure of what she was was saying._

_The headmaster stood up, patting Harley on the shoulder, "Good girl. You see how much easier things are when you just go along with what I say? Although, it's not as though you have much of a choice anymore. It's nice, you know, being born with such a...charismatic personality. Other people have to work years to learn how to do the sort of thing I was born able to do. I can make people do anything my twisted heart desires, and I do me anything. So, from this day forward, you work for me. You'll be a professor at my academy, you'll take the pay I'm offering you, and you'll do it with a smile on your face. Do you understand?"_

_Harley didn't responded at first, swaying like bag in the wind instead. Brother Blood sighed, before raising up his hand and slapping her across the face. She hardly even flinched before turning to Brother Blood, "I work for you now, and I'll do whatever you say. I'm grateful to be working at H.I.V.E., and thank you for giving me this chance."_

_"Much better," Blood said with a grin, "You may go visit your daughter for now, but be ready to start working when you get back. I just know the students are going to love you."_

* * *

Sasori was a perfectionist above all else. Each and every one of his puppets was designed to have a weapon stored in all possible nooks and crannies, and he'd tested all of those weapons dozens of time to ensure they'd go off without so much as a hitch. Now, as he fought against a merciless group of shinobi from his home village, he was more thankful than ever to have such a reliable set of attacks to work with.

The Sanshouo had proved a strong defense for Kankuro and his allies, as the few attacks Sasori had tried were quickly deflected. He'd started off with his go to move; firing a rain of senbon from his wooden mouth. A metallic, shield like mane connected to the Sanshouo's neck kept its master safe though, along with Temari and Chiyo. The next thing Sasori tried was a steam powered wooden missile that was made out of his puppet's arm, which exploded into a cloud of poisonous smoke shortly after being launched. Temari handled that attack, leaping into the air above the Sanshouo's mane and using her fan to create a chakra gust the blew the poison back to where it came from. With two long range attacks having little effect, Sasori had briefly wondered if going in for something closer was the right move. His tail was still gone though, thanks to Chojuro back at the restaurant, so he was limited in terms of attacking head on. Taking all that into account, Sasori had a feeling now was a better time than ever to go with the nuclear option.

"I'll give you fools credit where it's due; you've forced me to use this much earlier than I was planning to," Sasori said, his various puppet components clicking like mad, "My puppet armor is one of my greatest achievements, so it pains me to do this, but the time has come for me to sacrifice a true work of art. I hope you all appreciate what I'm about to do."

Lady Chiyo had been studying puppetry for nearly all her life, and even she didn't know what to expect next, "Kankuro, how much punishment can the Sanshouo take? I've got a feeling we've got something nasty heading on our way."

"No shit," Kankuro respond, his hands up and at the ready, "Not to be an ass, Chiyo, but you've gotta hurry it up with whatever jutsu you've been getting ready! I've got heavy hits I can bust out, but not while I'm covering you and Temari like this. Are you almost good to go?"

Normally Chiyo would be snapping at the younger puppet master not to rush her, but in this regard, he was right. They were almost out of time, "Don't worry, it's nearly complete. Temari having to make that jump delayed things a bit, but I'm back on track now!"

Kankuro wanted to ask what in the hell Temari jumping had to do with her getting ready, but he had to turn his attention to Sasori for now, as the clicking had stopped, meaning they were pretty much out of time. Small puffs of steam began to shoot from the puppet armor before pieces of wood fell from the deadly contraption. Then, like a bullet, the head of the puppet shot away from the rest of it's body, several strings of explosives tags being dragged along with it. In the only move he think of, Kankuro had the Sanshouo open its mouth, capturing the head inside the cannon barrel within it's jaw. Even though the puppet would likely reduce the blast, the shinobi weren't taking any chances. They dove away from the puppet just as the explosives went off, sending splinters of wood and pieces of shrapnel flying everywhere. A small bit of flame and the force of the explosion did have the Sand ninja's a bit shaken, but it was nothing they could handle. The only really depressing part was that Kankuro lost one of his best puppets, "Dammit! There's no way I'm gonna be able to repair Sanshouo after that! He's not the kinda puppet you can just rebuild! I am gonna kick Sasori's ass for that one!"

"Each individual puppet does indeed have it's own spirit. I respect that you realize how important that truly is," Came a soft voice not far from them, making the heroes turn to realize that Sasori had exited the scrap heap that had once been his puppet armor. Seeing the face of the redheaded Akatsuki member, who looked no older than 18, was a sobering moment for them all, "Is that something you taught him, Grandmother?"

"It's something I teach all young puppet ninjas," Chiyo remarked, looking her grandson up and down, "You don't look as though you've aged even a day since you left the village. I'd ask how that's possible, but with you, something tells me I'd rather not know. Now that your puppet armor is destroyed, what else have you got up your sleeve?"

Sasori's face remained stoic as he pulled a scroll out of his sleeve, opening it in the typical cloud smoke. The heroes remained alert while the smoke cleared, realizing soon after it was gone the kind of trouble they were in. The puppet Sasori summoned was of a man with shaggy black hair and yellow eyes, and it was someone all of them could identify on site. Temari was the first one to the have the guts to say it out loud, "Guys...is that a puppet of the Third Kazekage?"

The Third Kazekage was a legend within the Village Hidden in the Sand. Utilizing his unique kekkei genkai, the Magnet Release, the man could create electro-magnetic pulses which controlled magnetic material. This ability made him feared on the battlefield, especially when he utilized his Iron Sand technique, with metal ground so fine, it was almost indistinguishable from sand, and could be shaped into deadly weapons. This incomprehensible ability was the main reason why he was considered the strongest Kazekage there ever was. Seeing a puppet of him was almost enough to render Lady Chiyo speechless, "Incredible. I'd heard rumours, but I never imagined you actually did it. Sasori, you had a hand in the death of the Third Kazekage?

"More than a hand, grandmother. I was the leader on the assault," Sasori boasted as his puppet's mouth opened, allowing a stream of iron powder to flow out its mouth, "My battle with him was easily the greatest I've ever had, but my prize was well worth it. You see, this puppet isn't just another one of my works filled to the brim with booby traps. No, this one's special. This puppet retains the abilities the Third had when he was alive, allowing me to use them as well. I call it a human puppet...one of my greatest achievements."

Kankuro didn't wanna believe what he was seeing, "Achievement? That thing is twisted beyond belief, just like the person who made it! You used to be a legend, Sasori! Puppet users looked up to you above anyone else! What in the hell made you turn into something like this?"

"The realization that nothing we do in this world matters," Sasori replied easily, "We can create all we want, but in the end, everything's destined to turn to ash. My parents were taken from me before I even learned to use a puppet. There lives were meaningless, and my life is meaningless, and so is yours. Truly magnificent art is something that stands the test of time. I will do everything in my power to stand the test of time myself, and to create puppets and techniques that do the same. Tell me, Kankuro, what are you doing to try and reduce how meaningless your pathetic shell of a life is?"

"I'm gonna start by kicking your ass," Kankuro snapped, grabbing a scroll off from his back, "You know, one of the most vivid memories of my father came a little after my mom died. Temari was there too. He got drunk off his ass, trying to pretend he was alright, and started admitting all kinds of shit...including that he was the bastard child of the Third Kazekage, and that his Gold Release was just mutation of the his father's bloodline. I don't have any clue if that's true, but I'm gonna try and give my grandfather some rest, either way! Chiyo, you and Temari better be ready with whatever you're cooking up, cause thing are about to go up a notch!"

* * *

"Holy...fucking...shit," Ino panted from her bed, every inch of her drenched in sweat, "That was fucking amazing! You rocked my freaking world! Seriously, it felt like the entire room was shaking!"

Jason chuckled as he laid down next to her, "Thanks, but I don't think the shaking part was all on me. I think there might of a been an earthquake or something. Glad I was so good you didn't even notice though. I gotta say, you did pretty damn great yourself. I'm sore in the best kinda way. You didn't last quite as long as Rose, but with an ass like that, I ain't complaining. We must've been going at for a couple hours without stopping, huh?"

Looking over at the clock, Ino confirmed it for him, "Just about that, yeah. Give me a little bit, and maybe we can go again. I think there's

a few things we still haven't gotten to try yet."

"Believe me, I'll keep going until one of us passes out," Jason said, kissing her for added effect, "Hey, maybe we should turn on the tv? You know, just to see if there really was a quake or something."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Ino admitted, grabbing the tv remote, "Don't be surprised though if the news says people think there was a murder around here. I was screaming pretty damn loud."

That earned another chuckle from the teen as Ino turned on the television. Luckily enough, it was already on the news station, and a familiar face was reporting outside a small warehouse, _"I'm Vicky Vale, live from Jump City, where some kind of superhuman battle has broken out on a nearby rooftop. We've been able to confirm the appearances of Batman, the Red Fox, and Spoiler, but the big news tonight are two new faces that the world knows little about. A mysterious grey haired man and a blonde who's gender we can't yet confirm have both shown meta-human like abilities. The Grey haired one can conjuring lighting out of the thin air, and the blonde is making some sort of creatures out a white material, all of which explode when they come into contact with something. It's difficult for our chopper to see, but it appears there's a hole in the roof as well that's leading down to another ongoing battle, though we got get a decent enough angle to say for certain. We'll report as the information becomes available. Back to Gotham with other news, sports, and weather until then."_

In that instant, both Ino and Jason had the exact same thought, leading them to blurt out near simultaneously, "Oh fuck!"

* * *

It was difficult for some to find the beauty that Deidara did in an explosion. To him, there was a sort of magic something gained right before it was about to be destroyed. Knowing that you had but a second to take in all its wonderful little details and appreciate what it was made art so much more exhilarating to Deidara. Now, as he rode on his C2 dragon, preparing to annihilate his foes, he felt that same joy stir inside of him, "This is going to be one hell of a night! C2, fire at will!"

"Oh, this oughta be good," Naruto quipped as he watched the dragon's cheeks puff up, presumably not with air. With a roar, the beast fired a globe of clay at the heroes, one in the shape of another small clay dragon. It went straight for the Red Fox like a guided missile, prompting the young vigilante to make a mad dash in the other direction, "Hey Kakashi? You know that thing you did with the freaky vortex before? Well now would be a good time to fucking use it again!"

Kakashi wished that he could, "I've only just learned how to use it. Taking out that bird was one thing, but you and the missile are moving too fast! I can't guarantee that I wouldn't hit you!"

"You can't, but I've got something that can," Batman cut in, clicking a few buttons on his gauntlet, "He's got his missiles, and I've got mine."

From not so far off in the distance, something that sounded like a jet came zooming towards the brawlers. Just ahead of it was a pair of guided missiles that were a touch smaller than the one Deidara had fired. Both of them had been fired from the recently summoned Batwing, the cause of the jet sounds. They reached the Akatsuki member's attack soon after, all of the missiles exploding before they could destroy Naruto. With them gone, the Red Fox was free to launch a counterattack. Even though it would suck up a large amount of his chakra, there was only one move that he could think of, "Let's see your worthless sculptures protect you from this! Rasenshiruken!"

A blue ball of wind and chakra began to form in Naruto's hand, and it was one that more than caught Deidara's attention, "Holy shit, those intel reports were right! This kid's got some nasty Justus up his sleeve! Looks like he's exactly who we think he is."

"That's enough Red Fox, we're all set," Came the voice of Batman, "You can stop charging up."

Deidara realized at that moment what was really going on, "Wait, he was just charging up? They were trying to distract me from, agh!"

"I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?" Came the dry voice of Kakashi, who'd just landed on the the C2 dragon behind Deidara and stabbed him in the chest with a chidori, "My bad. You won't be worried about it for long though."

As it turned out, that wasn't entirely true. What had been Deidara's body began to melt into a puddle of white clay. Kakashi, well aware of what came next, leapt from the C2 dragon just before the clay exploded. The C2 dragon, rather than exploding in a typical, blazing fashion, began to inflate like a balloon. Before long, it reached maximum capacity and burst, creating a blast so large is shook the entire street. Once the dust settled and the heroes were once again in a group, they found Deidara waiting for them on the other side of the roof just behind their backs, snickering like a small child, "You idiots are just too easy to trick. None of you even realize that you've already lost."

Spoiler spat in his direction, "Oh yeah, fuckwad? How do you figure?"

"When my C2 dragon burst, I released a cloud of microscopic bombs that entered your bloodstream after you inhaled them," Deidara boasted, making everyone narrow their eyes, "It's one of my most deadly techniques. On my command, the micro-bombs' detonate and cause my victims' bodies to disintegrate at the cellular level; literally turning them into dust. That's what'll happen to all of you right now if you don't do exactly what I tell you to."

"And what exactly do you plan on telling us to do?" Batman asked, his mind racing through a thousand different scenarios, "That's assuming of course that you're actually telling the truth about those micro-bombs."

Deidara didn't seem to worried about them calling his bluff, "The bombs are real, and they'll turn your asses to ash if you don't let me return to the Akatsuki with the Kyuubi in hand."

At the mention of the Kyuubi, Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin. He needed to appear calm though, if he was to keep this situation from exploding, "So...the Akatsuki have pieced it together then?"

"You mean that the Red Fox is really Naruto Uzumaki? Yeah, we know," Deidara chuckled, basking in the moment, "With your powers, it wasn't really all that hard to figure out. Of course that makes Batman Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson was most likely the first Robin. Barbara Gordon is a pretty good bet for Batgirl. Should I go on?"

The Red Fox had his fist clenched tight, "Only if you want me to beat the hell out of you. There any kind of reason you're telling me all this?"

"I'm just making sure you know where things stand," Deidara replied, starting to walk towards them, "I'm not sure you're getting the point though. Maybe I need to show you the kind of position you're in."

He walked up to the Batman, standing directly in front of him with his hand raised in air. Batman stood as still as stone, "If you're trying to intimidate me, you'll have to do better than that."

Deidara had two fingers place just in front of the Dark Knight's forehead, "Act tough all you want, but I could annihilate you in a second. One tap of the forehead, and I can release a controlled current of chakra through your body that'll set off every mirco-bomb in there. What do you say, Uzumaki? You willing to let your dad die for you?"

"Naruto, not matter what he does, don't give in to his demands," Batman warned his son, "You can't let your power fall into the hands of people like this."

It seemed Deidara's threats weren't getting through. The rooftop became so quiet that a pin dropping would have been heard for miles. A rat began to tap his little paw across the roof, giving Deidara an idea. That rat, if he'd gotten up here, was almost certainly in the blast radius of his mirco-bombs. So the Akatsuki member waited until the rat was right beside his foot, before channeling some chakra into it and raising it above the rodent. When the moment was right, Deidara stomped down on the rat, letting the chakra he'd channel set of the micro-bombs, disintegrating the defenseless creature near instantly.

Deidara felt pride build up inside of him when he saw the hero's eyes widen at that display of his power, "Impressive, isn't it? That's the kind of power people write about in legends. What, no clever retort on that one? Is the great 'Red Fox' to busy worrying about what'll happen to his father if he doesn't come to his senses?"

"Don't listen to him, Naruto," Spoiler pleaded, "You can't let this bastard get to you!"

"She's right, this isn't the time to cave in," Kakashi agreed, careful not to move at the risk of setting off Deidara, "He wants us scared right now so that we'll some kinda royal screw up. If we stay calm, we can still win this."

Deidara laughed at their optimism, "Are you kidding me? You still think you've got a shot at saving this? Looks like it's time for me to set things straight about who's in charge. Get ready to watch the Dark Knight d-Aghhhhhh!"

There was no time for him to even get out the word 'die' before the sound of a blade cut through the air, along with Deidara's hand. The Red Fox was standing in front of the shinobi, his blade drawn and dripping ruby red blood. Deidara forced himself to look down at his wrist, finding nothing but a bleeding stub with some bone jetting out. When Naruto channeled wind chakra into the Soultaker Sword, he wasn't fucking around, "Step away...FROM MY FATHER!"

"You son of a bitch! You cut off my fucking hand," Deidara screamed, bringing his other arm up and starting to form a hand seal, "Forget this shit! I'm killing you all!"

Naruto wasn't going to let that happen. His body, much like before, felt like it was moving on its own as he suddenly appeared in front of Deidara, slicing off his other hand. There was a rage flowing through the Red Fox, and Batman knew it. He tried to calm his son down, "Naruto, just hold on a second!"

"You motherfucker! This isn't over! I'll shoot chakra out of every pour in my body if it means I get to kill you," Deidara screeched, preparing his next move, "Get ready to-gah!"

For the third time that night, Deidara was cut off, and it was almost certainly the last time. The Red Fox had moved so fast that no one even knew where he was until he was right in front of the Akatsuki member...with the Soultaker Sword shoved into Deidara's throat. Everyone looked to find Naruto shaking as he pulled out his blade, letting it fall to the ground. Deidara toppled over, undoubtedly dead, just as Naruto dropped to his knees. He ripped off his Red Fox mask before he began vomiting, still shaking like a lost puppy. Before long Naruto's stomach was empty, allowing everyone to hear his sobs, "I'm sorry!...I didn't mean to do it!...He was gonna kill you!...I'm so sorry, Dad!"

Bruce ran over and knelt down by his son, grabbing him by the shoulders to hold him close, just like he used to when Naruto was younger and had a bad a dream. By then, Bruce was hoping that's exactly what this was, "It's okay, son. It's gonna be okay…"

* * *

This really didn't seem like the best idea Rose had ever had. Sure, she'd done some crazy things before, and hacking was even one of them, but this one could get her into some real trouble. Rose had wandered away from the room they'd set her and Jason up in and snuck into one of the nearby records offices, which were empty, luckily enough. The reason she'd done this was rather simple: she was feeling guilty. Toying with Jason like that had been fun at the time, but it had also been rather cruel, since she knew how badly he wanted to repeat their previous night together. In an effort to make some sort of apology, she'd decide to find another person to test out her new lipstick on..someone that could show Jason how sorry she was.

"I can't believe I'm even doing this," Rose muttered as she typed at the computer, going through student's files, "Let's assume that what I'm doing here even works, and I can find a girl who's bi that Jason could have some fun with; I'm still gonna have to kiss a girl. I've never done anything remotely close to that before. Still though, I wanna apologize, and what better way than by giving Jason a mind controlled hottie who'll do whatever he says? He's a nice guy, I know he won't do anything too nasty to her...I'll kick his ass if he does."

As she spoke to herself, Rose wrote down a list of names of girls at the school who were bi-sexual, which H.I.V.E. kept track of in order to know who to send if one of their recruits needed some 'convincing.' Usually Brother Blood would handle that, but there was the rare occasion when he was unable to work. Rose's list was soon completed, so she slipped it into her pocket and logged off the computer. When she turned to leave, she found herself bumping into someone who was walking by the desk she'd been at. Though Rose managed to stay up, the girl she'd run into hit the ground, dropping the books she'd been carrying. Not wanting to seem suspicious, Rose bent down and began to pick them up for her, "Oh, I'm so sorry about that, miss. Let me get those for you."

"Thanks love, and don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us," Came an accent that sounded vaguely as though it came from New Zealand, "I'm Argent, by the way. Nice to meet ya."

This girl, Argent, had light gray skin and spiked, black hair with red bangs. Her dress was black up until her waist, where she had a red skirt with black stripes. She was also wearing long, black sleeves and black boots with a bit of red coloring on the bottom. Argent had a small 'A' tattoo on her chest too, and her eyes were red with black pupils. In terms of her body, she was rather petite, though she had just enough curves to make it clear she wasn't a little girl. It wasn't the slightly abnormal appearance that interested Rose though. Rose wanted to know more about that name, "Nice to meet you too. I'm Rose...so, Argent, is your name pretty common around here? It sounds kinda unique to me."

"Seeing as I've never met anybody else in the States with the same name, I'd say you're right," She responded, standing up and letting Rose hand her books to her, "Thanks. So, Rose, whatcha doing in the record's room?"

Rose pulled out the list she'd made, not only to confirm that Argent was one of the students who swung both ways, but also to make the following lie look as convincing as possible, "I just had to look up some names for a teacher. It's nothing special. You know Argent, I really like your style. The whole 'punk-goth' thing you've got going, it looks pretty damn good on you, if you don't mind me saying."

That last line had been a test, and based on the way Argent was now looking Rose up and down, it had worked, "Thanks. You're pulling off the 'sexy assassin' thing pretty well yourself. People wanna fuck ya, but they also don't wanna fuck with ya."

"That's a bold way to put it," Rose said, leaning in closer to her prey, "Most girls aren't that foreword."

Argent smirked, putting her hands Rose's hips, "What can I say, you're hot, and I like girls who know what they want."

"How much?" Rose asked, their face's less than an inch apart.

Not one to back down, Argent brought her lips to the point where they were hovering over Rose's, "Why don't you try and find out?"

Rose took her chance, closing the gaps in between their lips and kissing the girl. Argent gave a little moan, letting hands slide down to grab the assassin's ass a couple seconds later. That was a little more than Rose wanted to try right now, since she'd never done anything like this with another girl before, so she pulled away. Her lipstick had smeared a little on Argent's face, which now seemed more blank that it had been before. It was time for Rose to see if her little experiment had worked, "Argent, do me a favor please...slap yourself in the face."

"No problem," Argent replied, slapping herself with a smile on her face. A distinct smack was heard when her hand made contract, and her cheek sported a new red mark. There had no doubt been some force behind that hit, "How was that?"

"Perfect," Rose replied, covering her mouth to keep from laughing. The kiss hadn't been half bad, but the results were even more entertaining, "Just perfect. Why don't you come with me? I've got a special job for you. It's one that I know you're gonna love…"

* * *

"What a fucking rollercoaster of a day," Jason grumbled, making his way to the room in H.I.V.E. his mother had set him up in. He was in his Red Hood garb, minus the actual hood, because he'd just gotten back room trying to save Naruto from whatever the hell was after him on the news. He'd arrived at the worst possible time though, finding his old friend covered in blood, having already taken care of the problem himself. Jason knew trying to approach him after that would be a bad move, so he decided to head back to his temporary home and reflect on the events of the day, "I meet my little sister, fuck one of the hottest girls I know, and end up being too late to stop Naruto from having to kill somebody. Son of bitch, I need some sleep."

Jason reached his door to find a little sticky note attached to it. In neat handwriting, it read, _'Dear Jason, I'm sorry about playing with your earlier. I've got a little surprise in your room for you to apologize with. Have fun, Rose.'_

That note raised far more questions than it answered. Jason opened the door, ending up more shocked than he'd ever been before, "Well, this is sure as hell a surprise…"

* * *

It wasn't long before Abaddon decided that the alleyway he'd been living in was far from a fit place for him to stay. Things like rain, trash, and pesky humans bothered him constantly, and now that he was gaining more knowledge from the mind's of others, he understood that living in a house with things like a heater and indoor plumbing was far better than what he'd been doing. Thanks to the mind of gangster he'd killed, he knew exactly where to find a nice place to stay where he wouldn't be annoyed constantly.

Abaddon had no trouble reaching the safe house in the heart of Gotham, and had learned enough to understand that the criminals weren't just going to give him his new home. They'd put up one hell of a fight before they let him step foot in the place. It didn't matter though. No matter how many times they'd shot at him, struck him, or even threw grenades at him, it never so much as phased Abaddon. He tore the gangsters to pieces, scattering their bones and flesh all around the room. Over 15 men, murdered in cold blood. Once Abaddon was done with them, he threw what was left of the criminals in the dumpster behind the safe house, using his vines to suck up whatever blood had been leftover. Now the luxurious safehouse, filled with its high end electronics, comfy furniture, and numerous rooms, were Abaddon's, along with the nearly 2 million dollars that had been stored there.

As nice as those amenities were, they might not have been the most valuable thing Abaddon found in the safe house. No, that title belonged the knowledge he'd found in the criminal's heads. Thanks to them, he now knew the ins and outs of many different criminal enterprise, and he more than intended on using his new expertise. In fact, he even had some ideas for things he could added in to make things like extortion and bank robbery even more effective. When he was done, Gotham wasn't going to know what hit it.


	55. Family Ties Pt 3

Well, the time has come everyone for another epic chapter of the Red Fox! After the cliffhangers I left last chapter, I'll be willing to bet I've got at least a people eager to find out what's up next. Believe it or not, most of these cliffhangers aren't intentional, it just happens that way based on the time I have to write and what feels most necessary for the chapter. This time around, you can expect the end of the Sasori fight, the fallout of Naruto's fight, an update on Jason, a new character being introduced, and maybe a couple of other things. Also, no Abaddon this chapter, but don't worry, there'll be more of him to come. On that note, let's get to it. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack: 30 Seconds to Mars-Kings and Queens

* * *

Though one battle was over, the warehouse was still shaking from the force of the other. Sasori had been using the shape altering abilities of the Iron Sand relentlessly on the trio of Hidden Sand shinobi, and avoiding it had proven near impossible for them. Kankuro had summoned his trusty combo of Karasu and Kuroari, his two best puppets, but getting in for a strike against Sasori with them was near impossible, thanks to the Iron Sand making an impenetrable wall the moment they did. Temari had been doing her best as well, seeming faster than she'd ever been before, but even then she only barely managed to avoid the puppet master's attack, let alone counterattack in time. Chiyo seemed to be doing something, though she'd only been moving her hands and arms as if she was using a puppet, despite the fact that none seemed to be connected to her. None of this was helped by the fact that every single grain of the puppet Third Kazekage's Iron Sand was dipped in deadly poison, meaning one scratch would insure death. It was difficult fight to follow, to say the least, and one that would only end when either Sasori or the Sand shinobi were finally dead.

"You're all proving yourself far bigger pains than I ever imagined," Sasori scoffed, sending a spear of Iron Sand hurdling towards Temari, "Why won't you morons just die already?"

Temari did a small backflip to avoid the attack, though it was so close she could feel it whizzing past her skin. She swung her fan to kick up a gust of wind, musing as she did, "That one was way too close. Chiyo, Kankuro, tell me one of you has a plan to finish this thing already!"

With how busy he was using Karasu and Kuroari to deflect Sasori's attacks, Kankuro hadn't been able to think of anything, "I wish! Right now I'm just trying to figure out why my puppets are slowing down so much!"

"Ah, did you not know about that little trick the Iron Sand has up its sleeve?" Sasori asked, smirking at the way Kankuro's puppets could now hardly move, "You see, it clogs the joints on your puppets, rendering them almost useless. Just like you're about to be."

"The fuck he will be," Screamed Temari, channeling as much chakra as could into her fan before giving it the strongest swing of her life. She had the fan almost entirely open, meaning that it was damn near at full strength in terms of what she could do on her own. The gust went flying towards Sasori, who defend himself with a flick of his finger, creating a wall of Iron Sand between him and the gust. Temari's attacked bounced off harmlessly, as the Akatsuki Shinobi knew it would, "Is that the best you can do? It'll take far more than that to do any real harm to me. At best, you've delayed the end of your brother's life. Hm?"

Sasori looked up to realize Temari wasn't paying him the least bit of attention. She'd already bitten her thumb and spread blood across the surface of her fan, which was now fully open. Temari started her swing while Sasori was still trying to figure out what was even happening, which was precisely what she wanted. A puff of smoke stopped Sasori from seeing what was going on, but he would hear it soon enough, "Summoning Jutsu: Sickle Weasel Technique!"

Without warning, a hurricane worth of wind shot from Temari's location and towards the puppet of the Third Kazekage. Sasori knew then that he'd been duped, and it was too late. The distraction had worked, and what little Iron Sand he was able to get over there was no match Temari's deadly jet of chakra enhanced wind. Temari's technique sliced through the wooden puppet with ease, reducing it sawdust in seconds. Seeing his masterpiece destroyed in such a fashion had Sasori's eye twitching, "You...you ruined it. But how? Even if you could manage the speed for that attack, which you shouldn't have been able to, how did you know you'd have the time for that move to work? Grandmother, what have you done? I know only you could've managed something on this level!"

"That's true, but I couldn't have done it alone," Chiyo said with a smile, gesturing to the blue strings connected to her hands, "I've been controlling Temari since you pulled out the Third Kazekage. You've got your human puppets, and I've got mine. Temari can't calculate how long your puppet's reaction time is in her head, but I sure as hell can, and without having to think about it, I can have her body moving just fast enough to distract you and reduce that abomination you call art to the scraps of wood it should be."

Sasori seemed far more angered than surprised, "I would expect no less from the woman who taught me so much. Well played, but it's far from the end of this game. I've still got one trick up my sleeve. One that'll undoubtedly end in your demise! Prepare yourself, my foes, for the artistry of what you're about to witness!"

Ripping off his Akatsuki robe, he revealed that there was little left of him that could be called 'human'. Sasori's body was nothing more than a puppet, which consisted of a pair of spinning claws attached to his lower back, a holder for four scrolls on his upper back, a metallic stinger in the empty and open stomach cavity, a compartment in his right chest, and a strange looking white core in the left section of his chest. Kankuro nearly vomited at the site of him, "You turned yourself into a fucking piece of wood! A soulless puppet! I can't believe even you would go that far!"

"I've only just begun to show how far I've gone," Sasori replied, pulling his four scrolls from his back, two in each hand, and opening them all at once, "Get ready to behold an attack I've used to take down nations!"

Lady Chiyo didn't know what was coming, but she wasn't going to wait to find out. She pulled out her own scroll and whipped it open, a puff of smoke coming along with it. It didn't compare to the massive cloud Sasori had made, but when it cleared, the results were plenty impressive. Ten puppets now stood in front of her, each in a white robe and carrying all kinds of different weapons. It was clear Chiyo wasn't messing around this time, "Whatever you've got, Sasori, I'm ready for! It's time you learned why I was so fear back in my time!"

"Ten puppets? That'd be impressive...if it wasn't for what I've got up my sleeve," Sasori replied with a chuckle. Once the smoke cleared around him, his Grandmother's technique didn't seem quite so magnificent. A hundred puppets now hovered above Sasori, an endless supply of weapons floating along with them. No one ever thought something like this could've been possible, "Are you realizing now what I've managed, Grandmother? Everything you've ever done, I've found a way to improve upon. Any move you might try, I've got something ten times as powerful up my sleeve to match it! Do you see how little all the work you've done really matters?"

"What I see is someone splitting his attention between too many puppets," Chiyo responded, earning a scowl from her grandson, "You always misunderstand the most important things, both in life and in battle. It's not about the number of puppets or the number of years you have, it's how well you use them. I know these ten puppets inside and out, and I can control them flawlessly. Can you say the same for your hundred?"

Sasori had never been one to back down from a challenge, especially when it came to the very thing he was known for. It was time for him to prove that he was indeed the greatest puppet master of all time, "I suppose we'll have to see, won't we? Now, my unstoppable army, descend upon these cretins! We're going to settle this once and for all! Get ready to be surpassed, Grandmother!"

* * *

When it came to a present for Jason Todd, it'd be hard to think of one he'd like more than what he was staring at right now. Argent was standing in front of him in all her gothic glory, a smile on her face and one of the sexiest things Jason had ever seen hugging her form as she started to walk towards him. Jason noticed the slight clinking of metal with each step, making him realize her arms were secured behind her back with handcuffs. The only scrap of cloth on the teen's body was two small strips of red cotton, which preserved some of her modesty as they came together to form a bow in the center of her chest. Now only a few inches from Jason, Argent began to speak, "You're Jason, right? I'm Argent, a present from Rose. For the next half an hour or so, you get to have all the fun with me you want. Ask me to do anything you like, Rose only said you had to be reasonable."

"Reasonable is a pretty vague way to put it," Jason pointed out, noticing the red lipstick smudged on Argent's mouth, "Ah, so you're the one Rose tested her new toy out on. That explains how she talked you into this. So you'll do anything I say, since that's what she told you to do?"

Argent nodded, "Yup, but if we go longer than a half an hour, she'll have to come in her and kiss me again to make sure I stay all mind controlled. "

That was something Jason wouldn't have minded seeing, although it didn't address the larger issue he had, "Okay...well, look Argent, you're beautiful girl, and it's real tempting to think I could lay down and tell you to go to town on me, but I just don't know if I'm comfortable with this. The whole, 'sleeping with a mind controled girl' thing, it kinda sounds...sketchy, ya know? It's not like you actually want to sleep with me, it's just the lipstick. Look, let me get you some decent clothes and the I can explain to you how this whole thing happened. You're probably pretty confused by all this.

"Ya got that shit right," Argent said, apparently still having a little bit of her own mind, "You can keep the clothes though. You seem like an alright bloke, and I've got a feelin' I might still want to give you your gift once this crazy makeup wears off."

* * *

"What the fuck are we gonna do?" Spoiler half asked, half screamed at Batman, her hands thrown up in the air, "We've got a dead body up here and 20-some reporters on the street who could find out about it any second! We need some kind of plan to explain this shit, and fast!"

The first to offer up a solution was Kakashi, "We'll just say it was me that killed him. You can tell everyone that you didn't know I would do something like that, and that you condemn my actions. Put it whatever way you want, just so long as we protect Naruto, I don't care."

Batman ignored that suggestion, looking down the hole in the ceiling to watch the battle that was starting to get out of hand, "Before we do anything about the situation with Naruto, we need to make sure Gaara and our friend's fighting Sasori are alright. That hologram I placed over the Deidara's body should keep the choppers from seeing what's happened. Once we've got the situation in hand, then we can start talking about options. Does anyone have an issue with that?"

"No, you're absolutely right," Kakashi said, being sure to speak before Spoiler could say something stupid, "Let's get this mess taken care of. You guys wait here while I see if my Sharingan can find a safe way for us to head down there. Looks like they might have too many puppets going berserk, but I'll see what I can do."

With a nod, Batman left him to it, walking over to the still silent Naruto. He hadn't moved since his father had calmed him down almost five minutes ago. Bruce didn't know what exactly he was going to say to his son, but he sure as hell needed to say something, "Naruto...I want you to know that I'm not angry with you. What you did was purely out of instinct, and I don't think killing him was ever your real intention. You just wanted to stop Deidara from hurting any of us, and your body wasn't going to stop until it was sure we were safe."

"I killed somebody," Naruto stated, his gazing remaining straight ahead, "That's the one rule you've never let any of us even come close to breaking. I know I had my reasons for doing it, he was gonna murder you guys, but that doesn't make what I did right. Dad, I'm a murder."

"You're not a murder," Bruce responded, finally making Naruto look up, "Murdering someone and killing them isn't the same. A cop or a soldier has to kill people; a psycho like the Joker murders them. Murder is cruel, unlawful, and done for someone's own personal gain or pleasure. Killing is done only when it has to be. Deidara's attack would've murdered you too, and frankly, I'd much rather have you in this world than him."

Naruto had no idea where this was coming from, "What are you talking about? You've been against killing people from the beginning, even before I got here. How can you be okay with what I did?"

That was a tough question for Bruce to answer. It was true, Naruto had broken what the Batfamily considered its most sacred rule. The thing was though, it wasn't necessarily the first time this had happened, "Naruto, have I ever told you about what happened between me and the KGBeast?"

"I think I've heard the name before, but that's about it," Naruto answered, watching at Batman sat down next to him, "What's he got to do with anything?"

Batman sighed before beginning to explain, "He was a operative of the Soviet Union before it was shut down. One of their best in fact, and I met him early in my career. The KGBeast, or Anatoli Knyazev, had an enhanced physique due to cybernetic enhancement and extreme KGB conditioning he received, was extraordinary in hand-to-hand combatant, a master of weapons and explosives, and had a prosthetic gun in place of a left hand. After years of pent up rage from the Soviet Union being dismantled, he came to America to kill 10 high ranking U.S. officials to prove something, and eventually he ended up Gotham, meaning he was my problem. What he was trying to prove, I really can't tell you. All I know is that, despite being a hell of a lot older than me, he was kicking my ass. I don't know if he could do it now, but at the time, I was no match for him. Eventually, I had to try and retreat, driving the Batmobile down into the sewer. Next thing I knew, the KGBeast was chasing me on a motorcycle he'd stolen. Apparently I pissed him off too much for him to just give up."

"So how'd you stop him?" Naruto asked, surprised that his father hadn't told him this story until now.

For one reason or another, Bruce didn't seem as excited about the tale, "I fired off two small rockets at ceiling of the sewer. My plan was to cause a small cave in that would stop the KGBeast from pursuing me. It turned out the sewer was much more damaged than I thought, and the entire section of pipe collapsed. Apparently a contractor had lied about the materials he used to build that part of the sewer, so when the Batcomputer did its calculations, it got certain key details wrong. Those details caused the KGBeast to become buried alive, and before you ask, no, he wasn't able to survive that. Out of everything that I've done to protect this city, that's one of the things that still haunts me the most."

Naruto wondered for a moment if what his father was saying was true, but when he looked into Bruce's eyes, it was clear the man was telling the truth, "Wait, so you accidently caused the death of one of your villains? You killed him?"

"I really don't know. I've debate with myself for a long time on whether or not what I did was killing him or not," Batman admitted, "After it went down, I went to Gordon and told him exactly what happened. He told me that if there had been a similar situation with one of his cops, he would've called it 'justifiable.' The way he saw it, I wasn't trying to kill KGBeast, and it was accident. Not to mention he was a madman, and the world wasn't really a better place with him in it. Yet, there are times when I look at myself in the mirror and wonder if I'm a killer. What do you think, son?"

As Naruto tried to think of a response, something came flying through the hole in the ceiling, landing right in between him and his father. It was a battle puppet, and it was enough to shake Naruto back into focus, "I think we need to worry about this later. We've got friends in trouble, so let's go kick the shit out of these guys. We'll talk to Gordon about Deidara later."

"Now you're thinking reasonably," Batman said, standing up and offering the Red Fox his hand, "Come on. Gaara needs us down there."

* * *

There were few people in the League of Assassin who knew the truth about why Talia Al Ghul had been remaining under the radar for so long, just over a decade to be exact. There were rumours that Ra's had killed her because of some kind of betrayal, most likely involving the Batman, while other stories had claimed she was being experimented upon so she could be turned into a sort of weapon. All of those supposed reasons proved completely false when she stepped up to take control of the League after Ra's was permanently killed, leaving everyone to wonder what the real reason for her absence had been. The answer was much simpler than anyone would've suspected...she was with child.

Talia Al Ghul had indeed been pregnant, and it was with the child of none other than the Dark Knight himself. She was carrying the Batman's baby, thanks to a night of passionate lovemaking in a Metropolis hotel. It had been the last night they'd spent together before deciding that it would never work between the two of them, meaning they had to part ways. A month later, Talia discovered she was pregnant, and Ra's immediately order her to remain in hiding until after the baby arrived. Just over eight months after that, Damian Al Ghul-Wayne was born, and it was in this child the Ra's saw a real opportunity. Damian had the DNA of Bruce Wayne, one of the most intelligent, perceptive, and athletically gifted men the Head of the Demon had ever seen, and that of Talia as well, who shared the naturally enhanced Al Ghul bloodline. There was no doubt the child was a genetic goldmine, and one Ra's refused to waste.

For the next twelve years, Talia and her sister, Nyssa, saw to the training of the young boy, teaching him to fight practically since he was able to walk. In one of the ancient temples the League controlled, Damian's abilities blossomed, proving his grandfather right that he would grow into his natural talent. It wasn't long before the boy became an expert in hand to hand combat, swordsmanship, and deadly projectiles. He could easily go toe to toe with some of the best fighters in the League of Assassins before he was even a teenager. Ra's was confident that by the time he was a man, he would make the perfect successor as the new Head of the Demon. That plan was destroyed of course when Ra's met his end at the hands of the Scarecrow, and now Talia was in control. Her plans for Damian were far different from her father's.

"Aunt Nyssa, I don't understand," Damian began as he and his aunt walked to his mother's quarters where he was to meet with Talia, "Why is now of all times the right moment to meet my father?"

Nyssa didn't have answer, not a satisfying one anyways, so she said the only thing she could think of, "Don't question it too much. If I were you, I'd just be glad I was finally getting to meet the man."

"What's he like?" Damian asked before they reached the door to his mother's quarters, "I've heard plenty of different things about him, ranging from him being a well meaning, but naive fool, to him being an egotistical, self centered bastard who wants to ensure crime will never stop so that he can continue to play the hero."

"He's a controversial figure, even here," Nyssa admitted, "Personally, I think of him more like the naive fool. He's skilled, and highly dedicated to his own moral code, which is admirable. However, he fails to see that his refusal to surrender to the darkness only makes things worse for his city. If you have more questions, you can ask your mother when you get in there. You'll do wonderful on your first official mission, Damian, I have no doubt. Best of luck to you, nephew."

You wouldn't have known by the way she spoke, but Nyssa cared a great deal for Damian. The two gave each other a knowing glance, followed by the Damian turning and opening the door to his mother's quarters. He found her sitting on the foot of her bed, looking over a scrapbook of pictures that Ra's private investigators had been taking of Bruce over the years. Talia looked up when Damian entered the room, a deadly glare in her eyes, "Ah, glad to see you made it. Are you ready for your first assignment in the outside world?"

Damian nodded, doing his best to seem calm, "Yes ma'am, I am. I've trained my entire life for this. It's time to meet my father and show him what the League of Assassins has done for me."

"Good," Talia replied, looking back down at the book with a demented smile on her face, "There's plenty of things that you and I are going have to cover before you can be sent. It's an infiltration mission, and one that may evolve into an assassination as well. Bruce will see the light when it's all over, and you, my son, will stand by our side. Sit down, and let us begin."

* * *

Sasori had never had an out of body experience before, but what he was feeling right now seemed pretty damn close. He had a hundred puppets, a hundred works of art, attacking what he originally thought were three pathetic excuses for shinobi who'd gotten in his way. Yet, Kankuro, Temari, and Chiyo had proven themselves much more than that. Not only had they forced Sasori into using his greatest move, but now, they were somehow managing to survive the onslaught that was his puppet army. Every attack he sent their way, the trio of Sand ninjas somehow found a way to avoid, and even retaliate at some points. Out of the 100 puppets Sasori had started with, he was now down to just 54. Almost half of his creations had been destroyed in a single night. It was at that moment that Sasori came to a conclusion that he had never prepared for, "I could die here tonight. My grandmother and the Kazekage's siblings might find a way to kill me before I can escape from this city. That shouldn't be possible!"

After destroying another puppet with a small canon in one of her puppets, Lady Chiyo yelled to her grandson, "Clearly it is, since your puppets are dropping left and right! Face it, Sasori, this is the end of the line for you!"

"I will face nothing," Sasori screamed in response, sending a set of three puppets to attack each of his adversaries, "Even if you do defeat me, it won't matter! You're too late to save your precious Kazekage! The Akatsuki will be victorious, and when it is, you'll all see how futile your fighting has really been!"

Despite being a devastating attack to some, the trio of Sand shinobis knew exactly how to counter the puppet barrage. Temari spun on her heel, spinning her fan along with her to create a small tornado of wind around herself. The puppets were sucked in and quickly spit back out in shambles, leaving Temari unscratched. Kankuro's plan of attack was a little different, as he took out his first two attackers by stabbing them with large blades jetting out his puppet's mouths. That wasn't the end of it though, as Kankuro then sandwiched his final puppet attacker in between two other puppets he'd already taken out, crushing all three of them. Lady Chiyo was the only one left who still had enemies coming after her, but there was no need to worry about her. One of her ten puppets came down to face each of her attackers, easily deflecting Sasori's strikes and destroying his creations in one swoop.

By that point, it felt impossible for Kankuro to hold in a boast, "Well would you look at that. Sasori, you've managed to lose half your puppets already. I guess your greatest attack might not be as unstoppable as you once thought."

Sasori looked ready to snap, "My attacks are practically forces of nature! You think you've won? I've still got dozens of puppets left! All I need is one strike, and I'll end you! Do you hear me? One strike!"

"The best attack is the one you only need to use once," Echoed a voice from above them, followed by a blue streak of light shooting to the ground right where Sasori was standing. It was Kakashi, descending from the ceiling with a chidori charged and at the ready. With him so distracted by the situation he was in, Sasori didn't see the move coming until it was already too late. Kakashi ripped through the wood and white flesh core of the puppet master's chest, killing him instantly. Blood and splinters flew everywhere while Sasori's puppets rained down without their master to control them. Once he'd caught his breath, Kakashi addressed the staring Sand shinobis, "Nice job clearing out all those puppets. It took awhile, but I was finally able to get a clean shot at him. Deidara's all taken care of too, in case you were wondering."

A moment to explain was apparently too much to ask, as Naruto and the other remaining heroes dropped down as well, with Batman taking command as usual, "We've got time for answering questions later. Right now, we need to focus on saving Gaara. Where is he?"

"He's right over by the giant," Temari began, before looking over to find the statue she was about to reference had somehow vanished during the fight, and Gaara was lying on the ground where it had once been, "Holy shit, how did they get that away without us noticing? Fuck it, it doesn't matter right now. Let's just go and make sure Gaara is alright!"

Everyone rushed over to where the young Kazekage laid motionless. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be breathing. Lady Chiyo put a glowing palm to his chest, trying to feel for a heartbeat, "I'm not getting much out of him. If he's not already dead, then he's knocking at death's door. We need to do something, and soon. Gaara doesn't have much time."

Kankuro's fear for his brother was growing by the second, "Well, whatever you've got, just try it! It's not like you could make things any worse!"

"You're right about that," Chiyo agreed, putting her other hand on Gaara's chest as well, "There's one thing I have that might work. The costs would be heavy, but it's one I'm willing to pay. I think it's about time I repaid the Hidden Sand for every horrible thing Sasori's done over the years. Everyone, take a few steps back. This is going to be delicate work."

Instead of wasting time questioning her, the heroes cleared out as she'd requested. They could all see some sort of chakra flowing from Lady Chiyo to Gaara, but no one was sure what she was doing beyond trying to heal him. Her words had been rather cryptic, meaning no one would've guessed that the jutsu she planned to use was one that would cost Lady Chiyo her life. A few moments after she began healing Gaara, the old woman collapsed onto the ground. The Kazekage woke up not long after that, much to everyone's relief. Of course the occasion soon turned somber, with the reminder that Akatsuki had gotten the One Tailed Beast and that Lady Chiyo was dead. It was an unsatisfying end to such a draining night, but there were two small things the heroes took solace in; Lady Chiyo died serving the Hidden Sand, just as she'd always wanted, and two more members of the Akatsuki were no longer in play. Sometimes, all there are to cling to are the smallest of victories...

* * *

"Finally, I'm all caught up with everything," Mei said, falling back onto her bed in Wayne Manor, "All the Mizukage paperwork is finished, I kept the council from tearing each other's throats out, stopped a couple of small villages from going to war, and got Jikusume and John fed and asleep. Looks like I might actually get a good night's sleep for once."

Mei looked over at her husband's empty side of the bed, running her hands along the still cool sheets. It was never easy to get some sleep if he was out for the night. She was fairly certain Bruce felt the same way whenever she was in a diplomatic meeting with some of the more dangerous shinobi she had to negotiate with. One wrong move, and she could end up in an all out brawl with some nasty characters. Both Bruce and Mei knew the other could take care of themselves, but that didn't stop them from worrying from time to time.

Sitting up, Mei decided it couldn't hurt to head down the Batcave to see if Oracle could give her a better idea of how Bruce was doing, "I know I'm not going to get any sleep until I have a better idea of what's going on with Bruce and the others, so I may as well see how they're doing. Not like I ever needed that much rest anyways."

"Well hello there. What's your name?" Came a young, male voice from just outside the main bedroom, followed by a small yip, "Well aren't you friendly? Here ya go little guy, have a treat. I always keep a few on hand to distract guard dogs, but I don't mind sparing one on you."

Another grateful yip echoed through the hallways, followed by Ace running into bedroom with a dog biscuit in his mouth, stopping at Mei's feet. She picked up the puppy, cuddling him while looking at the doorway in utter confusion, "Where'd you get that, Ace? That voice wasn't one I recognized. I think we'd better go check and see who your new 'friend' is."

With Ace still in hand, Mei walked out into the hallway, keen on finding whoever the mystery visitor was. What she ended up discovering was a boy, roughly 12 years old, dressed entirely in ninja garb. Mei had no idea who he was, but it seemed safe to assume he wasn't from the Great Ninja Nations, as had on no visible translator seal or a translation device in his ear, and had been speaking English moments ago. With the mask he was wearing, it was hard to get a good look at his face, but he soon made his voice known, "Ah, so you're the red haired harlot my father married. Not difficult to see how she how you seduced him, when you walk around the house wearing clothes like tha-"

"Oh you did not just say that," Mei growled, having used her advance speed to grab the boy by the throat and lift him into the air, enabling from speaking. The clothes he'd mentioned was nothing but a bathrobe, along with her bra and panties, and she wasn't the least bit ashamed about wearing them, "I'm in the comfort of my own home in the evening! I'll wear whatever the hell I want to! Now, I don't care if you were nice to my dog; you broke into my house and insulted me right to my face! I think I'm entitled to you telling me who you are and just what the fuck you meant by that 'father' remark."

"I won't be saying anything until you put me down," The boy snapped in response, "If you don't let me go, I'll simply break free on my own!"

Mei couldn't help but laugh, "Break free? Please, go ahead and try. You obviously don't know who you're dealing with here."

Insulted that she seemed to be underestimating him so much, the young man went to kick Mei in the stomach, only to find her effortlessly bringing her knee up to deflect the attack. He tried reaching for a knife on his belt to stab her with next, but Mei simply set Ace down grabbed his wrist seconds before he could do anything. Now the young man simply brought up his fist in an attempt to smack the woman, but Mei pulled her head back and bit the boy's wrist before the hit could land. It hadn't been hard enough to draw blood, but the boy still recoiled in pain, "Ow! Dammit, that hurt! Fine, we'll do this you're way! I'm the Grandson of the Demon, Damian Al Ghul-Wayne, son of Thalia Al Ghul and Bruce Wayne. Does that answer your question?"

"The son of Bruce and Talia," Mei repeated, dropping the boy, "Take that mask off, now, or I'll rip it off from you!"

Damian, if that was his real name, complied happily, removing the black bundle of cloth. When Mei saw what lied underneath it, she nearly gasped. The boy was a dead ringer for the pictures Mei had seen of Bruce when he was 12 years old. Considering the past Bruce and Talia shared together, this whole thing was seeming just a little too plausible to Mei, "Alfred, get in here, now!"

"Good heavens, is everything alright," Alfred yelled as he hightailed it into the hallway, "If this about me slipping Ace a few extra treats, I must say that...oh my. Madam, I do believe some explaining is needed here."

"This young man, Damian, claims to be Bruce's son, with none other than Talia Al Ghul," Mei respond, making Alfred raise an eyebrow, "You can probably guess that we're not letting him leave until we can get a DNA test. The Batcomputer can run one in no time."

Alfred still looked at those he'd seen a ghost, but motioned for Damian to follow nonetheless, "Come young master...Damian. We'll head down to the Batcave and get this mess sorted out."

Based on the way Damian sighed, he couldn't have been more disinterested in any kind of test, "Lovley, I come here looking for my father, and get stuck having to prove my heritage. Fine, let's do it then. On the way, the butler can fetch me a bit of tea with lemon. As long as you're going to make me wait, you should be hospitable. You should bring the dog with you as well. He seems much friendlier than any of you."

"Any creature is friendly if you give it a treat," Alfred deadpanned, finding the boy far more abrasive than Bruce had ever been. He leaned down and picked Ace up as they walked, whispering in the pup's ear, "Good boy Ace, good boy."

* * *

Of all the things Bruce wanted to come home to, an upset wife was pretty low on his list. An upset wife and two babies who still weren't quite sleeping through the night was actually even lower. Yet, there he was, rocking Jikusume in his arms in his living room while Mei sat across from him, rocking John with a glare on her face. It wasn't exactly as though he could blame her for being so upset, given the circumstances, "Mei, I'm telling you, I had no idea Talia was pregnant. You know me. If I had thought for a second that I had a son out there, I would've looked for him. I don't know what else to say."

Mei had a couple of ideas, "How about 'I'm sorry about giving birth to literal demon spawn?' That'd be a good place to start. The Batcomputer confirmed it Bruce. Damian's your son, and I honestly don't know what we're supposed to do with him. He claims that he left the League of Assassins, which is apparently now run by your ex-girlfriend by the way, on his own terms, but how can we possibly fucking believe that? Talia is out of her mind! I wouldn't past her to use her own son to get to you! Even better though, we can't turn him away, because we both sending your son back to that crazy bitch is wrong on so many levels! You're a genius Bruce, a certifiable one, so how could you have managed to get us into a situation like this?"

"I'm only human. I make a few mistakes from time to time," Bruce admitted, oddly calmed as he stroked his daughter's head, "Damian's already in bed, or at least that's what Alfred said, so I won't introduce myself to him tonight. Tomorrow though, at breakfast, I'll meet him properly."

"Bruce, are you even listening to me?" Mei asked, doing her best not awaken the nearly asleep John, "At first I was just mad at the situation, but now I'm kind of pissed at you. How can you act so calm right now?"

That was a good question, and Bruce hoped he could say the same for his response, "Tonight, after we saved Gaara, I witnessed a woman named Chiyo bring him back from what was essentially death by sacrificing her own life. It was amazing. She just put her hands on his chest, and sacrificed everything to bring Gaara back from the grave. That was shortly after Naruto took out Deidara to save his life and a few others. Gordon seemed to think it was justified, but that probably won't help Naruto sleep tonight. Now I get home and I find out I had a secret son, and that I've missed the first 12 years of his life. Mei, darling, I love you, but I've been through so much tonight that I don't have the energy to get worked up about anything."

Mei's eyes soften. She hung her head and said with a sigh, "I've got half a mind to make you sleep on the couch tonight for everything you've put me through...but I might need your help with the kids, so I guess you can sleep in your own bed, at least for now. Come on, let's go put these two in their cribs and get some rest. I have a feeling we could both use it."


	56. Uncertainty Pt 1

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for the family to meet their newest member, Damian Wayne. We've plenty of other fun stuff to show as well, including Jason's situation, checking up on what's happening with Silver Banshee, and tons of other fun stuff. Of course Naruto's still going to be trying to deal with the fact that he killed a man, and we'll have to see how Abaddon is doing as well. It's time you've got a better idea of just the kind of threat he's going to be. A good amount of stuff to cover in this chapter, even though it's far from the longest one I've ever written, so let's get to it. Thank you all for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack: Elizabeth Gillies-Bang Bang

* * *

"I don't understand it. Why the fuck do we gotta have a meeting with a guy who hasn't even been in Gotham for a month yet?" Asked one of Falcone's guards as they walked to the warehouse currently controlled by the newest boss of the criminal underworld, Abaddon, "We're sitting pretty right now. First the Joker kicked the bucket, and now the Scarecrow's gone, and he took half the criminals in Gotham with him. Whoever this Abaddon guy is, we shouldn't be meetin' with him, we should just kill em'. This city is gonna belong to the mob again!"

"That could be the case, assuming we play our cards right," Falcone agreed, but had to counter as his other lacky opened the warehouse door for him, "The Penguin's still out there though, along with the Riddler, and maybe even Two-Face, if he's still in the game. We ain't won this town yet, and this new guy, well he cleared out one of Thorne's safe houses all on his own. He could make one hell of an ally. Let's see if we can work with him before we try and kill him, alright?"

The guard nodded, walking down stairs with with his boss. Carmine Falcone was one of the smartest bosses his family had scene in generations, so it only made sense to listen to him. Once they got down to the main floor, the mobsters discovered their new mysterious power player sitting in a recliner, smoking a cigarette, and wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. Sitting beside him on the floor was a dark haired woman in a robe who looked up at the criminals as they walked in. She sighed, looking back at Abaddon, "Looks like you've got company, baby. Should I step out and give you boys some privacy? Or did you want me to stay and entertain?"

Abaddon motioned for her to leave, putting out his cigarette in his other hand. The tone he spoke in was so deep and gravely, it could've given the Batman a run for his money, "You can leave. Rest up and be back in about an hour. I'm not finished with you yet."

"Oh, that voice of yours, boss, it just gives me shivers," The woman giggled, standing up and walking to the door. She whispered to one of goons as she walked passed them, "If you don't wanna die tonight, keep his ass happy. Human life doesn't mean shit to him."

With that cryptic message, she exited the room, leaving Falcone to introduce himself, "So, you must be Abaddon. Good to finally meet you. I've gotta say, you look awful familiar. I can't place the face though."

"I get that a lot," Abaddon replied, jumping up and walking over to a little table on the other side of the room that was lined with various types of liquor. He grabbed a bottle of scotch and pulled the top off, drinking straight from the bottle, "Get a drink if you want. I know I'm supposed to offer one, even though I don't understand why. According to the doctor my guy paid to look me over last night, I can drink and smoke without any nasty side effects thanks to my advanced healing. No clue what the fuck that even means, but I'm not bitching."

Falcone nodded, watching as Abaddon walked to the recliner and flopped back into his chair, "I wouldn't either. So um, look, you called us here for a meeting. You gonna tell us why, or…"

"Don't worry, I'm getting to that," Abaddon responded, taking another swig of scotch, "Basically, I told you to come here to let you know something real simple...leave me the fuck alone, or suffer the consequences."

Both of Falcone's lackeys nearly gasped. It took some pretty big balls to talk like that to Carmine-Fucking-Falcone. The move so bold that the mob boss barely found the ability to speak, "I'm sorry, did you just give me an order? I don't think you understand who runs the streets in this city!"

Abaddon rolled his eyes, continuing to focus mainly on his drink, "I understand it just fine. There's you, Cobblepot, Thorne, and a bunch of other people I don't care about. Don't think you're all special, because I've already explained this to just about everybody except you, Cobblepot, and that lunatic, Dent. Thorne was pretty pissed about me tearing up his warehouse and stealing his money, but he calmed down a lot after I ripped out his heart and fed it to my new dogs. Let me be clear here: I don't give a flying fuck about your operation, or anyone else's in Gotham for that matter. I've got a nice like prostitution and narcotics ring set up in this area that should keep me satisfied for the time being. Leave it alone, and we'll have no problems. Try to fuck with it, and I'll be feeding my pets something that used to be attached to you."

"Well well, you make yourself sound pretty powerful," Falcone said, taking a few steps towards Abaddon, "But if what you just said is true, then why don't ya just kill me? Taking me out would be a pretty good way to make sure I don't interfer, right? I think it's because you can't do anything to me, and you're just makin' a bunch of empty threats to make me step off! And you know what else? I'll bet it won't be long before you ain't happy with what you've got and decide to push for even more! No way in hell am I letting that shit happen! Nobody orders around Carmine Falcone! Boys, take him out!"

That was the kind of order you didn't ignore, prompting both of Falcone's goons to pull out their pistols and point them at Abaddon. Unfortunately for them, they weren't dealing with the kind of person who take such threats lightly. Two spear like vines shot from Abaddon's shoulders and towards the lackeys, stabbing both of them in the chest. Falcone stood motionless as Abaddon called the vines back to him, taking another drink of scotch as he did, "The reason I'm not killing you, dummy, is because it would start a war with your gang that would do nothing but waste my time, even if I could take them out pretty easily. I've already got to deal with Thorne's gang, since he wouldn't listen to reason, so fighting your guys would be even more of a hassle. I'll give you one thing though: you were right about me wanting more soon. All these pretty girls and good food are nice, but there's more stuff out there I still need to try. When the time comes that I am strong enough to take on all of Gotham, I do hope you'll keep me entertained. Now then, if you'll just see yourself out, I'm going to get something to eat. Having to deal with idiots like you has got me starving…"

* * *

Harley had been trying find Jason for nearly an hour now, but to no avail. She'd seen him walk by and head to his room when he got home, but after that, it was like he vanished. It hadn't been a problem at first, but when Rose had come looking for Jason saying that she couldn't find him, Harley got a little worried. Naturally, the first place Harley was planning to look was Jason's bedroom, but Rose seemed pretty convinced that he wouldn't be in there. Supposedly, if that was where Jason had been, he would've needed to come out to ask Rose a favor by now. That sounded pretty vague and confusing to Harley, and by the time the hour mark hit, her curiosity had gotten the best of her. She headed up to Jason's floor and began walking to his door, muttering to herself as she did, "You know what? Screw it! I'm gonna go check his room! It's the most obvious place he could be and it's the one place in all of H.I.V.E. that still haven't checked. When it was just because Rose wanted to see him, I was willing to hold off, but he's gonna need to meet with Brother Blood soon. No way am I letting Jason be late for a meeting like that."

"Oh fuck yes," Harley heard a distinctly female voice cry as she got closer to her destination, "Harder, Jason, harder! God, it feels so good! Holy shit, this is amazing!

With screams like that, it was impossible for Harley not to get intrigued. However, she was still her less than subtle self, so she opened the door without so much as a single knock. Harley walked in to find Jason lying on top of a pale girl she didn't know, who was handcuffed to the headboard. If it hadn't been for a blanket that reached just up to their wastes, she probably would've been able to see every little dirty detail. Jason's head whipped behind him while he did his best to pant out a response, "Mother, hey. I um...I can explain."

"Explain what?" Harley asked with a shrug, "You're bangin' a girl who looks like she's a little kinky. I could hear from outside your door that she's real happy with the situation. You two finish up, then Jason can meet me in my room. Oh, and Rose is lookin' for ya too. Have fun!"

Harley turned away and closed the door, leaving Jason lean back towards Argent, "Sorry about that. We're gonna have to finish up a little faster. Sounds like I've got a job to do."

"Actually, I kind of already came. Having someone walking in on us, well, it's kinda hot," Argent admitted, pressing her chest into Jason and giving him a deep kiss, "But hey, this Kiwi is always up for another round! Get the hips moving buster!"

* * *

Wayne Manor was uncharastically quite the morning after Damian Wayne arrive. Usually the dining room table was bustling with conversation about the various plans each member of the family had for the day, but that morning, it was as silent as a tomb. Only the occasional scraping of silverware against plates and sipping of coffee gave off any noise. The main problem was that no one knew for sure what they could and couldn't say around Damian yet. Everyone remained skeptical of what his motives might be, so they didn't want any dangerous information falling into his hands. There was also the matter of Naruto not being over what happened with Deidara, not that anyone could blame him. It was something the Uzumaki would deal with in his own time, and rushing him wouldn't help.

Mei had both Jiuksume and John in her arms, breast feeding the two of them simultaneously. It wasn't exactly easy to do so, but once she got the hang of it, it saved a lot of time. Damian seemed to be the only one at the table who was the least bit bothered by it, "Could you please go and do that somewhere else? I'm trying to eat here."

"I'm feeding your brother and sister," Mei rebutted, adjusting John, "It's got to be done, and I'm not going to adjust my schedule just because it bothers you. If it bugs you that much, you're free to go and eat somewhere else."

Shaking his head, Damian returned to his meal, looking over at Naruto. The young man was poking at his eggs and bacon more than he was eating them, prompting Damian to ask, "Are you still moping about having your first kill? In the League of Assassin, we don't pout the first time we spill blood. There's a small ceremony to commemorate taking the final step in dedicating yourself entirely to your cause. Don't be ashamed of taking the life of a worthless criminal. If anything, you should be proud of it."

"Proud of it?" Naruto repeated, slamming his first onto the table, "I killed someone for crying out loud! I'm not saying I didn't do what I had to, but I still fucking-"

"Naruto, calm down," Bruce ordered, forcing the blonde to sit down, "And Damian, don't antagonize your brother, or pretend to know what he's going through. We both know you haven't killed anyone.'

Damian scowled at his father, "First of all, Naruto is not my brother. He and I share no blood, so as far as I know, your children with the harlet are my only siblings. Secondly, the only reason I haven't taken a life yet is because I haven't had an official assassination mission yet. When the time comes, I'll gladly end the suffering of whatever swine I'm told to."

A proclamation like that was just begging for Bruce to ask, "If that's true, then why did you even come here?"

"I wanted to meet my father, the supposedly great hero," Damian replied, pushing himself away from the table, "Based on what I've seen so far, I know which one of my parents is doing more good for the world. I'm going down to the training hall to get some exercise."

Bruce was grinding his teeth as Damian walked away, the arrogant look ever present on his face. Mei could practically feel the distress coming off from her husband, and while she couldn't comfort him much with two babies in her arms, she could rest her head on his shoulder, "It'll be alright darling, I promise. You've got twelve years to make up for. It's going to take time, that's all."

He knew she was right, but Bruce still didn't look foreword to the long road he had ahead of him. His appetite was gone by that point, "I'll leave Damian alone for now. Something tells me he isn't feeling too open minded at the moment. Naruto, Stephanie, can you come with me for a moment? I need to talk with you in private."

"Hm? Yeah, sure," Naruto said, standing up with Stephanie and his father, "Sorry I didn't eat too much Alfred. The food tasted great, I just wasn't hungry."

"I completely understand, Master Naruto," Alfred said, grabbing his plate along with everyone else's who was finished, "Once you've got your appetite back, I'll make you the biggest pot of ramen you've ever seen."

Naruto gave Alfred the best smile he could before following his father and Stephanie as they all walked to the nearby living room. Everyone else continued eating while Bruce began to speak the moment they were out of earshot, "I need to get one thing straight before I start this conversation: nothing I'm about to tell you right now is any sort of punishment. The two of you are having a rough time right now, and I completely understand why. Stephanie, I know you haven't fully come to terms with Tim leaving like he did, and given your past, it's likely done even more damage to you than you think. You've been reckless lately, even for you, and I'm worried that, before long, you're going to end getting yourself killed. Naruto, what went down between you and Deidara was...unfortunate, and I don't expect you to be in top form right now. No matter what though, you need to remember that you're my son, and I'll always love you. I'm proud to have been able to watch you and Stephanie grow into people you are today. You've both done great things, I know you'll do even more, but for the time being...I think it'd be best if we moved the two of you to Jump City to stay at Titan Tower. This might sound extreme, but I think you need a different environment to process everything that's happened recently. Is that something the two of you would be willing to try?"

It didn't seem unreasonable to Bruce that two would have a nasty reaction to such a request, but at most, Naruto and Stephanie looked mildly concerned. The first question came from Naruto, "What about the Akatsuki? And my fianeces? How am I gonna train and keep in touch with them if I'm in Jump City?"

"Okay, not the reaction I was expecting," Bruce began, but soon answered the question, "They've got a training room in Titan Tower that should be able to handle anything you'll need. As for your girlfriends, Jump City isn't that far away, especially by Batwing. Are those the only questions you have? You aren't upset with me at all?"

Naruto took a deep breath before saying, "You're doing what's best for the team. I can't get all pissy over it. Besides, maybe being out of Gotham for a while will help me straighten everything out in my head."

The lack of his son's usual enthusiasm only brought down Bruce's mood even more. He turned to Stephanie, curious if she'd be just as indifferent, "And what about you? You have anything against going to stay with Dick and his team in Titan Tower?"

"I'm not happy about it, but I'll do it," Stephanie said, folding her arms, "Don't expect me to take any orders from him or his friends though! It's not like I work for you guys! I'm here by choice!"

If nothing else, at least Stephanie still had most of her spunk. Bruce leaned down and pulled both of them in for a hug, even if they didn't immediately return it, "I know things seem bad right now, but I promise you, they're going to get better. You're two of the strongest kids I know. This isn't gonna be enough to take you down."

"Oh, come on Bruce, stop trying to make me cry," Stephanie whined, letting her hands wrap around her mentor's shoulders, "Yeah, I care about you too. Now let's never do this again, okay?"

Naruto cracked his first smile of the day after that, "Lighten up. It's kinda nice knowing we've got people who care this much about us."

Knowing that Naruto's optimism was in there somewhere, even after all he'd been through, did wonders for Bruce's worries. The whole family had a hell of a road ahead of them, but it was one they were willing to walk, as long as they didn't have to walk it alone.

* * *

"Well, that was nice," Barbara said, unlocking the door to her apartment, Kankuro standing right behind her while she did, "Or at least it was, until I spilled popcorn all over you."

Kankuro looked down at the massive butter stain on his shirt and said with a shrug, "Eh, it isn't that big of a deal. You had fun and the movie was good, so that's all I care about."

"I know, but I've gotta at least gotta get you cleaned up," Barbara insisted, opening her door and walking inside, "Come on, I can pretreat the stain in here."

Not one to argue, Kankuro followed her in, closing the door behind him, "If you say so. Do you have a shirt I can change into or something? I'm not wearing anything under my t-shirt."

Barbara held out her hand, "So what? It won't take me long to get the stain out. Just give me the shirt."

"Alright," Kankuro replied, pulling his shirt over his head and handing it to her, "Thanks for the help. To be honest, Temari would probably kill me if I came home with another wrecked shirt."

"Don't mention it," Barbara said, her eyes drifting as she grabbed the bundle of cloth from him. Her breath hitched as she discovered something new about Kankuro...he was pretty well built. He had strong arms, broad shoulders, nice pecks, and even a bit of six pack going. Any woman would've flushed at the sight, and Barbara was no exception. She found herself blushing and stuttering as she turned towards her laundry room, "I um..I'll just...t-take care of this for you."

Kankuro could've sworn he heard her mumbling something like 'wow' as she walked away. He dismissed it, calling in a voice just loud enough for her to hear, "So you really had fun tonight?"

"Oh yeah, tons," Barbara answered, followed by a brief pause, "It was pretty much a perfect third date."

That number seemed a little off to Kankuro, "Wait, third date? I'm pretty sure we've only had two so far."

Barbara had an easy answer for that one, "I'm counting the night you took me home after I got drunk as the first one. Considering what you passed up, I think you've earned it. You know what they say about the third date in America, right?"

"No, not a clue," Kankuro admitted, hearing footsteps coming down to the hallway. Once his date was back into view, he started to get a better idea of what Barbara was getting at, "Damn...just damn."

Clad in nothing but a red thong and matching lace bra, Barbara was a sight to behold. The fact that she was posing in just the right position to show off both her perky breasts and ample behind made things even better. Once the image had soaked in, Barbara swayed her hips towards Kankuro and said in a sultry voice, "The third date is when you get laid."

Kankuro couldn't think of anything to say in response, not that it would be a problem. He was pulled in for a deep, french kiss that was far better than any words ever could have been. Barbara moaned gratefully when Kankuro slid his hands down under her thong, messaging her heavenly cheeks. By the time the kiss broke, she could feel his 'excitement' nearly ready to burst out of his pants. No matter how badly he wanted this though, Kankuro had to be sure of one thing, "Barb, I'm gonna give you everything I've got, but keep in mind, I um...I've never done this before."

"And haven't had sex in years," Barbara reminded him, "Believe me, we're both gonna be stumbling a little bit here. Just go with the flow, and I promise, this is gonna be one of the best nights of your life."

If she was trying to put Kankuro's mind at ease, that was a damn good way to do it. Barbara watched his eyes carefully as she reached her hands behind her back, ready to unhook her bra. A knock at the front door stopped them just before they got to the good part. Kankuro wanted to start smacking his head on a wall, "There's gotta be some kind of higher power that wants me to stay a virgin for life. That's the only fucking explanation for the kind of luck I have."

"Barb, are you in there?" Came a voice from the other side of the door, "It's dad. I was just stopping to check in on you."

Barbara cursed under her breath and started shoving Kankuro towards her bedroom, "Shit, of all the times for him to visit! You stay in there, I'll try to get rid of him! This is sure as hell not the way I want you meeting my father!"

Once she had Kankuro tucked away in her bedroom,she sprinted back to the door, opening it just enough so that she could see her father's face. Jim smiled at the very sight of his daughter, "Hey sweetie, what's going on?"

"Oh nothing much. You just came at a bad time is all," Barbara told him, looking down at her attire , "I um...we'll I'm not decent at the moment. I've got clothes on, but not the kind you wanna see me in."

"Ah, I see. We're you just changing, or does this have something to do with the date you were supposed to go on with that 'great guy' tonight," Gordon asked, making Barbara turn as red as Robin's costume, "Forgot you told me about that, didn't you? You're a grown woman sweetie, you can tell me the truth."

Barbara shuffled her feet and said with a sigh, "It'd be better if you came back at a different time. Let's just leave it at that."

Her father nodded, but was sure to yell into the apartment before he left, "Whoever you are, you'd better treat her right. Keep in mind, her father's the police commissioner. They wouldn't even find your-"

"Daddy," Barbara snapped, making her father chuckle, "Real funny! I love you, you're great, now please leave!"

Gordon chuckled some more, ducking out of the doorway just long enough for his daughter to close the door. Once he was gone, Kankuro came back into the main living room with his eyebrow raised, "Well...that killed the mood a little bit."

The young man had a point, but Barbara had a simple solution. She reached back and finished what she started before: unhooking her bra. With her mounds now on full display, all she had to do was ask, "What about now?"

"Oh yeah," Kankuro said with a wide grin, "We're back in the game!"

* * *

The Riddler had debated with himself for a long time over where his next lair was going to be now that things with the Scarecrow had fallen out. A few places had come to mind, most of which were in the running because of how perfect they would be for the newest enterprise he planned to create. That enterprise had nothing to do with becoming the new 'King of Gotham'. No, Edward Nygma had no intention of having his name added to the long list of those who'd fallen in the pursuit of that crown. Instead, the Riddler planned to go where the real power was: information. During his time working for the now deceased Crane, Nygma had acquired a wealth of info from the security systems around Gotham that he'd had access to, and he'd been sure to store it all in what ended up being mountains of data packs. It was the kind of information that insured a man both wealth and power, with dirt on everything from criminals to political figures, and Nygma intended to use it. Now, in the depths of a tech repair shop he'd purchased with all the money he had left in the world, that information was stored on half a dozen servers that would keep the Riddler right where he wanted to be for years to come. All seemed well for Gotham's most intelligent criminal mastermind.

"Finally, I come to my senses and put my talent to a proper use," The Riddler mused, looking over what was essentially his future, "No more having to deal with rival criminals, bumbling police officers, or the self righteous vigilantes. Honestly, I should've thought of this years ago."

Out of nowhere, the main floor, which was right above the Riddler, began to rumble, interrupting the villain's monologue. Dust began to fall from the ceiling and Nygma had to put a hand on his precious server just to stay steady. Something came crashing down stairs towards him, making the Riddler cringe in anticipation of the oncoming attack. The room went silent before the collision ever occurred, giving the Riddler enough courage to poke his head up. That was a mistake, "Nygma, you motherfucker, I need to talk to you!"

"Silver Banshee?" The Riddler asked, recoiling at her harsh gaze, "How dare you enter my lair uninvited! The one meeting we had when I worked with Scarecrow does not warrant any kind of perceived friendship!"

The villainess scoffed, "Oh please! You're nothing but an egotistical prick with a big IQ! I don't think you're my friend, and I don't want you as one! I came here to ask you about Fang!"

It took a moment for the Riddler to remember who she was even refering to, "Wait, you mean the mercenary with the massive blade who was working for Waller's phony Suicide Squad? What does he have to do with anything?"

"I need to find him, and that's all that you get to fucking know," Banshee told him, grabbing him by the shirt and shoving him against one of his servers, "Spill it, now!"

"Assuming that I even have the information you want, do you really think threating me is the best way to get it?" The Riddler asked, discreetly pressing a button on the cuff of his sleeve, "By the way, you barged in here before you could find out about the little security system I've had installed. Bad move on your part."

A small spark was the only warning Banshee got before a electrical shock began emanating from the metal floor beneath her, electrocuting the villainess and forcing her to let go of Nygma. She cried out in pain while the Riddler leaned back on his server, "Ahhhh!"

"Tsk tsk, my foolish foe. Never attack a location before you know what you might be getting yourself into," The Riddler advised her, once again pressing the button from before, "I haven't gotten them installed upstairs yet, but these floor panels do wonders for guarding a place like this. I've made sure to outfit my clothes and my servers with protective fabric and technology respectively. Decide to do something that upsets me again, and I'll turn those babies back on and watch you become even more ghost like than you look now! Do you understand me?"

Banshee understood him, but that didn't mean she was willing to back down, "I could use my super scream to level this building in about three seconds. I'm more than strong enough to survive this place coming down."

That was one hell of a threat, but the Riddler wasn't ready to cave in either, "If you do that, it'll set off the trap floorboards, so we'll both be dead. Neither of us want that, but there is, however, a mutually beneficial way this can end."

"Nygma, I swear, if you're about to suggest we jump into bed, I'm gonna," Banshee began, but the Riddler pressed the button on his cuff to give her another quick jolt before she could finish, "Ah, shit!"

The Riddler rubbed the bridge of his nose and said with a sigh, "I have no intention of asking you for a sexual favor. There are plenty of women out there more than willing to satisfy that need for me, I assure you. What I need from you is to complete a simple retrieval mission. It shouldn't take you long, and once it's complete, I'll tell you exactly where Fang is. A fair trade if I've ever heard one."

"Fine, I'll run your little errand for you," Banshee growled after a moment of contemplation, "What do you need? Some fancy gadget you can't get because you fight like shit?"

Ignoring the insult, the Riddler walked over to a small table up against the wall, grabbed a pen, and wrote down an address on a half crinkled piece of notebook paper. He handed it over to his temporary partner, then leaned back on the table, "It's a plant that Ivy used to cultivate in her lab before everything at Ace Chemicals went down. _Flos de Ny _should be the label on the tank you'll find them in. The cops are looking through it right now, so I can't get in there myself. You, however, should have no problems gaining entrance with your level of power. Don't come back until you've acquired at least one of those plants."

Banshee putt the address in her pocket, noting the Nygma's furrowed brow, "Don't mistake this for me giving a fuck, but is something wrong? You don't seem as smug as usual. Don't get me wrong, you're still smug…"

"I'm the same as I've always been," The Riddler replied, removing his glasses from his face. He started cleaning the dirt and grease they were covered in with his shirt, not so much as glancing in Banshee's direction, "It's Gotham that's changing. Things used to be so simple. You could just move on from one little scheme to the next, the occasional vigilante beating the hell out of you in between. These days, things are all twisted. Everyone's trying to think twelve steps ahead just to get by. I'm the smartest person in this damn city, and even I don't know if this is ever gonna end."

There was a long pause in the room that only ended after the Riddler put his glasses back on, "You can leave anytime you like. If you'll excuse me, I've got some building to do."

* * *

The glare Jason was felt burning into the back of his neck was almost unbearable. He and Rose stood alone in a dark alleyway in the slums of Jump City, waiting for a mysterious figure Brother Blood had asked them to work with. Their meeting with the head of H.I.V.E. had been a high tension one, though not because of mission they'd be given. Rose was fuming over the fact that, not only had Jason slept with some girl named Ino, but he'd apparently been so good to Argent that she was interested in starting up something with him as well. Ever since she found out, she hadn't said a word to Jason, which was unsettling enough on it's own. It was her unstoppable death glare that was really getting to him though, "Rose, I swear to god, if you don't stop staring at me, I'm gonna rip your pretty little eyes out of your head. Would you please talk to me? The whole silent thing you've got going isn't gonna get us anywhere."

"Do you think sticking your dick in any girl who'll open her legs for you will?" Rose asked through her teeth, "You were supposed to sleep with Argent, and just the one time! That was my little gift for fucking with you! Did you really think I wouldn't care that she basically want's to be your girlfriend now, and that you fucked another girl?"

Jason didn't see things quite that way, "Woah, hold up a second! It's not my fault Argent ended up really liking me! I just didn't wanna do anything until I was sure she was willing, and I guess that made some kinda impression on her or something! And with Ino, I only did that because you said that you and I aren't exclusive and you made me hot as all hell! For fuck's sake, you told me to sleep with other girls to get some practice! How is any of this on me?"

"I don't know, it just is! Didn't you ever think that maybe I could've started wanting more?" Rose burlted out, "You could've at least asked or something!"

Something about that sentence, whether it was for the content or the way Rose had said it, made Jason begin to laugh. He couldn't control it, and based on the way she was looking at him, Rose didn't appreciate it, "I'm sorry, I really am, it's just that...we both sound ridiculous right now."

Rose made no attempt to hide her complete and utter confusion, "Ridiculous? We're having a fucking argument! There's nothing ridiculous about that!"

"Isn't there?" Jason asked, pointing out, "You know how much I care about you, and based on what you're saying, you care a whole lot about me. Right?"

Fighting her overwhelming urge to smack Jason, Rose decided to give him a real answer, "Of course I care about you. You're the only guy I've ever met who I haven't hated the more I got to know you!"

"What kind of guys have you been hanging around with?" Jason wondered, but soon shelved the question for later, "Look, that doesn't matter. What I'm getting at is: the only reason we aren't together right now is because we communicating like a couple of three year olds! We both want something that's more than just physical, so why not try and forget all the stupid shit we did before this and move forward with our relationship?"

That sounded lovely on paper, but Rose could think of two major bumps in the road, "What about Argent and Ino? They both sound like they at least want to try and make things work with you? What are you going to do about them?"

Jason hadn't thought that far ahead. He was desperately trying to come up with an answer when something came slicing through the air, flying in between him and Rose. It pierced the cement ground beneath them with ease, allowing the two teens to see what looked like a jagged, x-shaped shuriken made from red crystal. Neither of them had any idea where it came from until a new figure landed in front of them in a costume they'd never seen before.

He was dressed in a completely black bodysuit with a red-x placed right over his left arm, a gray utility belt with matching gloves that had red X's on the palms and back of his hands, a pair of black boots with steel-soles, and a black cape that had an ash-gray interior. The look, to put it bluntly, was badass, and was topped off by one hell of a mask. It was shaped like a white skull with no lower jaw and another red-x right in the center. His voice, along with his identity, would remain a mystery, as evident by when he first spoke. A robotic after effect had been added to alter his tone, "What's up? Are you guys the two scrubs I'm gonna be workin' with?"

"Scrubs?" Rose repeated, "We're both accomplished gun's for hire. You try and call us 'scrubs' again, and we'll-"

"Yeah yeah, some kinda stupid threat that I don't care about," The new arrival interrupted, "Look, the name's Red X, and I'm here to help the two of you out with the mission Brother Blood sent you out on. Your name's are Rose and Jason, right?"

Jason didn't peg this guy for the kind of person who'd bother to learn their name's, but looks could be deceiving. He'd try and give him the benefit of doubt and just assume Red X was a little eccentric "Yeah, but you can call me Red Hood, and my friend here Ravager. Are we gonna get your real name?"

"Not a chance in hell," Red X replied easily, "Now that we've got introduction out of the way, let's shove off. I'll give you a little bit more info on the mission as we go. Follow me, motherfuckers!"

Leaping up towards the rooftops above them, the Red X left Jason and Rose with their mouth's nearly hanging open. They didn't know who in the hell this guy was, but they had a feeling having to work with him was going to be trying at best. The strange looking shuriken he'd used was still bothering Jason as well, mainly because the material looked so unlike anything he'd ever seen a weapon made from. That was just one of many things he'd have to find out about their mysterious new ally, and it seemed the only way Jason would do so was by embarking on this mission. LIttle did he know what he find beneath the shadowy depths of what he once thought was an all too simple city...


	57. Uncertainty Pt 2

First, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, assuming you live in a country where that's a thing. Second, it looks like we're back for the next chapter of The Red Fox. I'm sure this is hard to believe, but the ending of this fanfic is in sight. And, as much fun as I've had writing it, I'm kind of glad I'm able to say that finale isn't more than a few months or so away. This is the longest thing I've ever written, bar none, and it's great that so many people ended up liking it, but it drains on ya a bit when you spend this much time on one story. It's going to be really bittersweet to see it come to an end, when that time comes of course. Anywho, we'd better get on with the story. It'll focus primarily on Naruto and Stephanie's transition, along with the new man on the scene, Red X. Can't wait for you guys to read all about it. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Aerosmith: Living on the Edge

* * *

"Nightwing, I'm not understanding this," Starfire told her lover in her typical broken English, "Naruto and Stephanie coming to stay here is nice and all, but why did Bruce feel it was necessary?"

The leader of the Teen Titans, who was ironically no longer a teenager, was busy running check ups on the Tower's security measures when he answered, "As far as I could tell, he was thought the two of them could use a little time away from the city. They're just fine, sweetie, I promise."

A small buzzer sounded off from the intercom on the wall to let them now someone was at their door. Starfire and Dick were currently in the control room for the Tower, which was a good distance from the entrance on the main floor. With this in mind, Starfire flew over to the intercom and pressed the 'talk' button, "Could someone please go and greet our friends? Nightwing and I will be down in a moment."

"_You got it, Star," _Came the energetic voice of Beast Boy, "_I'll be down there before you can blink! It'll be way easier for you guys to just meet us in the living room, so I'll just take em' there. See ya in a few."_

Starfire looked down at her extended stomach, rubbing her baby bump, "I don't know if 'a few' will be enough time. Speed is not my strong suit these days."

"Maybe not, but I don't think anybody minds," Dick replied, walk up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, "Don't worry, the baby's gonna come pretty soon. Once it's here, you'll be able to go on missions again and be as fast as you want."

It was difficult for Starfire to hold back a giggle as she felt sweet kisses on the back of her neck, "You're as sweet as ever, Nightwing. I wonder if you'll find me so pleasant when I make you stay home with the baby while I'm on missions."

"After being cooped up for so long during the pregnancy, you've earned the right to have a few nights to yourself," Dick replied, followed by the question, "By the way, is there a reason you never call me by my first name?"

"I think calling you Nightwing is far more sexy," Starfire admitted, making both of them laugh, "We should go visit with your family. If we leave them alone with Beast Boy for too long, he'll try to turn all of them vegan."

Dick wouldn't have wished that on anybody. He and Starfire shared a brief kiss, then made their way to elevator. Neither said a word on their way up, merely enjoying one another's company. It was a pleasant moment, until they heard some kind of commotion coming room the living room. The humming sound the elevator made did nothing to cover up the echoes of what sounded like an argument. A tension filled Dick and Starfire's minds, making the ride feel all the longer. After an eternity's worth of waiting, the leader of the Titan's practically sprinted past the at last open elevator doors. Apparently the 'argument' wasn't exactly what he thought it was, "Of for the love of…how can you guys make that much noise playing Mario Kart?"

"Dammit, why'd you guys have to give me the shitty controler?" Naruto asked Beast Boy and Cyborg, who were both next to him on the couch, growling as he fell off from the ledge on Rainbow Road, "You bastards don't know what's coming for ya!"

Behind the group, Nightwing and Starfire watched the commotion, now joined by Bruce, Raven, and Stephanie. Most of them expected Bruce to be a little upset that his son was goofing already goofing off, but it didn't seem to phasing him in the least, "Looks like I was right. This is gonna be the perfect place for Naruto to keep his mind off things. He's got Dick to talk to if things get to be too much for him, and Cyborg and Beast Boy here to help him relax."

Stephanie was glad Naruto was getting along so well, though her face didn't exactly show it, "I'll never understand how guys can get caught up in such stupid stuff. Is there gonna be anything for me to do around here? Raven, how do you guys have fun around here?"

"If you're looking for stuff to do, you're better off asking Starfire," Raven admitted, "I'll I ever do is read, train, and watch Supernatural-"

"Supernatural?" Stephanie half asked, half shirked. Everyone's eyes shot to her, making the blonde's face turn bright red, "I'm sorry, it's just...that's my favorite show! If so much as think about Dean or Sam…"

Stephanie shuddered as though she'd just walked into a blizzard, leaving Raven with a raise eyebrow, "I mostly watch it because the supernatural elements interest me, but I'd be happy to let you watch it with me if you want. Not many other people in the tower like it as much as I do."

The words had barely left Raven's mouth before Stephanie started dragging her off to the elevator. She hadn't even bothered to ask what room Raven stayed in, but hopefully the elevator would take them there. With both of his young wards in higher spirits, Bruce was feeling a bit more at ease, "Looks like I'm getting exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks again for letting them stay here, Dick."

"Don't mention it," Dick told him, "We're happy to have them here. It'll be nice getting to visit with them for more than a day or two for once."

Bruce gave one last grateful nod, then called to his son, "Naruto, I'm gonna head back to Gotham. You are to treat your older brother with all the respect you do me. Understand?"

"Yup, I got it," Naruto called back, though his eyes never left the game, "Love ya, dad!"

"I love you too," Bruce responded, walking back to the elevator, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get home and make sure no one's tried to kill Damian yet...not that I would I blame them."

Based on the stories Alfred had been telling him, Dick could understand why. He'd probably meet Damian sometime in the near future, but if Bruce didn't get through to the little pain soon, it wouldn't be a fun introduction. Dick disregard those thoughts and turned towards the tv screen just as Naruto collected another power up. He seemed to be growing tired of listening to the stories of Cyborgs conquests, "Enough, we get it, you're still all man where it counts. Could you give it a rest already?"

Cyborg let a banana peel go flying before firing back with, "What's the matter newbie? Your virgin ears can't handle my exploits?"

"Not a virgin dude, lost that title on my birthday with three lovely ladies."

"Pictures, or it didn't happen." Cyborg immediately challenged as he moved into first place.

Pulling out his phone, Naruto showed off a picture his ladies insisted he take for lonely nights. The picture showed all three of his fiance's, using their hands to cover anything too revealing on one another. As Cyborg stared, Naruto added, "Oh, and my home village requires me to marry all three."

"Only three?" Beast Boy asked as he battled his way from last place, "Dude I get more than that on a regular basis."

Cyborg didn't know if his best friend was joking or not, "String bean, I don't think you should be cheating on your girl, especially with her powers."

"I would never cheat on Rae," Beast Boy said as he got an item box, "But sometimes she takes me to Nevermore whenever she needs help controlling her emotions."

Although the information didn't make sense to Naruto, Cyborg went slacked jawed before asking, "Wait, you mean?"

Beast Boy just smirked as he got a blue shell, "That me and my babe found a way to keep her anger, and many of her other emotions in check? Why yes we did."

With that the shape shifter released the unfair item and speed past the competition, getting a last second victory and leaving his opponent's stunned. Dick figured that was as good a time as to interrupt, "Alright guys, that's enough for now. Let's go get Naruto set up in his room, then see if we can pull Stephaine away from her show long enough to show them how to use the all the fancy functions in the training room. We're all gonna go out patrolling a little bit after that. Something tells me we've got a fun night ahead of us."

* * *

"Holy shit...that was just what I needed," Barbara said with a sigh, currently spooning with Kankuro, "You know, for a virgin, you were pretty impressive. You didn't stumble as much I figured you would. What, did you practice on one of your puppets or something?"

"I know you're joking, but that's still kinda creepy," Kankuro whispered into his lover's ear, "I was just following your lead. I gotta say, you surpassed even my wildest fantasies. Nothing compares the real thing."

"Ya got that right," Barbara giggled, rotating so that they were face to face, "I'm glad my new boyfriend was so eager to please. "

The title of 'boyfriend' was sounding pretty good to Kankuro right about then. He slid his hands down to her smooth backside before replying, "With how long I've been waiting for this, you bet your sweet ass I was eager. I never thought I'd get a chance like this, after all the times the universe basically shot me down. Your dad almost walking in on us probably would've been the worst one yet."

Barbara had to agree, that one was pretty bad, "I know, but hey, at least we got things back on track. You're a good guy though, and you stuck with it. Maybe someday I can give you a little reward. I know a few chicks who might be up to join us."

"Woah, now that's a fun thought," Kankuro said, adding in for clarity, "I gotta warn you, I know a lot of dudes wants a harem, but I'm not that kinda guy..."

"I'd dump your ass if you were. Having a three way isn't a permanent arrangement, it's just something for couples to do to mix it up and have a little fun."

Kankuro couldn't have agreed more. It seemed they were on the same page, although Kankuro felt there were still going to be some obstacles to come for them, "Barb...what are we gonna do about explaining how I am and how we met to your dad?"

"All in good time, my sweet, all in good time," Barbara replied, starting to trail kisses down Kankuro's chest, "You just focus on all the wonderful things I'm about to do you...and get ready to use the chakra string trick of yours to return the favor."

Though his girlfriend's head disappeared beneath the blankets, it didn't take long for Kankuro to figure out what she had in mind, "Ohhh, yeah. I can focus on this alright…"

* * *

Rose didn't care who he was underneath his mask, she was gonna kill Red X. She and Jason had barely been able to keep themselves from shooting their mysterious partner they leapt from building to building listening to him rant off the mission details for the fifth time, "So, like I said before, we don't wanna do too much damage to the guy we're trying to extract. I don't think we can actually kill him, but he can be subdued, just not easily, since,"

"He's a masochist who loves pain," Jason finished for him, going on to recite the rest of it, "Other than being seemly impossible to kill, he doesn't have much in the way of powers. He's good with a couple of weapons, but nothing we can't handle. Brother Blood wants as much of his body intact as possible so that he can study him and see where this supposed immortality might come from...Oh I'm sorry, did I steal your thunder?"

A shrug was Red X's response, "Eh, you did alright. I would've done it better though. You guys seem to get the idea, and we're not far off, so I'll have to stop gracing you with my beautiful voice now. Whoever this guy is, Brother Blood seemed pretty confident he'd stick out like a sore thumb. He didn't give much of a description other than that, but it should be enough to go off from. Don't bother asking me how Blood knew this guy was gonna be in town or what his name might be, cause you've got all the same info I do."

Jason and Rose couldn't tell whether or not that 'beautiful voice' line was a joke, but they didn't really care. The prospect of him shutting up was more than enough to appease them. They leapt from the rooftops for about five more minutes before stopping on the glass ceiling of a museum. Red X stopped first, letting the other's know they'd arrived at their destination, before he motioned for Jason and Rose to look down at the center of the ancient artifacts exhibit where two lone figures stood. One was a man with medium-length grey hair that was slicked back and distinctive purple eyes. He was wearing a cloak that looked somewhat familiar to Jason. The other was a bald man with no shirt and tally marks carved into his body that he recognized instantly, "Mr. Zsasz...what's that psychopathy doing outside of Gotham?"

"Looks like the same thing he always does," Rose answered, observing the four security guard corpses oozing crimson around the two men, "Killing everyone in site. I've heard stories about this guy, but I thought they were all made up."

"Most of them are probably true, but Mr. Zsasz isn't the one we're interested in," Red X told them, "If it was him, Blood would've just said it. I'm guessing we want the guy with the big ass scythe on his back."

Rose didn't notice it until just then, but the man was indeed carrying a scythe with him, with several blades attached to it. Something else about the situation struck her, "Doesn't look like Zsasz is even trying to kill our guy. That means they've gotta be friends, and any friend of Mr. Zsasz's must be one twisted son of a bitch. We've got an interesting encounter ahead of us, don't we?"

More interesting than they ever could've imagined, for reasons the Red X was about to point out, "Hey guys...is there another team on the other side of the roof there?"

* * *

_Minutes Earlier_

"Honey, I promise, I won't forget to run by the store before I go home," Dick assured Starfire with a sigh. She was speaking to him through an earpiece while he and the rest of the team made their way toward a museum where an alarm had just been triggered. Everyone, including his younger brother, didn't bother to hide their snickers as Nightwing's torture continued, "What? Yes, I know; you want chocolate donuts and mustard to dip them in. I'll see you when we get home...hm? Do we really need to have that discussion again? Look, when I said you were having some mood swings, I wasn't judging you. It's perfectly natural for you to be trying to seduce me one moment and kill me the next. Yes dear...mhm...okay, I love you too. Bye."

Dick turned off his earpiece, well aware that all eyes were on him, "I know it's coming, so just get it over with. Whatever you guys are gonna say, say it."

As long as he had permission, Naruto was gonna go all in. He did his best to imitate the sound of a whip cracking, mimicking the same action with his arms as well. Not even Raven could stop herself from laughing at that one. Still, Naruto knew what Dick was going through, "Bro, I swear, you sound just like Dad and Mom did when she was still pregnant. That's gotta be driving you nuts by now."

"A little, but she's carrying my kid," Dick reminded him, "Yeah, she's gonna put me through a whole lot of shit, but I'm gonna put up with it. Starfrie's earned the right to be a little crazy with everything she's had to put up with lately."

That was a fair statement...but not enough to stop Beast Boy from making the whip sound once again. Another laughed echoed through the group, this time with Dick joining them. A few more jokes filled the rest of their short trip to the museum. They reached their destination to discover the reason the alarm went off was fairly obvious, with Zsasz and his mysterious friend remaining in their pool of blood. It wasn't the blood that bothered Raven though, "Um, guys, I'm picking up some nasty dark energy down there, and it all seems to be coming from one with the scythe."

"_She's right, Kit," _Kurama sounded off in Naruto's head, "_I've felt power like that before. Whoever the grey haired men is, he must be a follower of the cult of Jashin, and he's probably the only one left. Most of those guys died out years ago. They're psychos who believe they're supposed to bring some god they prey to death and destruction to feed his power. Killing someone like him is gonna be damn near impossible."_

Kurama cringed once he realized what he'd said in that final tidbit, "_Kit, I wasn' trying to say that you would-"_

"I know," The Red Fox cut him off from within his head, then said allowed, "My fuzzy friend seems to think we've got trouble down there too. We should probably get in there and shut this shut down before it gets out of hand."

"Um, dudes, is there someone on the other side of the roof?" Beast Boy asked, making everyone look up, "Actually, looks like there's a whole freakin' team over there."

Beast Boy was right, there was another small group just across from them. Naruto saw the Red Hood and realized that he'd once again managed to cross paths with Jason. Nightwing and Spoiler both knew about Jason's past as well, leaving only the other Titan's not fully aware of the situation. They knew who the Red Hood was, and who Jason Todd was as well, but they hadn't been told about them being the same person just yet. The Red Fox knew the best thing to do would be to diffuse the situation before the whole thing lead to a massive brawl, but it was difficult to do so when he had no idea why the Red Hood was there or who his traveling buddies were. He didn't have time though, so it was looking like Naruto was gonna have to improvise something.

"Nightwing, should we hold off on attacking for now? I mean, a glass ceiling isn't the best place to be starting a brawl," Naruto said, and, as fate would have it, he was about to have his point proven for him. A crashing sound caught both side's attention before they all felt their feet falling out from under them. Something had shattered the glass, making the Red Fox scream out, "I really hate it when I'm right!"

* * *

Enjoying Ace's soft fur flowing between his fingers, Damian felt the most at peace he'd been since he first arrived at Wayne Manor. Human's had always puzzled him, living by a set of rules that he'd never quite grown accustom to. They'd tell him to always be honest, at yet, when he spoke his mind, he was chastised for being rude. That was just one of many examples of human contradicting themselves, and Damian was beyond tired of trying to please them. Animals were far simpler, and more fun to interact with because of that. Ace, for example, was straightforward with what he liked and what he didn't. Belly rubs, scratching behind his ears, and being snuck treats were all things that pleased him, and if you kept him happy, he'd give you all the affection his tiny body could muster. It was a fair trade in Damian's eyes, and one that he grateful to have before he had to call in for a checkup with his aunt Nyssa.

"You've been good company as always, my furry friend," Damian told Ace as he picked up the pup and set him on the floor beside his bed, "But I'm afraid I've got business to attend to. Go on, go play with the butler or something."

Ace trotted away, leaving Damian alone long enough to reach into his mouth and towards his back teeth. He pulled out a microchip a touch smaller than the fingernail on his pinky and then took out his cellphone. On it's own, the cellphone was nothing special, but when the microchip was inserted into the charging port, it would allow Damian to contact the League of Assassins. If his father ever managed to get ahold of it, he'd likely use it begin a full scale assault on the League's various systems, so it was paramount that it never fell into his hands. Damian had been careful to slip the card in as discreetly as possible, since he was certain Bruce had camera's hidden somewhere in this room. Him reaching into his mouth could be explained away as an attempt to remove some some food that'd gotten stuck, but if the footage got a good look at the microchip, he'd be in real trouble. After a moment to make certain no one could come barging in, Damian hit the call button and put the phone to his ear, practically whispering, "It's Damian...I'd like to chat for awhile."

"_Good to hear your voice again," _Replied his Aunt Nyssa for the other end, "_I was beginning to fear you'd never find a good time to call."_

A fair reaction, considering he was supposed to call almost a half an hour ago, "I was only able to sneak off to my room about five minutes ago. The harlot and the butler keep trying to bond with me. I played with the dog for awhile until I felt it was time to call you."

Nyssa was glad to hear he was keeping his statements vague in case someone was listening in, "_A wise plan. What have you been able to access about the targets thus far?"_

"Not much. Father seems to get along with his wife very well, and my apparent 'siblings' could be worse. One of them, Jikusume, even let me hold her for a while," Damian began as though it was a pleasant conversation, "Naruto had to go on some sort of trip, so there's that. Father's been trying to get me to see the world a little more in his view, though I personally find his ideologies naive at best."

"_Fair enough, but you can't fault him for his commitment," _Nyssa said before her tone grew more serious, "_You said he's loyal to his family, which means Wayne is likely in the state your grandfather predicted. If he won't join us, I fear your mother might have something extreme in mind. Keep probing him, and I'll see if I can't calm Talia's mood a bit before giving her the bad news. Stay safe, little Nephew."_

Damian nearly asked how his mother dealing with her newfound leadership position, but realized it was a foolish question. Talia wasn't the same person she'd been a few months ago. Losing both Ra's and Bruce, the latter to another woman, had done something to her. What that might be, Damian didn't know, but the answer was one he feared, "Always nice talking to you."

Hanging up his phone and tossing it off to the side, Damian leaned back into his pillows before closing his eyes. Things felt foreign to him lately, and not only because he was so far from his home. Those thoughts didn't sit in his mind long before the voice of his father made him reopen his eyes, "Damian, you got a second?"

"Considering you won't let me leave this place, and I'll I've got to do is read, sleep, and train, I'd say yes, I've got several seconds to spare," Damian answered, "What did you need?"

Bruce walked to the foot of Damian's bed and sat down, taking a moment to decide what he wanted to say, "I was wondering how you felt about...well, about the death of your Grandfather. I was looking through some of my father's old journals, and it occurred to me you hadn't spoken much about Ra's since you arrived. You mentioned him to Mei when you first met her, but that was about it. Are you processing everything alright?"

"I'm not the average 12 year old; I can process death just fine," Damian scoffed, "Is this some half hearted attempt to relate to me?"

Remaining far more calm than his son expected, Bruce replied, "No, I just wanted to make sure that you knew that I'm here to help if you need any."

Damian read his father's face as best he could. If he was wasn't being genuine, he was doing a damn good job pretending he was, "A nice offer, but I don't need any help."

"If you say so. I just wanted to make the offer is all," Bruce said, getting up from the bed and walking towards the door. He paused a moment before turning back, "For the record, I knew Ra's far better than you might think. The man was my mentor for a long time. I knew him before the Lazarus Pit had chipped away so much of his mind."

A statement like that was impossible for Damian to ignore, "My Grandfather was a great man. It's true that the Lazarus Pit might have altered certain aspects of his personality, but even at half his normal self, he was twice the man most heroes claim to be."

"We'll have to agree to disagree on that one," Bruce said, re-entering the room, "I will say though, Ra's wasn't all bad. He took me under his wing and treated me like a son when I had no one else, and he wanted what he thought was best for the world, even if that meant doing some of the more twisted things he did. After centuries of seeing the darkest parts of the world, it's hard to judge him for losing faith in humanity…"

Damian noticed for the first time the deeper, darkened ridges the lined his father's face. The bags under his eyes seemed more apparent than usual as well. His eyes remained unblinking as ever though. There was something about that moment that made Damian reveal a long kept secret, "He admired your foolishness you know? Well, perhaps foolishness isn't the best way to put it. Grandfather was always impressed by your ability to maintain your faith in Gotham, and the world as a whole. It still struck him as naive way to view the world, but your dedications meant something to him nonetheless."

With the manner in which he spoke, it was hard for Bruce to believe sometimes that this child was only 12 years old, "Ra's still spoke about me after all these years?"

"Whenever I asked about you, he'd have a mountain of things to say," Damian admitted, a sad smile edging its way onto his face, "I miss having conversations like that with him. For as harsh as he could be, Grandfather had his kind moments. Times like those when I knew him better than ever."

Bruce sat back on the bed, testing the waters with a simple question, "Are you sure you're processing your Grandfather's death alright?"

"I'll be fine," Damian did his best to assured him, "There's nothing abnormal about missing someone you care about. I simply choose to move forward rather than dwell on it for too long."

All things considered, that was probably the most Bruce was going to get out of Damian. For the time being, it would do, "If you say so. I think I'll stay in here with you for awhile, if you don't mind the company."

Damian gave a small nod and, for the first time since he arrived, gave his father a proper smile. It wasn't much, but it allowed Bruce the smallest hint of hope, and in his world, that was always welcome.

* * *

"Ah, son of a bitch," Cyborg mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, "Man, if I wanted to go skydiving, I would've brought a damn parachute!"

Over on the opposing team, Rose was feeling about the same, "Hey, at least you've got a stronger exoskeleton than the rest of us. I've got fucking whiplash from my grappling hook jerking me around so much."

Mr. Zsasz, with his bloody knife still in hand, began to scream, "What are you pathetic little piggies are doing here? You're going to ruin everything! How dare you spoil my my ceremony!"

"Calm down, Zsasz. I wouldn't have broken the ceiling if I didn't think we could handle these idiots," The grey haired man replied, spinning his scythe around like a toy, "We'll slice them up, then move on to transforming you into a proper follower of Jashin!"

"Hidan, these aren't normal piggies," Zsasz explained, "They've got an irritating habit of refusing to die, or at least some of them do! Not all of these zombies look familiar to me…"

After hearing the name 'Hidan,' the Red Fox realized he did in fact know who the grey haired man was, "Wait, your name is Hidan? And you've got on an Akatsuki robe? Now it's all starting to make sense. I've read about you before, but there was never much info on how you ended up unkillable. Guess the whole Jashin thing explains that."

"I don't know who the fuck you are, but it sounds to me like you know way more shit than you need to," Hidan said, pointing his scythe at Naruto, "I've come here with my new follower, a true believer in the power of death and destruction, to find a sacred weapon he can fuck people up with once his transformation is complete! You've disturbed that plan, and for that, you assholes are gonna-"

A gunshot rang through the air, stopping Hidan mid-sentence. Everyone in the room turned to the Red Hood, who was holding the smoking gun. He knew at least a few people were gonna frown on him shooting the psychopath in between the eyes, but he didn't really care, "What? The dude's immortal; it's not like I did any permanent damage. I just wanted him to shut up."

Hidan's head had snapped back due to the bullet hitting his skull, and he reeled back a few steps as well. By the time he looked up, he was cursing and holding a hand on his bleeding forehead, "Aw, you motherfucker! That really fucking hurt! Fuck me man, I'm gonna have to dig that shit out of my head later! I'm gonna cut your dick off and feed it to you for this bullshit!"

"See, he's fine," THe Red Hood said once the tirade was over, "No harm, no foul."

"No harm?" Hidan screamed, raising his weapon above his head and charging at the Red Hood, "Oh that is it! I'm fucking killing you in the name of Jashin right now!"

That didn't exactly send shivers down The Red Hood's spine to begin with, but he was about to discover he had even less to worry about than he thought. A projectile flew through the air and hit Hidan in the chest, knocking him squarely on his ass. He looked down to find it was a block of crystal vaguely in the shape of an X. All eyes turned on the Red X, whose hand reached out towards Hidan. In a move no one could seem to grasp, the Red X clenched his fist, which made the crystal he must've thrown begin to crack and shift. It thinned out and surrounded Hidan, pinning his arms to his torso and binding his legs together. Hidan squirmed with all his might, but to avail; the crystal was too strong for him to break free. The Red X crossed his arms, admiring his work, "That was a hell of a lot easier than the boss made it out to be. Red Hood, Ravager, you two pick him up so we can get back to base. This guy needs some sleep"

Mr. Zsasz couldn't believe his master had been defeated so easily, "What? No! Let him go! I need him to complete my transformation so that I can cure more piggies of life! Do you hear me?"

"Would you shut up already?" Nightwing growled, smacking Zsasz over the head with one of his electrified batons, knocking him unconscious. He needed the villain out cold before he could move on to the bigger issue at hand, "Alright, now that I can focus, I've got a few questions for our new friends here."

"I wouldn't be trying to call us 'friends,' pretty boy," Replied Red X, "If you have to call me something, call me Red X. I hate to introduce myself and run, but I've got to get these crazy kids home so I can actually rest tonight. So, if you'll excuse me-"

Spoiler cut him off right there, "We aren't excusing you from anything until you give us one good reason we shouldn't kick your asses and take Hidan in ourselves...also, why do we keeping running into people with 'Red' in there name? Red Fox, Red Hood, and now Red X...I'm starting to notice a weird pattern."

Instead of telling them why it was best to leave him alone, Red X decided to show them. He brought up his hand and began to form a crystal sphere in his palm, apparently out of thin air. Once that was complete, he began to shape it, turning it into the X shape he'd used before, although this one was a bit thinner. Before everyone could try to comprehend what just happened, the Red X threw the crystal shuriken towards the wall, breaking into four, deadly sharp projectiles once if left his hand. They hit their brick target, nearly slicing straight through it. While everyone else gawked at the display, the Red Fox was the first to make some connections outloud, "You can create and mold your own crystals, even once you're no longer touching it. That's one hell of a trick. I'm not sure it'll be enough to defeat us though."

"It won't have to be. I just wanted you guys to focus on something else so your guard would be down," Red X began, grabbing a smoke pellet from his belt, "Now, I can just do this!"

The Red X smashed the pellet on the ground, simultaneously creating a cloud of smoke and destroying any chance of them figuring out where he might vanish off to. The team tried to dive into the cloud, but they already knew it was futile. As the air cleared, the frustration once again became visible on the team's faces, particularly Naruto's, "So...it's probably gonna look pretty bad that we already need to call Batman and tell him something's gone down, isn't it?"

A chorus of the same reply answered him, "Yup."

"So much for a little time to relax," The Red Fox grumbled, "Guess we'd better head back to the tower...after Nightwing stops at the store, of course."

If nothing else, at least they could end on a joke.

* * *

Looking at the green, shiny, black tinted leafs that lined the stem leading up to a dark rose he held in his hand, Riddler couldn't help but be a little impressed by how easily Silver Banshee had acquired his prize, "Just like that, the _Flos de Ny _is mine once again. How in the hell did you get this here so fast?"

"Half a dozen cops with pea-shooters?" Banshee scoffed, "Please, one screech and I had them taken out. Finding the flower took me longer than that. Since you've got your stupid plant now, are you gonna tell me why it was so damn important to you?"

The Riddler figured there was no harm in her knowing at this point, "It's nothing really, just a little something Poison Ivy cooked up for me after I did her a favor. It actually started out as me paying her back for a favor her one. I must've done a damn good job, because she made my own special of flower as a thank you. For one reason or another, she kept planting them, which worked out great for me, since the last one I had was destroyed in the Scarecrow fiasco. Anyways, I've got my _Flos de Ny_, so that's all that matters for now. Give me a moment and I'll pull up everything I've got on Fang for you. It should be more than enough for you to track him down."

It was difficult for Banshee to gage from this small bit of context just how close Ivy and Nygma had been at one point, but it seem they certainly more than just acquaintances. Either way, it was none of her business, and the Riddler didn't seem in the mood to be pressed further on the matter. Banshee took a small amount of solace in the fact that this plant seemed to bring Nygma some peace, and waited to at long last discover where Fang had vanished off too. Once she found him, there was a whole lot of shit they needed to talk about…

* * *

"Ahhh, nothing like a nice, relaxed evening run to calm the nerves," The Flash mused as he sped through the city, leaving his trademark streak flowing behind him, "Well, maybe relaxed isn't the right word, but it's relaxed enough for me. Soon, I'll be chowing down, getting a nice shower, and sleeping like a log for the rest of the night. That's what I'm talking about!"

All three of those goals were about to become much less likely. With a great enough force to practically shake the buildings around them, something came blazing past the Flash at a speed he himself could barely manage. His instincts kicked in, causing the hero's gaze to turn towards the figure who'd rushed passed him. The man had stopped in front of the Flash, allowing the him to notice his primarily yellow suit with red add ons. It was a suit that looked almost identical to his own, only the primary colors had been flipped. No doubt's about who this villain could be. Skidding to a stop, the Flash addressed his long time foe with a tone so chilly, it would've chilled Captain Cold, "Eobard Thawne, AKA 'The Reverse Flash.' And here I was hoping I'd never have to see you again. How many times are gonna find some way to travel back into the past just to get your ass kicked?"

The Reverse Flash, an infamous speedster from the future who'd dedicated much of his life to destroying the true Flash, wasn't here to fight on this occasion, "As much as I'd love to lock horns with you, that isn't why I've come here. I need your help."

"What did you do?" The Flash scoffed, "And how much damage is the time line about to take?"

"For once, a speedster isn't the one who's toyed with the fabric of reality," Thawne responded, making the Flash raise his eyebrow, "I'm not 100% sure how, but there's a new player entering the game who will find a way to practically bend this universe to his will."

Based on the way he was speaking, the Flash was going to need a few questions answered, "What do you mean, 'will find a way?' Are you telling me you came back from a future where he's already achieved something that crazy?"

"Well it wouldn't have done me much good to go back to a time where he'd already acquired his power," The Reverse Flash pointed out, "Honestly, I don't know as much as I'd like to about the situation. I simply felt the presence of a several altercations in my world's timestream and knew I had to take action. It's a long story, but I did as much digging as I could, and I've discovered a grave danger about to take command of my world that originates here. A creature without morals or reasons that can only be stopped in your time."

Well, a description like that only left one more question, "And who might this 'creature' be?"

"Abaddon."


	58. Family Values

Hello there everyone, and welcome to another instalment of The Red Fox. There's a cliffhanger to resolve, consequences of a mission to unfold, and one pissed off supervillain searching for a swordsman. We're going to get a slightly better idea of who Abaddon is at the beginning and end of the chapter, mainly what his goals are, if you can even call them 'goals.' I know I've been giving Abaddon a fair amount of attention, and using an OC is always a risk, but hopefully I write him well enough for my awesome readers to get a kick out of him. Also, a few parts of this chapter might be considered a change in the origin of a certain character, but hey, that's what fanfics are for. Anyways, thanks so much for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack: Joe Bonamassa-Black Lung Heartache

* * *

Even for a villain name, Abaddon seemed a pretty extreme title in the Flash's eyes. Still, the look on Thawne's face told the hero just how seriously this needed to be taken, "Abaddon, like the demon from the Bible?"

"Sort of. That's the name he chose for himself," The Reverse Flash responded, pulling a small disk out of the gauntlets on his suit, "I had to look it up to be sure, but Christian texts say the name once belonged to a beast known as 'The Destroyer.' For this guy, it's a pretty fitting title. Take a look for yourself."

He tossed the disc over to the Flash, who wasn't sure what to make of it at first. A hologram began to project from the disc, so he simply left it in his palm while what looked like news footage began to play. It was difficult to make out what was happening on screen due to the shaky camera and frequent bursts of light, but the Flash was pretty sure it was a reporter trying to record a massive superhuman brawl. Several metahumans that the Flash couldn't recognize we're all piling onto the same figure. Because he was constantly being obscured by his attackers, it was impossible to see who the one everyone was attacking might be, but whoever it was, they seemed to be swatting away their opponents like flies. As impressive as he seemed, the Flash wasn't sure he saw what Thawne was so worried about, "Okay, this guy seem pretty powerful, but I'm not seeing any reality shattering powers yet. The one they're all attacking is Abaddon, right?"

The Reverse Flash nodded, but had no need to respond further, as he knew the video was about to make his point for him. Abaddon became fully visible for the first time when the Flash looked back down, and it was not a pretty sight. He was a monstrous creature that stood over seven feet tall, had the muscles of a bodybuilder, and green skin that looked as thick as leather. His face was covered by what looked like some sort of mask that was connected to rest of his body, as well as appearing to be made from the material as his skin. Not even his hair was visible underneath it, but a few slits cut near the mouth let the Flash know there definitely someone under there. Those were all the details the hero could taken in before Abaddon slammed his hands into the ground so hard that whoever was holding the camera flew backwards. The camera didn't shatter though, as the footage kept rolling to show a series of vines bursting in and out of the ground at lightning speeds, all charging towards what looked to be a streak of light hanging in the air. They reached the streak at the same time, and once they did, a burst of energy so bright was emitted that it nearly blinded the Flash. After that, there was nothing but static. Thawne went further into detail now that it was finished, "As far as I can tell, he was going after a form of wormhole I like to call a 'time tare.' You know as well as I do that time is physical thing, and there are thousands of small tares that appear within the fabric of it everyday. Somehow, Abaddon managed to amplify one to insane proportions, and those metahumans you saw him fighting were attempting to prevent him from taking full advantage of it."

"He can amplify tears in time and is strong enough to defeat dozens of metahumans at once," The Flash summarized, "Great, just great. How far into the future is this footage exactly?"

"Not as far forward as my time," Thawne admitted, "It's about 50 years from now. I haven't been able to piece together much, but here's what I've got so far: I started noticing small changes in my timeline, and I could feel something tampering with the timestream. That much I've already told you, but there's more. Based on my research, Abaddon started out as nothing more the a common villain on your radar, but he slowly began to grow more powerful. It changed the way he looked too, or at least that's what it says in what few documents I've been able to dig up. How he got so much stronger, I can't tell you, but I can tell you he eventually became powerful enough that the whole world went to war with him. That war, whatever it was, resulted in the destructions of most of the records relating to Abaddon, which is what's made my research so difficult. However, someone did eventually discover a way to kill him, meaning that things could be rebuilt and essentially return to normal."

As intelligent as he was, Barry Allen still didn't understand how that was possible, "How can he be affecting the timestream if he's already been defeated? Based on that video, he was able to use the time tare, so if that's true, shouldn't he have rewritten his defeat already?"

"That was my first thought too," Thawne said, a small frown on his face, "But the effects I've felt have been small at best so far. I've only been able to come up with one theory that makes any kind of sense. I believe Abaddon sent a small piece of himself back in time; a portion of his consciousness that can guide his past self to avoid that pitfalls he fell into that lead to his defeat."

The Flash had feeling he knew what about about to come next, "Let me guess how this gonna end: You don't know what weakness it is that lead to Abaddon's defeat, and you have no clue where to find our time's Abaddon or the portion of himself that he sent back. All you came here to do was warn me about what was coming?"

"For the most part, yes," The Reverse Flash conceded, "But there's two more thing you should know. First, Abaddon's plan seems to be working. I can feel small changes starting to take effect, so if you're not careful, he is going to make himself virtually unstoppable this time. Second, I can't be certain, but I think that the time tear might have accidentally brought another metahuman here from the future. Keep an eye out for him."

It was a lot of information to take in all at once, but the Flash felt like he understood most of it, "Alright, I'll tell the League and we'll look into it. Assuming this isn't all the start of some scheme you're planning...can we count on your help? When the time comes, will would you be willing to fight with us?"

Agreeing to work with the 'good guys' wasn't in Thawne's nature. The most he could give his adversary was the vaguest of responses, "If it comes to it, I wouldn't rule out assisting you fools. I can't destroy you if Abaddon takes out you and all your little friends, now can I? Just don't expect me to come running for a lost cause."

The Flash was debating thanking Thanwe for giving him this information, but villain sped off before Barry ever got the chance. Knowing the Reverse Flash, there was a decent chance this was all a ruse, but not informing the League was too big of a risk. It seemed the Flash was about to call for an emergency meeting.

* * *

"Oh come on, the mission went well! Why am I being punished?" Jason half asked, half whined to his mother. She rolled her eyes as he continued to complain, "There's a hundred people you could get to watch Duela! Call Dent or somebody! Why does it have to be me?"

"Because you need to get to know your little sister, that's why," Harley answered, looking into her bedroom mirror and applying a bit of black face paint around her eyes, "I want you two to get along, and since I've got a class to teach, it's the perfect time for you to bond with her. Believe me, the more you get to know here, the more you'll love her."

Jason leaned on the doorframe, rubbing his temples with his hands, "Look, it's not that I don't think I'm gonna like her, Duela doesn't even seem that bad. It's just that, after that mission last night, I was hoping to get some rest. Do you have any clue what Brother Blood wanted with the immortal crack-pot anyways?"

With the final touches on her makeup completed, Harley stood up and kissed her son on the cheek before grabbing her bag to leave. She made one final remark as she slid past her Jason, "No clue, but it doesn't really matter. The job got done and he was happy, so I don't care if he wants that Hidan freak as his new boy toy. I've got a class to teach, so you have fun with Duela. I'm sure you'll do great. Love ya, sweetie."

"Love you too, mother," Jason replied, stepping out the doorway as she left. As he walked out, he noticed two familiar voice screaming at one another down the hall. He soon realized who it was, releasing a groan when he looked over to confirm his suspension, "Oh, for the love of...this is gonna be one long ass day."

Just a few feet away from him, Rose and Argent were standing mere inches from one another, a fire burning in their eyes that suggested they were ready to tear out each other's throats. Rose, it seemed, had picked up a few intimidation techniques from her father, "I'm only gonna warn you one time; if you don't leave Jason alone, I'm gonna cut off your head and send it back to New Zealand wrapped in your county's fucking flag!"

"Go ahead and try it, bitch! We'll see how well ya do you're father here to save your ass," Argent fired back, "You're one who wanted him to sleep me in the first place! You must be some kinda bipolar twat!"

Jason could already tell this wasn't going to end well, but he was too tired to try and break it up right now. Rose and Argent might take down a couple of walls in a fight, but they wouldn't kill one another. For the time being, Jason would go and watch Duela as he'd been asked. Hopefully the ladies would have their dispute nice and settled by the time he returned.

* * *

"_I really can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I, Naruto?" _Bruce asked his son over the phone, "_All kidding aside, do you have any idea who this Red X person might be?"_

Naruto stretched out on the bed Dick had set him up on, currently in his guest room at the Tower and half way through an explanation of the previous night's insanity, "No, but I did noticed one thing about him. This is gonna sound crazy, but I swear, I could feel him using chakra. Those crystals he was making seemed like some kinda bloodline. You might wanna have Jiraiya look into it if he's got the time."

"_Not a bad idea," _Bruce agreed, "_I'll see if he can track down any records of shinobi with similar powers. It's not much, but it's place to start. I'm gonna have to leave for an emergency meeting Barry called pretty soon, but I've got one more question before I go. For the record, no matter what your answer is, I'm not going to get upset with you, but I have to ask...have you had any kind of contact with Jason? I only ask because-"_

This was a question Naruto had seen coming a mile away, "Because if am in contact with him, I can ask him what in the hell this Red X guy wanted with Hidan, I know. Sorry, Dad, but I'm as in the dark about this as you are."

Bruce had a feeling that'd be the case, "_You don't need to apologize; it isn't your fault. I've got head for the meeting, but if you need anything, Mom and Alfred are here. I'll call you when I get more information. Stay strong, Naruto."_

"I will Dad. Love ya, bye," Naruto said before hanging up the phone. He set it down next to him on the bed and looked up at the ceiling above him. The room he was in was comfortable enough, but there wasn't much to it. That was only natural for a guest room, but still, Naruto couldn't find much comfort in the barren black walls and virtually empty end tables. There was his wallet sitting on the table beside him though, which he leaned over to grab. Not a whole lot of cash sat inside, but their was something Naruto valued far more: pictures of his family.

One by one, Naruto pulled out each picture, starting with the first one he ever took after he arrived in Gotham. It was of him, his father, Dick, Alfred, and Barb, all in the Wayne Manor living room. Hard to believe how long ago they'd taken it. Nostalgia washed over him like a wave as he thought about his first year in the city he now called home. That nostalgia would stick with him as he looked at the next picture, which was of him in the Hidden Leaf with Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and all his other shinobi and ramen shop friends. No matter how far away he was, he always did his best to remain close with them. After that was the picture he'd taken with the entire Justice League, along with Jason back when he was still Robin. Again, it felt like yesterday to Naruto, no matter how long ago it had actually been. Last in line was the most recent picture, the one he'd taken on his birthday. It was him with his three fiancees, along with Stephanie, who'd photobombed the picture. Hinata, Temari, and Cassandra were a blessing that he didn't know what he'd done to deserve. A small sigh left Naruto's lips as he thought about them, but he soon realized there was one picture he'd accidentally skipped past.

Naruto flipped back until he reached a picture of someone he hadn't seen in what felt like years: Tim Drake. It was a picture of the one time Robin holding Ace in his lap, the pup squirming as the camera went off. Needless to say, it was an adorable image, but not one that brought Naruto much joy. Tim had left Wayne months ago, and still no one had heard so much as a word from him. Not hearing from someone he cared about that much was difficult for the young Uzumaki, especially with how important to him his 'precious people' were. As he stared more deeply at the picture, something inside Naruto's head clicked. He sat up, laying out all his photos on bed until he could view all of them at once. Looking at everything in the world he cared about most all at one time, Naruto began to understand something he thought he never would after what happened with Deidara on the roof.

"What I did to Deidara is never something I'll be alright with," Naruto told himself, "And that's the way it should be...but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. When I thought I lost Jason, it nearly made me lose control, and now, not knowing where Tim is or whether he's okay might be even worse. My friends and my family are the most important thing in the world to me, and no one's going to take them from this world while I'm still around. I'll never set out to kill someone, but if it comes down to it, I've got to protect the people I care about. For them, I'll do what my father won't. Count on that…"

* * *

All things considered, Zabuza had to admit, he was a little surprised he'd come as far as he had. It wasn't even quite five years ago that he was working as a mercenary for hire for some of the worst people on the planet, killing and destroying anything in his path. Now he was one of the good guys, fighting on the same side of the law. Sure, he'd hit a little bump with a couple people when he took out Deathstroke, but hey, they got over it. He and Haku were taking a little time off at the moment, so they were staying in a small, albeit nice, apartment not far from Wayne Manor. The two did workout at a nearby gym to keep themselves in shape, but other than that, they mostly tried to relax and enjoy their vacation.

Zabuza and Haku were unwinding with a movie at the moment, with the former sitting in an armchair while the latter sat on the couch next to their guest, Sai. The two teens shared a bowl of popcorn while Zabuza made a few comments on the movie, which was about two dueling superheroes and a madman trying to pit them against each other, "I don't see what everyone was going on about. It really isn't all that bad. Yeah, they're trying to set up way too much stuff and they could use a few more jokes, but as a whole, it's not terrible. Don't get me wrong, the other studio that's been pumping these did a way better job of setting up for their big fight, but that doesn't mean this one is flat out awful. Plus, this version of the movie's got a few scenes added in the kinda fill in the gaps from the one I saw when it was in theaters."

"I don't know. Don't you think it's kinda weird that the whole movie's supposed to be about these guys fighting, but they only ever fight once and it's over pretty quick?" Sai asked, "Why did the movie even need a villain? If it's supposed to be about those heroes fighting, then just have heroes fighting."

Haku thought about it briefly, then shrugged, "Maybe. I'll agree that it's far from perfect, but it is a nice change of pace from the other superhero movies they've been making lately. It's interesting that they're all connected and everything, and most of them are really good, but a few of them are kinda starting feel too similar to one another, you know?"

Everyone nodded in agreement before focusing back on the movie. That focus would last all of about five seconds before something almost akin to an earthquake began to shake the apartment. By the time Zabuza sat up to investigate what was going on, the wooden front door began to splinter before shattering entirely. With the door destroyed and the apartment no longer shaking, Zabuza could see who their visitor was and, on the bright side, no one was in any real danger. On the not so bright side, he was probably about to get his ass chewed out, "Oh fuck…"

"Fang, you fucking asshole," Banshee screamed as she walked into the apartment, stepping over a couple chunks of wood to get there, "You've got a lot of shit to answer for!"

Zabuza sank into his chair and said with sigh, "Banshee, before we start this, can I just-"

"First off, I'm at one hell of a disadvantage, because I don't even know what your real name is," Banshee interrupted, then pointed to Haku, "Second, the Riddler barely had anything on who you actually are, because the only fucking thing private investigators could find out about you was that you were staying here and might have a son!"

Now it was Haku's turn to pipe in, "Adopted son, technically."

Banshee could only think to deadpan, "Well great, that answers all my questions."

"For fuck's sake, my name is Zabuza," The swordsman told her, "I'm a special operative Waller called in for the fake Suicide Squad plan, and she made me that Fang persona so I wouldn't have to use my real identity. That's pretty much the shortest version the story I can give you. Literally anything else I say would require me to go into hours of explanation for to understand what I'm talking about."

That may have been true, but it wasn't enough for Banshee, "Somewhere in that explanation, would I find out why you never called me back after all those messages I left you, or how much that bullshit you told me when worked together was actually true?"

Zabuza leapt from his chair and got face to face with her, "Okay, I'm sorry about not calling you and all that, but pretty much everything personal I told you was absolutely true! What I said about the massacres in my country and not wanting to be a monster anymore, that wasn't a lie! I was as honest with you as I possibly could've been! The guy you liked working with, that's still me! I'm just fighting for a different side than you thought!"

"I...you...gah," Banshee sputtered, grabbing Zabuza by his white t-shirt, "You're just another idiot who thinks he can actually change anything! I don't even know why I bothered to track you down!"

"I've got a feeling it has something to do with this," Zabuza replied, ripping off his mask and grabbing Banshee by the waist. It was a gutsy movie, but he wasn't done yet. Zabuza brought his lips down to Banshee's and kissed her, shocking the villainess. The shock was a welcomed one though, as she soon returned the kiss and began running her hands though the swordsman's hair. They continued on like this until Zabuza pulled away, smiling with his razor sharp pearly whites, "Haku, Sai, why don't the two of you go for a walk for a bit. We can finish the movie later."

Haku didn't need to ask any questions. He grabbed Sai's hand and practically sprinted out the doorway, certain he didn't wanna stick around for what was going to happen next. Banshee mumbled to Zabuza as they left, "You know this doesn't change anything right? I'm still pissed at you."

"Yeah, I know," Zabuza said, kissing her neck, "And you can finish being pissed at me later, but we both know this conversation isn't gonna going anywhere until this tension is gone, so let's get into bed, fuck like a couple of wild animals, and then finish up this argument."

Now there was a plan Banshee could get behind.

* * *

The first scent that struck Hidan's nose when he awoke was that of blood. That was a smell that always excited Hidan, although on that night, his joy was a bit dampened by the realization that he was currently strapped down to an operating table in the middle of some sort of laboratory. He couldn't see much around him, thanks to his head being strapped down as well, but Hidan was fairly certain there was someone looming just behind him. Those suspicions were confirmed when a figure emerged from the shadows around him and into the light given off by the lamp hanging above the table. It was a gray haired man with a syringe in hand that was filled with blood, grinning like a cheshire cat, "Good evening, my resilient friend. My name is Brother Blood, and you and I are going to have a lot of fun tonight. I've gotten all the samples I need from you, and now, I can begin the more...interesting part of our night. It's a good thing you enjoy pain, because you're about to experience plenty of it."

"Hey, the only one who gets to make me feel the wondrous release of pain is me," Hidan snapped, trying to struggle out of his restraints, "Holy fuck, these things are strong!"

Brother Blood chuckled, setting the syringe down on a table beside him, "They'd better be. They're designed to hold people with superhuman levels of strength. I must say, Hidan, I'm glad I didn't remove that little tag on your body that lets us communicate. You're protests are a joy to listen to."

"What in the fuck do you think you're gonna get from torturing me?" Hidan asked, watching as his captor picked up what appeared to be a scalpel from a nearby tray, "Do anything you want, I'm not gonna tell you shit!"

He really was a naive one, "If what I wanted was information, I'd simply take control of your feeble little find and rip the answer out. No, what I want from you is data on your 'condition.' I'd heard tales of people like you when I lived in Zandia. They were whispers mostly, but every now and again in my occult research, I'd find stories about the Jashin worshiping cult you belonged to. You people have found one of the few confirmed paths to immortality, something I was desperate to achieve, but it came at a hefty cost. One would have to surrender their soul to this supposed god, and after all the vile things I'd done to make mine stronger, well, that wasn't really an option for me. Once I heard a live worshiper may have been sighted near so close to my home, I knew I'd been given another chance to discover the secrets of your cult, and I wasn't going to pass that up. Hidan, you're about to be ripped apart in the name of science. Don't worry though. You can't die, so no matter much I put you through, you'll be just fine. Now then, let's see what make a Jashinist tick."

Brother Blood made his first slice down Hidan's abdomen, thus beginning a long night of experimentation that would've made Josef Mengele proud. Many dark secrets laid within the Akatsuki member's body, and Blood intended to find each and every one of them. It was time to get to work…

* * *

Coffee houses had never been Rick Flag's favorite place to meet his contacts. It was far too much in the public eye for his taste, but on for situations like his, they were what worked best. His face was recognizable, well known by both his enemies and civilians. Trying to meet privately with an undercover was virtually impossible since there were virtually always people watching him, meaning that trying to bring in anyone to a place where they could be properly alone would draw far too much attention. For now, this was what would work best, and that was something Rick had to remind himself when a young man slid across from him in the old fashioned booth in which he sat with his mug of coffee, "You're late. You work for the US government now; you need to keep a tight schedule."

"Sorry, I got caught up doing some work for Brother Blood," The youth replied, adjusting the baggy hooding he was wearing, "I can mentioned him, right? No one's listening in on this conversation or anything?"

Flag shook his head and took a sip of his coffee, scanning the streetlight lit sidewalk outside the coffee house one last time, "Nah, my guys did a low key bug sweep before we got here. We're clear. So, what've ya got for me?"

"A lot, actually," The young man replied, pulling out a filing from the bag slung over his shoulder and setting it on the table, "Brother Blood's been busy. He's expanding the teaching staff at H.I.V.E to a massive extent. James Jesse, AKA The Trickster, was broken out of a central city jail just so Blood could hire him as the new gadgets professor, and they've gotten Harley Quinn on board to teach psychology and acrobatics too. Him expanding the school isn't all that out of the ordinary, even if he is going bigger than usual. What's got me worried was his kidnapping of an Akatsuki member by the name of Hidan. You know who the Akatsuki are, right Colonel?"

"It's General, and yes, I've got a few files on them," Flag corrected him before flipping through some of the file, "I might call up the Batman and see if he can give me a little more on them though. You think he's trying to expand his research into eternal life again?"

There was no 'think' about it, the young man knew, "Oh yeah, he's trying alright. Honestly, he's doing what he's always done; try to improve his power and his status. Blood doesn't give shit about money, he just wants to make H.I.V.E. even bigger and prove he's better than anyone else out there. The more influence he has, the happier he is."

Rick couldn't have put it better himself, "This is great work, Tim, really great work. You've managed to get close to Brother Blood as Red X, and that couldn't have been easy. Keep this up, and we'll be able to take him out and shut H.I.V.E. down for good. Here's what I was able to dig up on your mother for you. I hope it helps you find what you've been looking for."

"Thanks, Rick, this means a lot to me," Tim replied, taking the file he was handed and placing where previous one had been in his bag, "When you call Bruce, you're not gonna tell him I'm working for you, right? I love him, and I'm gonna come back one day, but right now I just wanna find out who my mother was and who I am."

"I'd never blab on ya," Rick assured him, "You're one of my men now, and I always take care of my men. Waller wasn't able to find a ton on your mom before she passed on, but she was definitely from the Great Ninja Nations. It helps explain those powers you've had manifesting lately, at least to a degree. I'd recommend seeing if you find some from around there to help train you. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to make those crystals without the help of that suit one day?"

Tim shrugged, standing up from the booth and grabbing his bag, "I don't know, maybe. First thing's first though; I wanna know who my mother really was and what she was doing in Gotham. I can figure out what my bloodline means after that. Before I go, I've got two quick questions."

"Shoot."

The first was the more odd of the two, "Is it true you might be running for President pretty soon? I mean, you're a general, not a politician, so I figured it was just a rumor until I saw it made it past the tabloids and to the actual news."

Rick had to explain a little bit for that one, "I wasn't planning on running, and the whole thing started out as a stupid joke, but now I'm kinda considering it. Waller was gonna run before she died to try push forward her plan to join the Great Ninja Nations with the rest of the world, and she wanted me to be her Vice President. The whole thing was supposed to be over when she died, but I guess they'd already tested to see how I'd poll, and I had even better numbers than Waller did. Even after that, I was skeptical, but then I found out Luthor is probably gonna be the Republican nominee and...I just can't let America fall into his hands."

"Hey, I'd vote for ya," Tim admitted, "You know foreign policy, you've got tons of military experience, you know how bad the environments getting since you're around all those government researchers, and you've got Waller's old files, so you know who can trust and who you can't in Washington. Plus, anyone's better than that pyschopath, Luthor. I still can't believe we haven't found something to end his ass yet."

"Trust me, it isn't for lack of trying," Rick grumbled, "What was your second question?"

This was the one that had Tim a little more nervous, "Oh...well, I guess I just wanna know why you're doing all this. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the hell out of it, but at the end of day, you're a general in the military. There's gotta be people you could pawn this off too."

Rick smiled at the question, taking a small sip of his coffee. He leaned back in his booth and said, "Because you were one of Waller's last big projects before she died. She knew you had a lot of potential, and didn't wanna see you waste it. This was the one thing she wanted that I know I can do something about, and I'm gonna make sure it gets done right. This is my last thank you to her for everything she helped me become. Now, you've got both questions answered, so get the hell out of here before someone decides this whole thing looks suspicious...and keep up the good work. You're doing important stuff, Tim. Don't ever forget that."

* * *

"You guys are gonna have real pretty nails when I'm all done," Duela said with a giggle, running her brush along one of her hyena's toe nails, "Pink looks really good on you two. I should get you guys some matching bows."

Jason raised an eyebrow as he sat at the kitchen table and watched his little sister paint the nails of Harley's prized pets, Chuckles and Shenanigans. He could hardly believe the vicious beasts were sitting so patiently for Duela, "Um, you do know both of them are boys, right?"

Finishing with the final toenail, Duela jumped up from floor and gave both hyenas a small kiss on the head before walking over to her brother, "I know, but it makes them look so pretty. They don't mind, do you guys?"

"I'm not sure that they," Jason began, but was interrupted by Chuckles and Shenanigans yipping as a sort of confirmation. He couldn't help but be a little impressed, "I'll be damned. The only other people I've seen them be this nice for is me, Harley, and Ivy."

"They're nice to Uncle Harvey sometimes," Duela replied in reference to Two-Face. Jason didn't get much time to think about that much before his little sister held a bottle of fingernail polish up to his face, "Can I paint your nails now? I wanna do em' in red, so that it'll match the hood thingy you wear."

Jason wasn't so sure that was a good idea, "Um, I don't I know. Painting my nails isn't really…"

"Pleaseeeee," Duela begged with a set of puppy dog eyes that could've melted Batman's heart, "I promise I'll do a super good job!"

At that point, Jason didn't really have much of a choice, "Fine...but Rose is never gonna let me live it down."

Duela squealed with joy, pulling up a chair next to Jason and getting straight to work, making small talk as she unscrewed the cap on the nail polish, "Rose is your girlfriend, right?"

"Kind of," Jason said, his voice sounding unconvincing even to him, "It's hard to explain; probably not the kinda thing you'd understand...or be interested in for that matter."

"Nu-uh," Duela shook her head, "You're my big bro! I wanna know everything about you!"

Looking down at his sister's giant, innocent little eyes, it was amazing for Jason to see the sincerity in them. She barely even knew him, and yet, Duela looked up to him so much. It was a bit intimidating honestly. If it wasn't for that damn green hair, it'd be impossible for Jason to believe this was the Joker's child. His resentment towards her was slowly being replaced with affection, and though he didn't know it yet, he'd soon be wrapped around Duela's little fingers, "You wanna know everything, huh? Okay, you asked for it. You see, there are these three girls…"

* * *

Disposing of bodies had become a surprisingly difficult process for Abaddon. So many of them had been piling up recently that getting rid of all of them was virtually impossible. At least his war with Thorne's old men was virtually over now, with anyone who'd survived being assimilated into Abbadon's crew. Abaddon had visited the final remaining safehouse of his foes, slaughtering anyone who refused to work for him. That left dozens of corpses for the villain to deal with though, and according to pretty much everyone who worked for him, throwing all of those bodies in the river would attract more attention than he probably wanted to deal with at the moment. Now none of them were sure what to do, so the entire group sat in their lair, trying to figure out how to handle the dumpster of dead bodies they had lying out back. Of Abaddon's three underlings Tommy was the first to suggest anything, "What if we just poured some gasoline in the dumpster and burned up the bodies? That'd get rid of them real quick."

"Nah, that'd kick up one hell of a stink," Rocko, the second underling pointed out, "We'd have half the city callin' in to find out what the smell is. Maybe we could feed the stiffs to somethin'? I heard pigs will eat anything you put in front of them, even bones."

Abaddon was beginning to wonder how these two had made the cut for being his top underlings, "Even if we could get that many pigs here are take all these bodies to those pigs, there's no way they'd have enough time to get rid all the evidence without someone noticing. Don, you're the smartest guy I've got in a sea of idiots. Tell me you have something for me?"

The man he spoke to, Don, was indeed the most intelligent of the bunch, but he also seemed the most reluctant to speak. His eyes were planted firmly on the ground, with his mind apparently in some far off place. Abaddon was about to snap at him when Don final whispered out, "Boss, I've seen a lot a shit in Gotham, but back there, what you did to Thorne's man...that was just fucked up. I get being twisted, but for God's sake, even I've got my limits. That was something out of the Joker's playbook!"

"They were a threat that had to be dealt with," Abaddon replied, lighting himself a cigarette, "What did you expect me to do?"

"If it was just you dealing with em', then fine, I could live with that," Don fired back, "But you tormented them! You tore each guy apart limb by limb, you bled those poor bastards dry, and told anyone who wanted to join your crew that they had to fight for a spot or die tryin'! Some of those guys had to kill somebody who'd been watchin' their ass for years!"

Abaddon took a long puff from his cigarette, "...And?"

"And it's fucked up," Don screamed, jumping out of his chair, "How can you do even half of what I said without so much as flinching? You don't even get any joy out of it! For fuck's sake, why do you do it?"

In all fairness, that was a question everyone who'd met Abaddon had been wondering, but there was never anyone who'd dare ask him. The head of the gang took another drag and slowly exhaled, his gang waiting to see just upset Don had made him, "You're right; I don't get any joy out of it. What I do get though is peace and quiet. I get to go spend my nights enjoying every earthly pleasure there is with the knowledge that no one would be stupid enough to come into my place and fuck with me. Every criminal in this city should be justifiably terrified of me, because I'm not gonna take shit from anyone. The only life that means shit to me is mine, and I'm going to live like a king, I can promise you that. If you've got a problem with this setup, well...then you can go ahead and get the fuck out."

Upon finishing his final sentence, Abaddon extended his hand out towards Don. A single thorne about a foot long shot from the villain's hand and into his goon's throat. The thorne began to grow inside Don's body, with vines squirming under his skin and bursting out in a bloody mess. Rocko and Tommy backed away as fast as they could as Don tried to scream in pain, though his now punctured lungs prevented him from doing so. He wasn't standing much longer, hitting the ground as soon as vines stopped moving. Abaddon could see the fear in his men's eyes, and it was time to capitalize on it, "Tommy, Rocko, if you idiots don't find a way to get rid of those bodies we've got out back, your situation is gonna be even worse. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear, boss! We'll get right on it," Rocko babbled, "You go and rest up, we'll take care of things out here!"

Abaddon turned and walked towards the main bedroom, putting out his cigarette on the table before he stood up, "See to it that you do. Clean up the blood if you can. If not, call some professionals to do it. Goodnight."

The men called out something to Abaddon as he vanished into the bedroom, not that he was listening. He closed the door behind once he was inside, glancing around at the luxury he'd claimed for his own as he turned the lock and heard it click. A beautiful king sized bed sat in middle of the room, with scarlet sheets fit for royalty and an oak bed frame. Antique furniture lined the room as well, most of which shelved bottles of high end liquor. Abaddon walked over to his dessert on the left size of the room and popped the cork off a bottle of wine, taking a sweet swig once it was ready. It was ironic that he even had a dresser, considering all the crime lord ever wore anymore was a leather jacket and some jeans. Slipping off said jacket, Abaddon turned his attention to a potted plant that sat next to him on the dresser. It wasn't much to look at, barely even worth calling a tree, but Abaddon wasn't keeping it around for looks. Reaching down with his free hand, the villain touched the small plant, not jumping in the slightest when it's branches began to move and slither around his fingers, "Alright, I've got a big enough crew and their loyalty. Now what?"

"_Now you crush all those who stand in your way. There can't be anyone to stop us this time… we must leave no one alive."_

Not a problem for Abaddon, "I wouldn't dream of it."


	59. Deal With the Devil Pt 1

Here we are yet again folks, with another chapter of the Red Fox ready to go. **NOTE:** I was able to post in only a week this time because my exam schedule is finished, so I've had more time to work. I can't promise for how this'll last, but it won't be more than a few weeks. That is all. **:NOTE END**. Now, there was a fairly big reveal last chapter, and the set up for some larger things that we'll see beginning here in this chapter. Last chapter was light on the Naruto, but never fear, it's only because I need to set up for a major battle he's going to have next chapter. This chapter will feature more of his brides, while wrapping up/introducing some other aspects. Lot's of stuff going on with subplots, I know, but I'm reigning it all in for something larger. I don't wanna spoil anything, but after a brief meeting with the Justice League, we're in for an interesting chapter! Thank you for reading and please review!

Chapter Soundtrack: The Runaways-Cherry Bomb

* * *

"Barry, you know that everyone here trusts you," Diana told him as she sat in assembly hall of the Watchtower with the rest of the chore Justice League members, "And we all know you're one smartest people here too, but right now, you're not making any sense. If what you're saying is true, and a portion of this villain really did get sent back to our time, then how hasn't it had a major effect on the timeline of the future yet?"

All the other members, who were mostly rookies in terms of the rules of time travel, nodded in agreement. Barry should've known explaining this wasn't going to be easy, "You're think of time like it's simple cause and effect, but there's more to it than that. Time is more like this gelatinous, messy, ball looking… thing. Look, all you need to understand is that the initial effect of this Abaddon guy doing something like this would be small, and Thawne just noticing it now would make sense. Besides that, I had Cyborg check out the footage he gave me, and it all checked out as completely legit. I really don't think Thawne is lying to us."

Bruce had already begun pondering what the implications of this would be for the League moving forward, "If you're right, then we've got a monster somewhere in the world just waiting to rise up destroy everything we care about. Did Thawne give you any hints as to where this guy might be hiding?"

"Afraid not," Barry replied, trying to recall every word of the conversation, "He said most of the records on Abaddon were destroyed, so we have no way of knowing what his first move might be, assuming he hasn't already made it."

Now things were starting to take shape in Clark's mind, "In essence, what you're telling us is that we're about to face an enemy who was nearly powerful enough to take over the entire planet, only this time, he's going to have a future version of himself to guide him and make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes that got him defeated last time? Not only that, but we've got no idea what he'll do because there are no available records of him?"

"When you put it like that, it does sound pretty bad," The Flash admitted, "But, there are a few good things to mention. I got ahold of Thawne before the meeting began, and he said he's going to scour the timeline to try and get us some more information. If he can track down something useful, we might be able to find Abaddon and stop him before he becomes too strong."

Oliver felt a small bit relief knowing there was at least some kind of plan in place, but that didn't mean he was happy about the situation, "So you basically called us all in here to let us know there was one nasty son a of bitch out there that was gonna need to be dealt with pretty soon, so we all need to be on alert? That's really the only concrete thing you've got for us? Barry, I love you like a brother, but you go way too far in-depth for us sometimes."

That wasn't something Barry could really dispute, "Yeah, I guess I could've simplified things a little, but I was trying to make sure everyone knew exactly what was going on. Unless anybody else has something they wanna bring up, I guess that's end of the meeting...oh, and congrats to Ollie and Dinah! Really happy to hear you guys have got your first baby on the way!"

"Aw, thanks Barry," Dinah said, a smiling growing ever larger on her face as the rest of the group began to applaud and congratulate them as well, "You guys have no idea how happy we are! That only part that sucks is that I'll have to take a little time off right when it sounds like we're about to deal with something pretty nasty."

Bruce said what the rest of the group was already thinking, "Don't worry about us; we'll be fine. You make sure your baby's taken care of and leave us to handle Abaddon. You'll both be great parents, even if you don't know it yet. If everyone will excuse me, I've got to get back to Gotham. There's some kind of gang war breaking out, so Mei and I are going to talk strategy on how to deal with it. After all this business, it almost sounds nice dealing with something so small scale…"

* * *

Stepping back to admire her work, Catwoman had to say, she'd given Temari, Hinata, and Cassandra each a pretty badass looking new identity to go by. Taking in the sight of them from outside the gate of the Falcone mansion, she knew these were three women she'd be proud to work alongside, "I hate to brag, but I've really got you ladies looking great. To your credit, you three made it pretty easy for me. I can't wait for you guys show off what you can do."

"I must admit, these new costumes are quite nice," Cassandra said, looking down at her 'Black Bat' ensemble. It was similar to her Batgirl armor, only instead of yellow being spread throughout, it was almost entirely black, and a darker shade of the black at that. Even her Bat symbol was toned down to be a yellow outline of what it used to be. It hugged her form better than the previous suit had as well, due to the armor being made of a more flexible material. She liked the feel, the look, and just about everything else about it, "You know, I might have to keep this after our night out is over. The new name is nice too. Something about having a name that isn't passed down to me just feels kind of nice. Perhaps I'll ask Barbara if she'd be alright with that."

Temari was feeling rather fond of her outfit as well, "When you told me my costume was supposed to be based on my wind affinity and that I was gonna use sickles, I thought for sure it was gonna look fucking awful, but this thing is amazing! Plus, the name 'Kazekama' sounds way more badass than it should! I freaking love this alter ego!"

The Kazekama costume was largely white, with the cape, gauntlets, boots, belt, and hood, which was similar in style to Raven's, all being said color. Temari wore the hood to cover her face, forcing her to keep her hair down and wear a white mask just to be certain no one would recognize her. Everything else was a typical set black of Waynetech body armor, though there was less padding so that Temari would still be able to have full range of motion. Aside from the few standard tools of these costumes, such as smoke pellets or metal projectiles, Temari only had a pair of sickles that she could cannell her wind chakra into for weapons, which Selina was able to make because Mei helped her borrow some chakra metal from the Hidden Mist Armory. There was also a seal with a fan in it hidden away in the interior of her cape, but that was only for emergencies when she absolutely had go full strength to survive. With a costume that was functional and gorgeous to look at, Temari couldn't find a single thing to complain about.

"As awesome as you both look, my costume has gotta be my favorite," Hinata told them, holding up her new clawed fingers, "These beauties right here are the best part! The Lioness is ready to rip some people to shreds!"

Catwoman was glad to see Hinata was getting so into her character. She'd picked the 'Lioness' title for the Hyuuga after she revealed that her gentle palm style had many techniques named after the animal and that she'd need complete flexibility for her fighting style to work. In order to make this possible, Selina modeled the costume largely after her own, giving Hinata a skin tight bodysuit made with material that would least restrict her movement while also giving her a decent amount of protection. Of course no felina themed costume would be complete without a mask to cover her face and hair, not to mention the trademark cat ears. The lenses in the Lioness mask were slightly darker than the ones Catwoman used in her own, and this was in order to hide Hinata's eyes, which would give away her identity near instantly. Finally, the suit itself was a shade of dark blue, Hinata's favorite color. Selina loved the way it turned out, along with the other two costumes.

Now there was only one thing left to do, "Alright ladies, get in close and strike pose for me. I wanna take a picture of you guys."

"What kinda pose?" Asked Temari.

"Something sexy," Catwoman answered, getting out her phone, "Your fiance's had the whole Suicide Squad teasing me during our mission because he found a stupid sex doll of me when he was infiltrating a villain's house. This is gonna be my payback. The three of you looking this good while he's too far away to do anything about it sounds pretty perfect to me!"

There was no denying how much fun that sounded like. All three of them bunched up together and struck the sexiest pose they could think of, mostly emphasizing their form fitting costumes. Selina snapped the picture and giggled, sending it right off to Naruto, "That oughta make him think twice before teasing me again. Nicely done ladies, now let's get a move on. We don't wanna spend any longer in Falcone's place than we absolutely have to."

Jumping over the large metal gate, Catwoman started to make her way towards the mansion, the others soon following behind her. Cassandra was only who felt the need to ask once they caught up, "Selina, why exactly are we infiltrating this estate? Is it just for fun, or is there a larger purpose behind this?"

"It's a little bit for fun, since it's been way too long since I've had to the chance to break into somewhere that's actually a challenge," Catwoman admitted, being sure to add, "But we're gonna get some information for Bruce too, to help with the whole gang war situation. Although if you ask me, it's sounds less like a war and more like a mass slaughtering. Whoever this new guy in town is, he's pretty nasty. Forget about all the business stuff though. This is gonna be our girls night out, so let's have some fun! Come on ladies, we're gonna go kick some ass!"

* * *

Naruto liked to think he was a fairly calm and rational person. That's not to say he didn't get upset from time to time, but he tried to make sure he was never unreasonable about it. The picture that Catwoman had just sent him was testing the hell out of that mindset, "Oh come on, that's just fucking cruel!"

Since she was sitting next to him on the couch in the Titan Tower living room, Stephanie was easily able to lean over and get a look at the picture he'd pulled up, "Damn, I'm not playing for the other team or anything, but those girls are looking good!"

"I know, and they're gonna give me fucking blue balls," Naruto grumbled, sliding his phone back into his pocket, "Why'd Catwoman have to send me that? She's making me miss Temari, Hinata, and Cassandra even more than I already did."

Stephanie was having a hard time feeling bad for him, "Hey, at least you know you'll get to see him again. I don't where Tim is or if he's already moved on and started seeing somebody else. First my dad, then Tim, and next some other assholes gonna hurt me. I don't know why the fuck I bother sometimes."

"Come on, life's not that bad," Naruto said, putting her arm around Stephanie to try and comfort her, "Tim's gonna come back one day, I know that much, and until he does, you've got a whole family here to take care of you. I promise, it'll be alright. Even if I've mostly got my shit worked out now, I'm gonna stay here with you until you're ready to go back to Gotham, okay?"

Leaning into Naruto's chest, Stephanie gave a small sigh. He got on her nerves a lot of the time, but still, how much the Uzumaki cared genuinely cared about people never ceased to amaze her. Stephanie almost thought of him like an older brother, "Thanks, Naruto, you're being really awesome about this whole thing...even if you are bit of dipshit."

Naruto would've been upset, but honestly, it wouldn't have felt like the real Stephanie without the insult. Their little moment was interrupted when Dick came bursting in wearing all of his Nightwing gear, "There you guys are. You need to get suited up, now! We've got a situation downtown."

"What kind of situation?" Naruto asked, jumping up off the couch with Stephanie.

"A man matching Hidan's description is on a full blown rampage," Dick explained, surprising both the young heroes, "He's slaughtering people left and right! We need to get find him and put a stop to it as soon as possible!"

That statement felt like a given, but it didn't answer the larger question Stephanie was about to ask, "Didn't we just see Hidan get captured last night? How can he already be free, and why is he tearing up Jump City? This doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

Dick wasn't arguing that it did, "We can figure out why Hidan's doing all this after we stop him. For now, get ready to go and then meet the rest of the team in the hanger. Hope you guys are up for a busy night, cause we're not heading home until we know what's going on and put an end to it! Titans, let's move out!"

* * *

Gotham was already a fairly busy city on any give day, but around the holidays, things got downright insane. Everyone was out and about, doing some last minute shopping or visiting family, and it made the whole city feel like it was in utter chaos. Lucky for Damian, he was taking his jog on the outer edge of the downtown area, meaning there weren't quite as many people in his way. His hoodie was bouncing on his head as his boot clad feet sloshed through the snow, which was a pain, but at least he was warm enough. He looked over at the hustle and bustle of downtown from the sidewalk, careful not to be too close to road so he wouldn't get splashback from passing cars. It was a pleasant enough bit of exercise that got all the more interesting when Damian noticed someone just ahead of him holding a pet carrier that was covered by a blanket. Smirking, Damian sped up a bit, running until he reached the women dark haired women, "Aunt Nyssa, it's excellent to see you again. I'm glad you got my message regarding where to meet me."

"Yes, but I never figured you'd actually convince the Detective to let you out with no supervision," Nyssa replied, turning to face her nephew, "How'd you manage that?"

Damian motioned down to his ankle, on which there was currently a beeping bracelet, "It's only because I agreed to wear this. If I leave the approved area or try to take it off, he'll have people on me faster than I can blink. So, what's the status of my mission? What does mother want my next move to be?"

While her nephew peaked under the blanket and looked into the pet carrier with a grin, Nyssa struggled to find an answer, "I don't know if it's appropriate discuss it just yet. She and I are still talking it over, and I don't want to alarm you."

"Why would it alarm me?"

Nyssa's eyes turned to the sidewalk, "There's a possibility this mission could force you to violate one of the tenets of assassination."

"What? Which one?" Damian asked with a gasp, "It's not like assassins have many rules as it is. How extreme does Mother want to go to drive Father into the darkness?"

This wasn't the time to tell him that, "Forget it. Talia's thinking drastically right now; I'm sure I can talk her out of it. Here, take your little friend get back to the Wayne's. We don't want you rouseying any suspicion. I'll tell your mother things are going well."

Nyssa handed him the cage and walked off before Damian could so much as say goodbye. What in the hell was he supposed to say after a revelation like that?

* * *

"Okay, Kazekama, you're up first," Catwoman said, pointing to a large window on the side of Falcone's mansion, "You'll need to use your wind to slice off that metal lock in the center, then the rest of us can either grapple or climb up there."

Taking out her sickle, Kazekama channeled some of her chakra into the weapon and took a small swing, just big enough to create a gust that could remove the lock. She didn't wanna go much stronger than that, or there was a chance she'd alert someone inside. Kazekama's wind sliced through the lock as if it wasn't eventhere, allowing the window to pop right open. Catwoman wasted no time in scaling the wall until she reached the window, calling to the rest of the team once she done, "Nice job getting us in, Kazekama. No guards in this entrance too, excellent. Come on, ladies, we're burning moonlight!"

Catwoman slinked into the mansion with the other's soon chasing after her, Lioness muttering as she did, "I understand that we're in a hurry, but I'm not sure if we need to rush through it this quickly."

"It would be nice if we could slow down and enjoy the experience," Black Bat agreed. The group had just cleared the window and landed in the mansion, which looked like a smaller, tackier version of Wayne Manor, and Cassandra didn't know whether to be impressed or disgusted, "My god, this place is hideous. It's like he's trying to look rich. Did Falcone just pick anything that he thought would make him look rich and slap it in this place?"

"Knowing him, that's a distinct possibility," Catwoman said, observing the bizarrely shaped vases and gaudy paintings that lined the tables and walls, "Falcone's always been good at making money, but not so good at figuring out what to do with it. This is the third time this year I've busted into this place, and he still hasn't gotten a security system that can't hack into in under a minute, and I'm not even a hacker."

Kazekama felt the need to remind her, "You're using one of those Wayne Tech hacking devices. Those things can hack into government level stuff, so I'm guessing a crime bosses security cameras aren't all that hard in comparison. Wait a minute, aren't you one of the good guys now? Why are still breaking into people's houses that often?"

"Because now I'm only stealing from the bad guys," Catwoman explained, her hands on her hips, "It's not like I'm trying to make a profit either. I don't really need money anymore, so I just give it away to whatever charity sounds good. You know me; I just like the thrill of sneaking my way to a priceless gem and getting the hell out before anyone's the wiser. Enough about me though. Lioness, would you be so kind as to scope the place out for us? There must be at least a few guards around here."

This was the perfect job for Hinata, thanks of course to her Byakugan allowing her to see through walls and just about anything else she wanted to. She activated her bloodline, attempting to find every person in the house to make certain there were no surprises, "Let's see...nope, no one on the lower floors. No one upstairs either, and top floor's clear too. This is kinda strange, but it the only people here are on the ground floor, and all of them are bunched up in the same room in the west wing, except for a few they've got guarding the door. Are they having a meeting or something?"

Black Bat felt there was only one logical thing to do, "We should eavesdrop in on them. They're most likely discussing the gang war, and if that's the case, we need every detail we can possibly get."

"We'll, you're not wrong," Catwoman replied, tapping her foot, "I'm just not sure how we can listen in on a conversation with that many people in one room. I know that layout of this place pretty well, and there aren't many goods spot to hide in the west wing. Hm, how are we gonna do this?"

There seemed to be a pretty simple solution, as Temari soon pointed out, "You've still got your hacking device on you, so why not just give to Black Bat and let her bring up the security camera feed from that room? I'm not an expert on your guys' tech or anything, but I'm pretty sure I've seen you do that before."

Catwoman couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that herself. She took out her remote hacking device and handed right over to Cassandra, the most technologically inclined of the group, "Kazekama, you know more than you think you do. Black Bat, do your stuff."

"Certainly, this will only take a moment," Cassandra assured them, adjusting the various settings of the hacking device until a small hologram appeared with the footage from the mansion security cameras. She cycled through them until she found the room Falcone was in, "It would seem we've found our target. The audio should be coming through in just a moment."

It would she was correct, as muffled voice soon sounded off from the device. This one seemed to be Falcone, right in the middle of some sort of explanation, _"So long story short, we've gotta take out this fucker before he gets the chance to take out us. We're gonna go into his place, guns blazing, and kill anything that moves. I want every man and every decent weapon we got ready to move by tomorrow night. Were not taking any chances. This bastard needs to die!"_

A young woman stepped forward to speak, having to push her way past several men to do so, _"Dad, this guy's probably got a whole army behind him by now. Even if you can get in there, you'll probably lose most of your guys doing it, and then you'll get ripped to pieces by the new badass in town. This seems like a really shitty idea."_

"You know, Catwoman, that girl looks a lot like you," Lioness observed, "Seriously, I'd almost swear that was a picture of you for when you were my age. It's really freaky."

Selina wasn't paying much attention to anything other than the video, "What? Yeah, we look alike, that's neat. I'm begging you, just be quiet and watch the hologram?"

_"Kitrina, if I wanted your advice on this, I would've asked,"_ Carmine scolded his daughter, _"Why can't you go wait in your room with Bella or something? I don't have time for you to pretend you can play with the big boys right now."_

The girl, Kitrina, snapped back at her father, _"Wait with Bella? Please, that slut left hours ago! Probably smart of her too, since you're gonna get this whole family killed!"_

Carmine turned and slapped his daughter in the face, making everyone watching on hologram jump. Temari said what was on everyone's mind, "That guy's a real asshole. Oh god, what's he doing now?"

_"Get her the hell out of here,"_ Falcone said, motioning for his men to dismiss her, _"No daughter a' mine's gonna talk to me like that."_

Two men grabbed Kitrina and carried her out of the room kicking and screaming, despite the fact that she was possibly the most rational person in the room. Catwoman had seen all she needed to, "Shut the screen down. We need to save her before it's too late."

Black Bat had no clue how she came to that conclusion, "Save her? First of all, how are we going to do that? Second, why would we do that? Lastly, what would do with her even managed to save her? Have you thought about any of those things?"

"I have, but there's one thing that overrides all of them," Catwoman responded, "Carmine Falcone is my father, so Kitrina is my sister."

All three of the young heroines stared in disbelief. Lioness, who'd previously pointed out how similar Selina and Kitrina looked, gave a deep sigh, "Lovely, things just got more complicated. Alright, let's go get her and then get the hell out of here. Batman's really not gonna be happy about this."

Catwoman didn't need to be remind of that, "He'll probably chew my ass out later, but he'll calm down once he gets the full story. Now, we need to do less chatting and more moving! We're probably gonna attract a lot of guards, so get ready for a brawl! Let's go show these assholes what badass bitches like us can really do!"

* * *

Speaking of badass bitches, Silver Banshee was currently putting her clothes back on as she listened to Zabuza explain just about every last detail of his life. After all the shit they'd gone through, Banshee felt she was more than entitled to know whatever she wanted. It was a lengthy story, but one that was starting to make some sense to her, "Okay, so after you rejoined with your old village, you came to Gotham and met up with your long lost dad, who you ended up reconciling with. After that, you just kept working with the Great Ninja Nation's people and the heroes around here? All that, plus all the stuff from your childhood, and you've got an adopted son...that's everything?"

"Since you already know about the stuff with the Suicide Squad, yeah, that's everything...other than the pet chakra ferret ," Zabuza replied, making Banshee's eyes go wide as he slipping his pants back on, "Relax, that last one was a joke. So what do you think? A couple hours of angry sex is nice and all, but I was kinda hoping we could start a real relationship without all the cloak and dagger bullshit. Is that something you'd want? Do you think we could try out a clean slate?"

Considering that Banshee didn't go through all that effort just for one afternoon of pleasure, it was no surprise she had a similar line of thought, "I'd be willing to work things out, yeah. I'm expecting you take me out on some real dates though, and to make up for all the fucking lying you did when we first met. Sure, you had to do it, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna be a little pissed about it."

Zabuza was in no position to argue, "That works for me. I'm gonna go call my son and tell him things have calmed down here. Oh, and by the way, he's dating the guy he was with. They're both pretty easy to spook, so don't make a big deal out of it. Be right back."

"Yup, I'll be in here," Banshee called, taking a glance back when he walked away, "I'm dating a hero who's got an adopted gay son...what the fuck is happening to me?"

* * *

"Bruce, you need to get in here...NOW," Mei command from within the dinning room, "You son's brought home a stray!"

From his arm chair in the living room, Bruce had to suppress the urge to grumble, since Jikusume was sleeping in his arms. He stood up, careful not to shake his daughter too much, and began to make his way to the dining room, uncertain of what this 'stray' might be. If it was a simple cat or dog, things would probably just fine. Knowing Damian though, it wouldn't be that easy. Bruce's worries proved justified when he entered the dinning room and saw the creature standing on table, but, to his credit, he tried to remain calm about it, "I've got so many questions...the first of which has to be...what in God's name is that thing?'"

Damian was currently petting said creature, which was a red furred, four legged, slightly chubby mammal with a face that locked like a cross between a pug and a bat, with the ears to match. It was about the size of a house cat, and had a small pair of wings on it's back. Its front legs were just a touch smaller than Its back legs, suggesting it could stand on two legs and grab things with his tiny claws. Lastly was it's little tail and large, yellow eyes, which Bruce first got a look at when the creature picked it's head up from the plate of bacon it was eating to see who'd spoken. Whatever it was, it licked some grease of its lips and gave the couple what almost looked like a smile, "Ree?"

"Father, Mei, I'd like you to meet Goliath," Damian, allowing the creature to return to its meal, "He followed me home after I went on a run today. He seems friendly, so I think I'll keep him."

"Damian, I hate to break this to you, but I don't think this thing is native to Gotham," Mei deadpanned, looking more closely at Goliath, "I'm still not sure what he is. Is he safe to keep around the house? He looks like he might eat Ace for crying out loud!"

Frowning, Damian leaned down and picked up Ace, who Bruce and Mei only just now noticed was standing right next to the boy, and set him on the table. The puppy ran right over to Goliath at started to playfully nip at him. Goliath squeaked started to nip back, instigating a wrestling match between the two of them. Damian smirked as he watched the piles of fur roll around the table, "Oh yeah, Goliath is looking real threatening alright."

Bruce had already grown tired of playing this game, "Can we please skip all the jokes and get to the part where you tell us where you actually got Goliath from? If you don't, you can kiss him goodbye."

"Fine, if that's how you wanna be about it," Damian huffed, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I got him after a I went through trial for the League of Assassins. There was a cave I had to survive, and, to make a long story short, I'm fairly certain I took out Goliath's parents. For whatever reason, he connected with me when we first met, and after what happened, I felt responsible for him. Now he's my friend, and I travel everywhere with him. I was finally able to smuggle him into Gotham, and I'd like you to allow him to stay here so that I can keep watching over him."

Oddly enough, that was pretty plausible story as far as Bruce was concerned. He thought a moment, then turned to his wife, "What do you think? He seems mostly harmless, and it could be nice for Ace to have a playmate."

Mei could see Damian really cared about Goliath, which made the call more difficult, "Well… I guess it'd be cruel to separate a boy from his pet. No to mention I have no idea what we'd do with Goliath if we did send him away. Alright, Damian, you can keep him, but you're responsible for taking care of him. Alfred's an animal lover, so you can probably talk him into helping you out sometimes, but most of the burden should fall on you, okay?"

"Sounds reasonable," Damian replied, secretly screaming with joy on the inside, "You hear that, Goliath? You get to stay!"

The wrestling match between Ace and Goliath ended when the latter heard that, as the little creature stood on it's hind legs and chirped with glee. It seemed the little guy could understand human speech, at least to a degree. To show his appreciation, Goliath leaped from table and towards Mei, who was still holding John in her arms. At first she recoiled, but quickly relaxed when Damian's pet licked the tip of her nose. Mei giggled at the sensation, then watched as Goliath began to cuddle with John. A few moments later, Goliath leapt over to Bruce and gave him and Jikusume the same treatment. Once he finished, he jumped to the table and then into Damian's arms, snuggling into his master's chest. Comforted by the gesture, Mei decided to head back to the living room, with Bruce soon following after her. Not before telling Damian though, "It's not much, but hopefully having Goliath here makes you feel a little more at home. We want you to be happy here, son, whether or not you believe it. Just keep him out of sight when guests who might not be too warm to him are around. I'll be in the living room if you need anything."

Damian kept an eye on his father as he left, whispering to his companion once he was gone, "I don't know if I can do it, Goliath, I really don't. Everyone I've met here seems like a good person. They're foolish, yes, but if more people in the world were like them, I honestly believe things would be a better place These aren't the kind of people Grandfather said we needed to purge the world of. Mother said that I need to get Father to join our cause, but her plan...I fear she's going to ask me to go too far."

"Ree," Chirped Goliath, grinning up at his master. Damian had no idea what his precious pet was trying to say, but with a voice like that, it was impossible not find some comfort in it.

* * *

As he layed on his bed with, staring up at the ceiling, Abaddon confirmed to himself that he'd started to grow tired of his surroundings. It wasn't the location itself that had lost its punch to him, but more the accommodations it held. His liquor was running out, he was getting tired of the same old food, and there weren't enough girls to keep him satisfied, since too many of them had to go out and make money to keep the whole situation afloat. Abaddon groaned at those thoughts, throwing an empty bottle of whiskey against the wall and shattering it, "This fucking ridiculous! I'm strong enough to take all the booze and pussy I want, so why the fuck is everyone telling me to lay low? You know what? I don't give a shit anymore! Let a bunch of assholes come after me! It's worth it to get the chance for some real fun!"

Abaddon jumped up from his bed and bolted for his bedroom door, ripping it open with the intent of finding a little release in the outside world. As it turned out, the release was going to find him, in the form a women he'd never met before, "What the hell? Who're you? How the fuck did you get passed my guards?"

"The name's Bella, sweetheart, Bella Falcone," The young women replied, holding up two bottles of wine, "I talked to your boys, and they seemed to agree that I had a proposition you might be interested in."

Taking the two bottles from her, as well eyeing her beautiful face, Abaddon motioned for her to come in, "You're one of Falcone's kids, eh? What are you doing in my neck of the woods?"

Bella entered, placing her now free hands on the sides of her fur coat, "I told you, I've come here to make you an offer. You and my dad are about to go to war, and based on what you did to Thorne's crew, you don't give a shit about anybody being caught in the crossfire. I don't wanna be just another dead body in this whole thing, so I knew I needed to make my move."

"Smart girl," Abaddon commend her, pulling out the wine cork with his teeth, "So, what've ya got to offer me? You didn't come here empty handed, did ya?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Bella answer, dropping her fur coat on the floor to reveal her lingerie clad form underneath. It was the same set she'd worn for Naruto on the the night he was pretending to be 'Rusell', and she looked just as good in it now as she did then, "I'm giving you myself, both in body and in mind. My father's planning a surprise attack on you, and I'm more than willing to give you all the dirty details on that attack, along with the rest of his organization. Even better yet, I'll be your personal fuck toy whenever you want it, something plenty of men would kill for, and all you've got to do is take care of me. You're not gonna get a better deal than that, honey."

Abaddon licked his lips, starting to walk over to Bella with the bottle of wine in hand. He took a gulp of it for himself, then offered it to her. Bella smirked, grabbed the bottle, and took a drink almost as big as Abaddon had. She set the bottle down on dresser next to her as Abaddon began to snake his hands around her waist and down to her bottom, giving it a greddy squeeze, "You know the two easiest ways to get to my heart: booze and beautiful women."

"Does that mean we have a deal?" Bella asked, kissing Abaddon's neck, "You'll take care of me?"

A shiver ran down the girl's spin as he whispered into her ear, "You'll get what's coming to you. For now though, I'm just gonna fuck your brains out until I'm satisfied. Sound good to you?"

Bella answered by latching her mouth onto Abaddon's, the two wasting no time in making their way over to the bed while they groaped one another's bodies. With the kind of appetites those two had, the night had likely only just begun.


	60. A Deal With the Devil Pt 2

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season, whichever one you chose to celebrate! There won't be an entire chapter dedicated to Christmas like there was last year, but I will write a small Omake at the end of the chapter that you are of course free to skip, though I hope for those of you that do read it, it'll help you get in the holiday spirit. As for the rest this chapter, it'll mostly revolve around Naruto and the Titans taking on Hidan, albeit not in the form they were anticipating. Small sub plot bits will break up the action, but the fight is my main focus this week. Since it's the holiday season, I really want to say THANK YOU to everyone who's gotten me all the way to over 450 follows, 420 favorites, and nearly 400 reviews! I've got really amazing readers supporting this story, and I'm so grateful to you guys! Now then, thank you for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack: Jeff Russo-Fargo Season 1 Main Theme

* * *

Hidan's scythe had dripped with blood before, more times than he could count really. The frequency with which it was stained crimson was actually why he'd had it painted red to begin with. Now though, more blood was flowing over his blade than ever before, and ironical enough, he was too far enjoy his greatest mass murder yet.

Others however, were more than ludic enough to witness the horror of what Hidan was doing, and no one was more horrified than the recently landed Titans, along with the Red Fox and Spoiler. They'd flown in the T-jet to arrive at the town square as fast as possible, and when they got their first glimpse of Hidan slicing through the abdomen of a middle aged man only to then licked the blade clean, it took all their effort not to begin puking. The Red Fox didn't wanna believe what he watching in front of him, "Sweet Jesus, that's disgusting! Hidan wasn't all that pretty before, but now, he looks like something that crawled outta the afterlife...trust me, Raven and I would know."

"What we saw was purgatory; he looks like something that came straight from hell," Raven countered, her voice causing Hidan to turn so that they could all get a better look at him, "Good god…"

Hidan looked almost as though he'd had the life sucked out of him. There was little muscle on him, meaning some of bones were visible through his skin, which had turned pitch black. Small pieces of said skin was missing, exposing his bones along with the bits of muscle and tendons he still had left. His eyes were gone, leaving soulless casams behind, and his grey hair had become brittle. Despite the fact that his teeth seemed to be rotting, they still appeared sharper than they'd ever been. Finally there was his scythe, which looked fairly normal, except for the fact that it was connected to his body by a fleshy cord that reached back to his shoulder, where a pink mass of the same kind of flesh was protruding from his body. It was a ghastly sight to be sure, though perhaps not as ghastly as the scream Hidan released when he heard Raven's voice, "Screeeeeeee!"

"Rea, please tell me you've got some kind of clue what's going on with him," Beast Boy begged as the monster began to stagger towards them, "Also, please tell me you know a way to stop it before we have to fight the thing that's gonna be haunting my nightmares for the next fucking year!"

After another ear piercing screech, Hidan pulled his arm back and threw his scythe at the group of heroes, forcing them all to jump back as the blade landed and dug into the road beneath, cracking the black tar. Hidan grabbed his flesh while the scythe was still in the air, using its momentum to carry himself to the Titans. Once the gap was close, he pulled his weapon up out of the ground, preparing for yet another attack on his foes. Spoiler couldn't stop herself from being a little impressed, "Wow, nice move! Kinda makes me nervous for what we're gonna be in for though…"

The Red Fox didn't plan on waiting around to find out. He created four clones, two of which wielded kunia along with the real Naruto, while the other to created Rasengans. Once everyone was in position, he motioned for them to move out, with the three kunai wielders attacking head on while the others moved into flanking positions. They all struck at the same moment, making Hidan rotate his scythe to make sure the blades were deflected before they could hit. This left him wide open to the flank attacks though, with the two Rasengan wielding clones appearing, one each side of him, within seconds. A flash of light blinded the heroes when the attack went off, preventing them from seeing how much damage had been done. By the time it cleared, Nightwing could tell they were in for a rough fight, "And we thought he was nightmare inducing before…"

"Gahhhhh," Hidan screamed, more of his skin now peeled off thanks to the Red Fox's attack. Naruto began to back away as the missing skin on the Akatsuki member's shoulders began to release a pair of claw like appendages, each of which was a little longer than one of Hidan's arms. The man, and calling him that was rather gracious, said the first thing that sounded like a real word since he arrived, "Kill...Kill...Kill!"

Apparently Hidan's condition hadn't caused him to lose every piece of his personality...

* * *

Jason could see his suspicions about H.I.V.E. being confirmed every day that he stayed there, and he'd begun to fear for the well being of himself and his own family. His mother had been acting more normal with each time he saw her, and for Harley Quinn, acting normal was always a dead giveaway that something was off. It was like her personality had just vanished and she was just going through the motions. She was still perky, but more in a way like someone had turned a dial and set that to be her constant state. Nothing about it was natural in terms of what Jason had come to suspect from Harley. By no means was she the only teacher who acted like this either. Most of them, like the Trickster, seemed to have their typical personality still intact, but a select few, like The General, who taught military strategy, seemed to have the same hollow mannerisms that Harley did. These thoughts and many more pestered Jason's mind when he walked into his bedroom, mumbling to himself, "Honestly, this whole place feels like something out of a Stanley Kubrick movie sometimes. I need to find someone to-"

"Jason, it's about time you got here," Interrupted Ino, who the young man found sitting on his bed in between Rose and Argent, "Please, come in and sit down. We need to talk with you for a second."

The fact that the three of them were all sitting together was a good sign, but not a guarantee he wasn't about to be murder. He sat down on the foot of the bed, eyeing the ladies carefully, "Is this gonna be bad for me or good for me? I don't blame you guys if you just wanna say 'fuck it' and drop this whole thing, since it's been a real clusterfuck. It's not like I've been acting perfectly throughout this whole thing."

"Maybe not, but to be totally fair, all of us started out telling you we weren't looking for a real relationship," Rose admitted, "Still, after a long, loooong debate, we all made it pretty clear we're looking for one now."

Argent could tell Jason didn't know what to do with that information, "Basically, we all agreed that none of us really had dibs on ya yet, so we'd have to find some way to decide which one of us got to keep seeing you. Ino, being the sneaky little minx that she is, manage to use her freaky mind powers to let us see inside each other's head. All three of us really like you, and really wanna see where this thing goes. So, after a little more debate, we decide to have you answer a question to settle once and for all how this whole thing's gonna turn out."

Seeing as the question was going to be so important, Jason took a moment to clear his head to make certain he understood exactly what they were asking him, "Okay, go for it."

"Can you see yourself being in love with us down the road?" Rose asked, further explaining, "We're talking about: living together, getting married, having kids, the whole nine yards. Do you see that kind of future with one or even all of us?"

Jason's answer was quick and clear, "I could easily see myself being head over heels in love with all three of you, and starting a life together too. Honestly, it kinda scares me how much I like you guys."

Glancing at the other two girls, Ino smirked, "We had a feeling you might say that. Alright, then it's settled. You're gonna date all three of us!"

"Huh, well that seems like a pretty simple," Jason began before realizing what had just been said, "Wait, what? I'm gonna date all of you? Like, at the same time?"

"Yup, that's the plan," Rose half grumbled, looking a tad bit skeptical herself, "It's not exactly the best solution, but it was the only one that made everybody happy...ish. You're free to break up with one of us if things don't work out, and vise versa. We're gonna wing it from here and hope things magically work out I guess. Some of us are more optimistic about it than others."

Argent was about to give a snappy comeback when the Duela came bouncing into the room, latching herself right onto her brother's leg, "Hey Jason! I didn't know you were gonna have girls in your room! Which one of the pretty ladies is your girlfriend?"

There was no way in hell Jason was gonna try and explain something like this to Duela right now, "They kind of all are, and for now, that's all you need to know. Did you just come in here to visit, because now my not be the the best time?"

"No, I came in here to tell you that Mommy's acting really funny," Duela explained, immediately perking Jason's interest, "She's banging her head against walls and screaming and stuff. Can you come and make sure she's okay? I don't want Mommy to get hurt."

Everyone in the room was intrigued by a story like that. Jason picked up his sibling and made his way to his mother's room with Rose, Ino, and Argent following right behind him, all worried about what was going on. H.I.V.E. was looking more and more shady by the minute, and Jason wouldn't stop until he finally got some answers.

* * *

The heroes were running out of options for things to try against this new form of Hidan. None of the attacks that they'd used so far had done any substantial damage, and with a team like theirs, that was saying something. Cyborg had hit him like a freight train, both with his fists and his sonic cannon, but the Hidan absorbed every blow and came right back with a swing of his scythe. That scythe was stilling making the entire team nervous too, as they didn't yet know if it was still possible for the villain to use the blood he slashed from them to turn his body into some kind of crazy voodoo doll. It was a power the Titans only found out about after their first encounter with Hidan, when Naruto had Kurama fill him in on more aspects of the cult. None of that info had stopped Beast Boy from turning into animals like a cheetah to get up close and personal with their foe, mainly to try and tear him apart. Again, the tactic didn't work, as Hidan didn't seem too thrown by any bites or slashes on his skin. Spoiler had tried a simpler approach, tying him up with wire to restrict his movement and spraying him knockout gas, but, to no one's surprise, it didn't do much good, with her foe slicing the wire before it could fully wrap around him and the gas having no effect on him. Nightwing had been watching each move, strategizing what might be the key to defeating Hidan, but so far, he hadn't shown any weaknesses to exploit. All the the team leader could think of was to turn to the one member of the team who hadn't tried any major attack yet.

"Raven, you're up. Pretty much everyone here can hit harder than they have been, especially the Red Fox, but all of them would do massive damage to the city," Nightwing said, which wasn't an unreasonable line of thought, "See if you can contain him before we try anything too drastic."

If Raven was going to try and contain Hidan, everyone knew they'd better get the hell away from him. It wasn't that the attack she'd likely use would do massive damage to everything around it, it was more that they small area it would effect was damn sure not a place you wanted to be. Raven closed her eyes and focused on Hidan in her mind. A black aura surrounded her hands before she opened her eyes and called out, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Hidan instantly had the same black aura surrounding his whole body that Raven's hands did, along with a fairly wide circle of road underneath him. The pavement started to rip itself from the ground and fly towards Hidan like metal to a magnet. It encased him in a tomb that was roughly three inches thick, which pinned his arms to his abdomen and forced his legs together. Raven watched carefully once the process ended, praying that Hidan wouldn't escape, "Come on… stay in there you bastard."

"I know he can take a few hits and all, but there's no fucking away he's getting out of that," The Red Fox tried to assure her, only to see cracks forming on tomb seconds later, "Me and my big mouth."

The two claw like appendages broke free from Raven's grip, loosening the pavement around them and allowing the rest of Hidan to be liberated. Now free, the monster cried out once more before hurling his scythe at Spoiler. With the weapon flying towards her, the heroine did her best to jump out of the way. For the most part, Spoiler was successful, but the blade did manage to graze her cheek, leaving a small scratch behind. Hidan pulled his weapon back to him, gleeful to smell even the smallest drop of blood on it. He raised the scythe above his head and allowed Spoiler's blood to drip into his mouth. Everyone watched with hitched breaths to see what would happen next, as Hidan shuddered the moment the blood made contact with him. A fleshy sound soon assualt everyone's ears, cringing as the villain's body made small repairs to itself, such as a tiny portion of his torn of skin growing back and his color improving.

Cyborg had been scanning Hidan as he absorbed the blood, and his analysis brought up something that was similar to an ability he'd seen before, "This guy's taking in both the physical and spiritual energy of the blood and using it to repair his nasty ass cells, which look like they're enhancing his strength, but the metabolic rate is too fast to keep them stable for long. It's sorta like something a vampire would do, but it's more precise, and it doesn't look it's done by a typical parasite. My best guess is that someone experimented around with the freaky Jashin stuff and eventually managed to turn him into this. Why somebody do that, I'm sure I don't know…"

"Yeah, that's great and all, but that means he doesn't have any vampire weaknesses," Nightwing pointed out, "We're no closer to figuring out how we're gonna stop this wacko. I wanna tell the Red Fox to cut loose and kick the hell out of Hidan, but he'd probably do way too much damage to Jump City. Shit, what are we supposed to do?"

"Call for a little assistance would be my first suggestion," Came a feminine voice from a figure who'd soon land beside them.

It was a woman with green skin and short red hair, wearing a long-sleeved black suit with a red X, black shoes, and a blue cape. As a whole, the outfit was quite similar to Martian Manhunter's, which was rather fitting, considering the name Beast Boy was about to call out, "Miss Martian, ya made it! Woohoo, now we can get this thing started!"

Miss Martian, who'd known all of the Titans for quite some time, gave the team a brief wave, then got right down to business, "Based on what's going on here, I can see why you guys forgot I was coming to visit Beast Boy. Too bad Superboy's not with me; he'd come in pretty handy against whatever that thing is. Back ups here either way, and I won't waste time asking who this freak is. Just tell me what I can do to help, and we'll stop this whole ramage! Get ready to see how powerful we Martian's actually are!"

* * *

"I told you to put me down, you crazy bitch," Kitrina screamed at Catwoman, who currently had the younger women slung over her shoulder, "What in the hell are you trying to do?"

Running through the halls of Falcone's mansion, the feline anti-hero was currently trying to make it too a window with the rest of her team, though that likely wasn't the kind of answer Kitrina was looking for, "We're getting you out of here before you're father does something that gets you killed. Well, our father would be more accurate. I tried to explain to you back in your room that we're sisters, but after my team and I knocked out those guards, you wouldn't let us get a single word out."

"Can we maybe hold off on the explanation until we don't have a dozen angry men with guns chasing after us?" Kazekama asked, looking back right as the guards turned the corner, "I really don't feel like getting filled full of bullets tonight!"

Kitrina rolled her eyes, "Relax, they're not gonna shoot. There's a chance they could hit me, and they know what'd happen if I got hurt. Dad can't control me if I'm dead."

That may have been the case, but Lioness wasn't taking any chances. She skidded to a stop and waited for the men to reach her. The moment they were in range, Hinata got down low and swept the goon's legs out from under them, causing them all to tumble like a set of bowling pins. Lioness knew they wouldn't be down for long, so she got right back to spriting with the other heroines. By then, the other's had reached the window they were running for and were already perched on it, so to make up for lost time, Black Bat fired her grappling hook at Hinata, adjusting it so the wire would wrap around her friend's waist, and pulled the girl towards her. In no time at all, they had Lioness passed the window with the rest of them, allowing them all to dive out of the mansion. Lucky for them, the snow on Falcone's yard wasn't all that deep, allowing Catwoman to run almost

as fast as usual, even with Kitrina on her shoulder. Everyone got over the fence in no time, but they waited until they were a few blocks from Falcone's mansion to stop running. Selina finally felt safe enough to put Kitrina down while Black Bat called for someone to come and pick them up. There couldn't have been a better time for Catwoman to check on her sister, "Hey, you doing alright? Are you calmed down and ready to talk a little bit?"

"I guess, but only because I'm pretty sure no one could be worse than my dad at this point," Kitrina grumbled, shivering in the cold night air, "So we're sisters, huh? Do you have proof?"

Selina removed her mask, showing the younger woman how similar their facial features were, "Does this count?"

To Kitrina, it looked like someone had taken her face and roughly doubled the age. Even their eyes and hair were the same color, "Okay, never would've believed Catwoman was my sister, but that's pretty convincing. Even if you are my sister though, what in hell we're you doing at the mansion? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you got me out of there, but I don't really know why you did it."

"Because you're my sister," Catwoman replied, noticing that her sibling had shivered once again. She hastily borrowed Temari's hood, which the girl was happy to give up since her suit gave her plenty of the warmth already, and draped it around Kitrina's shoulders to give her some protection from the cold, "I know we don't know each other all that well, but I never had a really family until I found out Falcone was my father. Obviously he doesn't want anything to do with me, not that I think he even knows I'm his daughter, and your other siblings don't really seem like the family type either. You though, you seem different. For whatever reason, Carmine didn't get to you, at least not yet, and I wanted to make sure you had a chance before he turned you into something awful too."

Kitrina didn't try to pretend she was oblivious to what Selina was talking about, "You don't have to look much farther than Bella or Alberto to see what kinda kids my dad raises. Alright, let's assume that I'd willing to go with you...what exactly did you have in mind for me?"

"Well, for tonight I'd have you stay with a friend of mine who's always got a few spare rooms," Catwoman remarked, making the rest of the heroes grin at the realization of who she was referring to, "And after that, I'll set you up somewhere and just do my best to take care of you. I'll try and give you a good life, make sure you can become whatever you want to. All I want is for you to be happy."

A long silence filled the time Kitrina used to think. She wore a glum look on her face as she grumbled, "Is it bad that there's virtually no reason not trust a woman I met less than an hour with my life instead of my own father?"

Selina sighed, giving her sister a sad smile as she pulled her in for a hug, "Life can surprise you sometimes. It's something I've learned first hand. Don't worry, I promise everything's gonna be alright. I'll protect you if Falcone tries to chase you down, and I've got lots of friends who are gonna have your back too. Let's just hope Bruce doesn't mind having another house guest."

* * *

"You can't be serious," Miss Martian asked, keeping on eye on Nightwing standing beside her and on the Red Fox rushing Hidan with his Soultaker Sword at the ready, "You want me to enter Hidan's mind?"

It was certainly an odd request, but it was one that Nightwing stood by, "It's the biggest way you could help us right now. We can't defeat Hidan if we don't know what he's vulnerable to, and to know what he's vulnerable to, we need you to shuffle through his memories to find out what made him this way. Is it ideal? No, but it's the best we've got. Get the information and then get out of there as fast as you can. Odds are you're not going to find anything pleasant in a head like his."

Miss Martian was starting to remember why the Justice League regarded Dick as such a strong leader. He always managed to instil confidence in his team, even when the odds seemed insurmountable. She took in as much air as possible and prepared herself for what lied ahead, looking again at Hidan to find he now had Beast Boy trying crush him in his gorilla form. With him distracted, Miss Martian used her telepathic powers to connect her mind to her foe's and enter it, worried at what she might find. Not ever a minute passed before she came shooting back into her own consciousness, half screaming once she'd returned, "Oh my God, no! Why would someone do that? That's fucking horrifying! Never again! I'm never going in there again!"

"What wrong?" Nightwing asked, frantically trying to calm down his friend, "What'd you see in there?"

"Everything that Brother Blood did to him," Miss Martian replied, the name in particular standing out to Dick, "That bastard sliced him open and used every occult ritual and twisted experiment he could think of to recreate Hidan's immortality! That was awful enough, but I don't even think I can feel bad for the guy after I've gotten just a glimpse at all the shit he's done!"

If nothing else, at least they now had an idea of who they were dealing with. Brother Blood had clashed with the Titan's before, about a year ago to be exact, but he'd gone underground since then, making him impossible to track. This was the first lead they'd gotten on him since then, but right now, Nightwing had bigger things on his mind, "I'm sorry you had to see all that, but I've gotta ask, was there anything in there that tells us how to put a stop to all this?"

Miss Martian wished there had been, if only to make everything she saw worth it, "The only thing rattling around in Hidan's head is a Marilyn Manson fever dream. Ugh, now I what Martian Manhunter must've felt like when he tried to go inside the Joker's mind."

"Great, so we're no closer to figuring out what to do than we were when this fight started," Nightwing mused, desperately trying to come up with a solution as Cyborg and Spoiler went for a double team attack on Hidan. Cyborg had struck high while Spoiler swept low, resulting in Hidan eating a whole lot of dirt. Of course that wasn't enough to stop him, as he jumped up and shook the gravel off in no time. It was a perfect summary of their entire situation to be honest, "Most of the city's evacuated now, so maybe I should bring out the big guns and end this thing. Considering what he's capable of, I don't know what other option I've got…"

Things were looking bad alright, though Miss Martian had a proposal that would do far less damage to the city, "This isn't the kind of thing I normally do, but if it would reduce the risk of harming anyone, I'd be willing to simply wipe Hidan's mind."

"Wipe his mind? That'd put him in a complete comatose state, probably for the rest of life," Nightwing recalled, having seen his friend do it this one other occasion, against a foe known as Psimon. This was the kind of thing he'd shoot down immediately on a regular day, but considering the state Hidan was in, being reduced to nothing more than a feral beast, Dick was feeling less guilty about the proposition, "Well, it's not like we'd ever be able to change him back into something resembling a human. At this point, wiping his mind might be what's best for him, along with everyone he's trying to slaughter."

Miss Martian needed absolute clarity before she used an attack this devastating and irreversible, "You want me to do it then? I've got your permission to use the mind wipe?"

It took another moment of contemplation to be sure, but no matter how much Nightwing didn't like the idea, it had to be done, "Go for it."

"Everybody stand back; I don't want anyone to get caught up in this attack by mistake," Miss Martian commanded, and entire team quickly complied. Most of them weren't all that sure what she was about to do, but given how powerful she was, she probably wasn't exaggerating. With everyone out of the way, and Hidan now chasing after her due to all the noise she'd made, Miss Martian reconnected minds with her foe's, only this time with a darker intent, "After everything I saw inside your head, I think erasing it all is an act of fucking mercy! Hidan, this is where your story ends! Goodbye, and good riddance!"

Those were the final worlds Hidan would be able to comprehend before he jerked back as Miss Martian completely cleared out his mind. Everything, from memories to many of his basic cognitive functions, were wiped away after a mere few seconds of work from Miss Martian. Hidan dropped his scythe once she finished, letting out a few strange gasps and gurgles as he swayed like a drunk man. That tettering soon lead him to him falling to ground, not moving at all aside from the occasional twitch. Everyone rushed over to make sure he was going to stay down, with the Red Fox even taking some time to see if he was still breathing and had a pulse, "Okay, so he's still alive, technically, and that's good. He'll never be able to kill anybody again, and he's not constantly blabbering on about Jashin either. This is pretty much the best state we could have him in."

Beast Boy couldn't have agreed more, "Hell yeah it is, that just shows ya how badass my big sister is!"

"You're giving me too much credit. I couldn't' have done anything if you guys weren't keeping him occupied," Miss Martian replied to her 'little brother.' She was Beast Boy's sibling much in the same way that Naruto was Dick's. They weren't related by blood, but there was no doubt in their mind they were family. In fact, Miss Martian was a large part of how Beast Boy had gotten his powers in the first place.

Back when he was still Garfield Logan and working in the 'Logan Animal Reserve' with his mother, a team of heroes, including Miss Martian, had visited their in order to ask questions about a dangerous militia that had begun to grow in the area. Things had been going well, until Garfield and his mother got into a horrible car accident that killed the latter and left the former in critical condition. Garfield desperately needed blood, but due to him having an O- blood type, he was only able to receive the same classification of blood. Miss Martian saved his life by using her ability to make changes to her biology to give her self O- blood, which she could then transfer to the young man. Although he did survive, the blood had a significant effect on Garfield's body, allowing him to shapeshift into virtually any animal. Miss Martian had watched over him as a sister ever since, checking up on him when he first joined the Doom Patrol, and continuing to keep an eye on him when he joined up with the Teen Titans.

To this day, she and Beast Boy remained close, as shown by the massive hug he pulled her into after her last sentence, "I don't care why; I'm just glad you're here! It's been way too long since your last visit."

"Yeah, I need to come around every now and again to make sure Raven doesn't corrupt you too much," Miss Martian replied, looking over at Beast Boy's now seething girlfriend, "I'm only kidding...mostly."

"Consider that he's basically an adult at this point, I should hope so," Raven returned. The fact that both of them were so close to Beast Boy did result in some tension, but she and Miss Martian by no means disliked one another. If anything, the two of them knowing that this tension stemmed from them caring so much about Garfield made them like each other more, since they both always had his best interests at heart. Raven knew Miss Martian was only being as protective as any big sister would be, "I keep telling Beast Boy he needs to change his name, since he isn't really a 'boy' anymore. His alter ego makes him sound like a little kid."

Miss Martian briefly frowned, but nodded directly after, "Yeah, it doesn't really fit him anymore, does it? Well, I'm sure he'll think of something new eventually. Why don't we discuss this after we're done getting Hidan to prison and when we're in the nice, warm tower?"

No one was going to fight her on that one. The evening had been a harsh one, so relaxing for a bit was a welcomed idea. Everyone knew they'd likely have to discuss the revelations the battle had given them come morning, and the tension between Raven and Miss Martian was unlikely to stop as the visit went on, but for the rest of the night, all they wanted to do was relax and reminisce, probably with a few cups of cocoa for good measure. Lord knew they'd earned that much.

* * *

Abaddon was feeling truly satisfied for the first in ages, with his lust for sex, booze and everything else he loved being subsided for the moment. That only came after hours of nonstop sex with Bella, who'd barely been able to keep up, but had survived nonetheless. Bella seemed pleased as well, even if she was sore as hell after everything her lover had put her through. She was currently finishing up her explanation of her father's attack plan while Abaddon downed the rest of the wine she'd brought, "His whole plan boils down to hitting you as hard as possible with a surprise attack. He's supposed to come here with garbage trucks filled with men carrying the best weapons we've got. It's simple, but with the kinda weapons he's got and the amount men he can move in such a short amount of time, it could do a lot more damage than you think. Dad's hoping to kill you, but he'd probably settle for crippling your organization and getting you to back down. Not exactly the most complicated plan, but you gotta admit, he'd at least do some damage to you."

"To my organization maybe, but not to me," Abaddon corrected her, setting down his now empty bottle and sliding in bed next to the naked Bella, "I'd survive, and I'd come back at him so hard, it's make his head spin and have everyone in Gotham knowing they'd better not fuck with me ever again. The info you've got is good though. I can take out Falcone even sooner and still have this city terrified of me. Bella, I'm really glad that you decided to see me tonight."

"Considering all the fun you and me just had, I'd have to agree," Bella replied, giving her lover a small kiss, "Now, as long as you get me set up somewhere nice, make sure I've got plenty of diamonds, and keep me good and fucked, you and me are about to enter into a beautiful relationship. Hell, you can bring other girls into it if you want, as long as you do everything I just asked."

Sliding his hands across her skin and towards her breasts, Abaddon growled in her ear, "Like I said, you'll get what's coming to you."

Bella groaned, assuming he was about to start another round of lovemaking with her. Abaddon didn't stop at her breasts though, continuing to move his hands up until her got to her neck. This was when Bella started to worry, "Babe, what kinda kinky stuff are you-gah!"

"Shhhh, it'll all be over soon," Abaddon whispered, moving positions so that he was laying on top her as he began to tighten his grip on her throat, "You'll only make it worse if you fight."

No matter how hard she fought and thrashed, Bella couldn't stop Abaddon from strangling the life out of her. Slowly, her lungs began to run out of air and her face started to loose it's color. Abaddon didn't shake at all, clenching his hands even harder as his lover struggled. Bella began to stop fighting, and her body soon went limp. Her pulse was gone, and Abbadon continued to loom over her, victorious, "That, Falcone, was the start of me destroying everything you love in the world. Bella, I'm almost sorry about what I had to do. You were fucking amazing in the sack, and you're body's a perfect 10, but no one tells me how to operate. Now, I'm going to destroy your father, along with anything he cares about. Abaddon's time has come, and I'm not going to let anyone take that from me. Get ready, world, cause I'm about to make you my bitch."

* * *

Christmas Omake-Major thanks to acw28, who came up with the concept of this little omake. He's a great writer I've mentioned many times, and if you haven't figured it out already, I highly recommend checking out his work. He doesn't update as frequently as I do, (and that's a bit of an understatement), but his chapters are almost always worth the wait. Let us begin!

* * *

"Yeah, I'm just walking in the door," Karen said as she entered her apartment, a small bag in hand, "Just got back from the store. I got some lingerie that's gonna knock his socks off. This year, I'm gonna be one of Chojuro's presents, and he's gonna love the wrapping. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he gets a look at me...what? Okay, yeah, that might have been a little too much information."

The superheroine slipped off her coat and tossed it over the arm of her coach, grateful it provided more warmth than her Power Girl outfit, as she listened to Mei speaking about her Christmas plans with Bruce. It was certainly pleasant, but it became much harder to focus on when Karen noticed over a dozen mistletoes hanging on her ceiling, carefully placed in a line that lead to her bedroom. Needless to say, she had to investigate what was going on, "Mei, I'm gonna have to call you back later; it looks like Chojuro might have already beat to the punch for Christmas. Hm? Yeah, that's the same thing I'm looking at; a bunch of mistletoe. Guess we'd better go see what's going on. Bye, and Merry Christmas to you too."

Karen hung up her phone, put in her pocket, and walked up to her bedroom door. She pushed it open, revealing her boyfriend sitting on her bed...wearing nothing but a Santa hat with a mistletoe hanging over the headboard. Chojuro grinned at her as he said, "Merry Christmas, baby!"

"Merry Christmas indeed," Karen giggled, shaking her head at her boyfriend's antics, "You seem to be full of Christmas spirit. Based on the phone call I just had with Mei, I'm guessing all the guys are planning something like this?"

"Yup," Chojuro confirmed, "Me, Naruto, Kankuro, Bruce, Oliver, and just about everybody else you could name. We thought it would be festive. Do you like your present? I hope you don't mind that I didn't wrap it."

That was by no means a problem for her, "Don't worry, you've given me enough suspense for one night. Just let me head to the bathroom and I'll wrap your present, if you know what I mean."

"By all means, go ahead," Chojuro said, watching Karen's behind as she headed towards her on suite bathroom, "For the record, I did get you a real present too. I'll give it to you in the morning."

Karen had already guessed that much, "So did, but I have a feeling we're gonna love this just as much. Sit tight, loverboy. Were about to have ourselves a not so silent night."

* * *

And to all a goodnight, or something like that. In all seriousness though, I hope you guys have an amazing holiday, whichever one in particular you celebrate. I'm off to enjoy Christmas with my family, and I have no doubt it'll be a wonderful day. Stay jolly everyone!


	61. No Regrets Pt 1

Happy New Year everyone! I think many people will agree with me when I say 'fuck 2016, bring on 2017!' Hopefully, things will be a little smoother this time around. Enough about that though, let's get back to the action. Also, in case you haven't noticed, we're back on a bi-weekly basis, I'm sorry to say. Hopefully, I'll be able do the once a week schedule again someday soon. We've got to see what's going on with Harley Quinn, what the revelations about Brother Blood will lead to, how things are going with Selina, and check in on Bruce so we can start to wrap up the Jump Arc. Abaddon will by no means be absent either, making for a ton of stuff to cover. Last thing, and I hate how often I have to say this, but it's a fanfic, so I've taken a few liberties with backstories. Now then, thank you so much for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack-Seether: Fake it

**MAJORLY IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!**

* * *

People had made a lot of jokes over the years about Harley being completely and totally insane, and for the most part, those jokes were fairly accurate, but Jason was certain the kind of behavior she was currently exhibiting wasn't what those jokes we're referring to. She was banging her head against her bedroom wall, mumbling inherently to herself, with her daughter, son, and all of his girlfriends watching. Jason tried to grab his mother by the shoulders to calm her, but she was so far off in her own little world that no one could seem to get through to her, "Mother, you need to talk to us. Please, tell me what's going on."

"Brother Blood… Jason… you can't… I can't… we can't…" Harley strutted, unable to finish a single phrase without her brain fighting her, "Help me… please…"

Jason had no idea what was happening to his mother, but he was damn sure gonna get an explanation, "Ino, you're the expert with this kinda stuff; what's going on inside her head right now?'

Without any background information, it wasn't going to be easy for Ino to figure out much, but it wouldn't hurt for her to take a quick look. She took note of way Harley seemed to be in virtually no pain from the blows to the head she was giving herself, and how each word the jester managed to breath out sounded forced. That, along with the out of character way Harley had been acting, brought Ino to one conclusion, "She seems to be fighting some form of mind control. I've seen it before, back in the Hidden Leaf. Harley's had her personality altered to someone's liking, but a mind like her's isn't easy to alter completely. It's an internal struggle between her true mind and whatever's influencing her, which must be pretty strong. People like Harley are nearly impossible to bring to this state in my experience."

"I knew Brother Blood didn't get mother to work here willingly," Jason spat as he tried to move his mother away from the wall and onto the bed where she wouldn't be able to hurt herself, "That guy needs to have the shit kicked out him. Any chance you can break her free from it, Ino?"

"If my father was here, I'd say go for in," Ino began, finishing with a sigh, "But he's master at these sorts of things, and I'm just not at that level yet. Brother Blood's got one hell of a trance going there, and if I fucked up in any way, Harley would end up with less brain activity than a baked potato."

Argent had to give Ino credit for sneaking in a joke at a time like this, "Well we wouldn't want that, now would we mates? Okay, so is there a way to break Harley free without going into her head?"

A good question, and Ino did in fact have the answer. If only it was an answer that'd be helpful, "Her mind will stay in the trance for as long as it's active. That doesn't just mean Harley would have to be asleep or knocked out or anything like that. She needs her mind to be as off as my panties are when I start thinking about Jason's body."

"Moving right past that," Rose replied with an eye roll, "Let's say, theoretically, that we could put Harley in a death like state for a couple of minutes. Would that shut of her mind the way we need it to?"

Ino ran through a few variables in her head, "Assuming that it was exactly like you described it, yeah, that should work. Any part of her brain that the trance is connected to will be turned off, which should allow Harley to break free. Good idea, now all we need is some way to put her in that kinda state."

Taking out one of her tubes of lipstick and quickly applying a lair, Rose walked up to Harley, "Don't worry, I can handle it. Too bad I'm never gonna live this down."

"What are you gonna do to mommy?" Duela asked just before Rose grabbed Harley and kissed her square on the lips, "Jason, why is your girlfriend kissing mommy?"

Jason had been confused as well, until he remembered the ability one of Rose's lipsticks gave her, "Her makeup can do the thing Ino was talking about, where it makes mommy go into a really deep sleep. Don't worry, everything's gonna fine."

"Mwah," Rose lips popped as she pulled them away from Harley's. The jester's eyes soon closed and she fainted, falling to the ground in a bundle, "And she's out. We've got a few minutes until Harley wakes up. Until then, we're just going to have to wait."

Those few minutes had the potential to be filled with some real tension, more so than Ino was okay with. She needed to find a way to break it, "Huh, you know, Rose just reminded me that I'm the only one of Jason's girlfriend who hasn't kissed another girl. Makes me feel a little lame."

Argent looked Ino up and down, then said with a small smile, "I can fix that."

"No, not now," Jason half snapped, "Not in front of Duela! She's seen enough insanity for one day."

"To be fair, she's Harley Quinn's daughter. I don't think there's much we could do to screw Duela up more more than she would," Argent remarked, earning a scowl from her boyfriend, "But maybe this isn't the best time to bring that up."

No one said much after that, making the few minutes they had to wait just as tension filled as Ino had been afraid. Their patients would hopefully be rewarded, as each of them were sweating bullets as Harley laid motionless on the ground. Her eyes opened slowly, as though she'd just awoken from a long slumber. She sat up, rubbing her head, "Holy shit...is this all real? I feel like I just took the world's worst nap, and I'm praying to god everything else was just a vivid dream. Someone wanna fill me in here, or what?"

Jason let her finish what was saying before he frantically kneeling down beside his mother, "You were in a trance, Mom, and a pretty powerful one at that. Do you have any idea how that happened?"

"Yeah, it was fucking Brother Blood," Harley snapped, trying to jump up. She was shaky at best, so Rose and Jason had to hold her up, "That bastard has some kinda mind control ability. You look into his eyes and he's turns ya into the exact person he wants ya to be! I'm not even the only person in this place whose mind he's scrambled either! If he can't control you with money, then he's gonna do it with his powers!"

Most of that made sense to Rose, except for one small detail, "Hold on, if Brother Blood is able to control people's mind, why is he paying you, or anyone for that matter, a fucking cent? He spends a lot of time and money on this place. If he's able to control minds like you say he is, why start up an acadmey of all things?"

Harley had gotten to know Blood pretty well by then, making further elaboration easy, "It's a symbol of status for him. He pumps out some of the world's best criminals, and has the best criminals working for him too. In his head, that means he's a step above everybody else. He doesn't use his powers unless he has to for two main reasons. First, he the more people he has to use his powers on, the weaker his control over them is. Second, he wants to prove that he can control people without his abilities too. Don't get me wrong, he's real proud of those powers, but he wants everyone to know that he doesn't need em' to be dangerous."

"We get the picture. He's a narcissistic madman, and I'm tired of dealing with him," Jason growled, plans already forming in his head, "We need to go and tell Brother Blood that we're quitting… and we're taking all of H.I.V.E. down with us."

* * *

Bruce was beginning to wonder if his friends thought Wayne Manor was some kind of orphanage, "Selina, I am happy that you're reconnecting with a long lost sibling and all, but you can't bring your sister here in the middle of the night and just expect me to keep me here. I've got too many people coming in and out as it is. With the way things are, I can barely keep things quiet when we've got guests over. Even if it's just for a couple of nights, I'm going to run a pretty high risk of her figuring out who this family really is."

It was that exact argument Selina had be suspecting, and she had plan already made up, "Don't worry, I think I can have her out of here in a day. Just one day, and then she's gone."

"How are you gonna manage that," Bruce asked, eyebrow raised and arms folded, "If you're gonna try and secure your place, don't bother. Falcone's not gonna stop at anything to get her back. You need to hide her somewhere, and somewhere damn good."

Selina already knew that much, "Yup, and I've got the perfect place too… I'm gonna have your wife find a place to stash her in the Great Ninja Nations."

"I'm sorry, what?" Bruce asked, looking over his shoulder to make sure Mei hadn't heard, "You wanna drag my wife into this? How in the hell do you think that'll solve out anything? You'll have to explain everything about the Great Ninja Nations to her! You don't think me being married to one of their leaders is gonna raise raise a few questions with her?"

On paper, Selina had to agree, it did look bad, "I know how it sounds, but if we just say that you two met on one of Mei's visits here, I'm sure Kitrina will buy it. Honestly, I trust her enough that I think it'd be fine if we just told her who you were."

Bruce was of a different mind, "It's not a matter of whether or not I trust her. If Falcone ever gets his hands on her again, Kitrina could be forced to reveal my identity. I can't have the biggest mobster in Gotham knowing where I live and who my friends are!"

"Falcone is never going to touch her," Selina assured him, almost down on her knees and begging, "Bruce, I'm asking you for this as a friend; let me bring Kitrina into this world. I'll keep her in the Great Ninja Nations until she's trained, and then bring her back here to be my partner. Please, I'm the only chance she's got!"

"Selina...ah, dammit," Bruce sighed, rubbing his temples, "Fine, bring her in here and fill her in. I'll talk to Mei and she what she can set up for her. Once you're done, introduce her to Alfred and he'll set her up with a room."

Overjoyed, Selina practically tackled Bruce into a hug, almost screaming into his ear, Thank you, Bruce! Thank you so much! You won't regret this! Once I've got her trained, Kitrina is just gonna be like another part of the team!"

"You're welcome. It's not as though having moody teens in training at my house is anything out of the ordinary for me," Bruce said, referencing virtually of his son's, "Mei's talking with Damian right now, so I'll be back after I have a word with them. God, I'll bet you anything Dick doesn't have to deal with all these never ending personal dilemmas…"

* * *

Based on the argument the Titans were having over what Beast Boy's new name should be, Dick might have had more on his hands than Bruce thought. Cyborg in particular was fighting like a madman for the name he thought would suit his best friend perfectly, "I'm telling you, the Beast is where it's at! It's not the different from his old name, and it makes him sound like a real badass!"

Miss Martian shook her head, "And I'm telling you, you're short changing him. This is just like when we were picking out his name last time. Everyone wanted to use something that didn't have anything to do with his powers."

"My name's Nightwing, and it's not like my abilities have anything to do with birds… I guess you could make an argument for the night part," Dick mused, sitting on the couch in between everyone with a freshly popped bowl of popcorn, "That being said, I still don't think the Beast is a good name for him. I can't totally explain it, but it just doesn't seem to fit him. It's sound too feral. Beast Boy is strong and all, but he's more in control of it than a Beast."

That was precisely what Stephanie was thinking, "Yeah, he needs something that makes it clear he's got a head on his shoulder. Beast Man would be better, if it didn't sound so ridiculous. Come on, there's gotta be something…"

"What about Konflibernoth?" Starfire asked, confusing the entire room, "It means shapeshifter on my planet."

Raven never ceased to be amazed by Starfire's ungodly complex language, "Thanks for the suggestion, but I think we'd better pick something people can actually pronounce. The shapeshifter angle isn't a bad one though...what about Changeling?

Now there was a name that had a ring to it, not to mention the fact that it actually related back to Beast Boy's powers without making him sound like a rabid dog. It seemed that everyone liked it, although that wouldn't matter if the green skinned hero wasn't happy with it himself. All eyes were on Beast Boy as he played around with the title in his head, at last declaring, "I love it! Changeling is way cooler than my old name, plus, it makes me sound smart! Look out criminals, here comes the mighty Changeling!"

"Calm down, string bean," Cyborg joked, pulling his friend into a chokehold, "It's a new name, not a new set a' powers. I can still kick your green butt!"

Dick shook his head at his teammates antics, wondering how long it would be before his brother jumped into the wrestling match. Now that he thought about, he hadn't seen Naruto since he went to take a phone call about thirty minutes ago. Naruto had said he didn't recognize the number, so he sent the first call to voicemail. After an immediate callback, he decided to pick up, figuring it wouldn't take long. Whoever it was on the other end, Dick had a feeling they were far more important than Naruto had anticipated, "Who's keeping you so tied up?"

It wasn't a long wait for the answer, as Naruto entered the room five minutes later with his phone tucked in his pocket and conflict brimming in his eyes. He leaned forward onto the couch in front of him, bending down to whisper into his brother's ear, "Dick, we've got a problem. I just got off the phone with Jason. He spent hours tracking down my number to try and recruit my help in taking down Brother Blood. It's a long story, but the jist of it is that Blood tried to use his mind control on Harley, and when Jason found out, he broke her free and started a plan to take down H.I.V.E. altogether, along with the man who runs it."

"Talk about a bombshell," Dick muttered back, "Does Jason know about the experiments Blood was doing on Hidan?"

"Only because I warned him," Naruto replied before jumping right to his major point, "We should call the League and see what they think, but if it were just my decision, I'd say go for it. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that. Hell, I don't even know if I'd call Jason our enemy in this situation. Right now he's just a neutral party ready to help us take down somebody we were already looking for anyways."

Dick couldn't deny how much they stood to gain from an alliance like this, "We're sure as hell gonna consider it, but before we do anything else, we have to fill the Titans in on who Jason really is. Everyone else making this call already knows, so it's only fair that they do too."

Even though Naruto had seen that little detail coming a mile away, it still didn't make him dread it any less. Not only was the explanation going to take ages, mainly thanks to all the necessary background information, but a lot of the memories involved were ones Naruto didn't wanna relive. He would suck it up though, if it meant stopping Brother Blood from doing what he did to Hidan ever again. It seemed the Titans were going to have another night of battle ahead of them, and this time for even higher stakes. As cliched as it may been, the old saying 'a hero's work is never done' felt all to applicable at that moment.

* * *

"Sure, I'll be sure I'm there early on tonight", Tim said, making a note on a small pad of paper next to him, "It's kinda short notice though. What's got you thinking I need to be there and in full Red X armor?"

Rick Flag had been on the phone with his undercover agent for only a short amount of time, but he'd gotten worlds of information out nonetheless. In the span of just a day, a bombshell had been dropped that sent multiple organizations, including his own, into a tizzy. The Justice League and everyone affiliated with them had agreed to assist in the Red Hood's plan to take down H.I.V.E. and Brother Blood, as it was a chance they'd likely never get again. Sending the entire League would've been reckless though, and since the Titans were already going to be there, only a few members were going to be sent as backup. Batman would lead with Black Bat, Kazekama, Lioness, Etrigan, Superboy, Artemis, and Kid Flash assisting him. Between them, the Titans, and everyone Red Hood would have with him, Brother Blood would be no issue. As a courtesy, the League would always call in situations like this and warn Rick in case he had any undercover operatives at risk that he may want to pull out. Normally, Tim would be the kind of agent Rick would yank the hell out in a situation like this, but these were special circumstances. Tim could more than take care of himself, and there was so much pivotal information on other criminals he could gain before everything came crumbling down. No matter how ill advised it was, Rick needed Red X to gather everything he could and return safely. Hopefully, that was something Tim would understand.

"Like I said before, this a unique situation," Rick began, having only gotten through the parts about H.I.V.E. and the Justice League, "There's the potential here for the U.S. Government to obtain the locations of dozens of wanted criminals. If Brother Blood is as meticulous as you say, then I guarantee you he's got the current whereabouts of past students stashed somewhere in his files or his database. You need to go there, act as though you're just stopping by to have a word with Blood, and then hack their system to get us all of the data you possibly can while things are going to hell. Think you can manage that?"

Hacking a database had become more of an inconvenience than a challenge to Tim these days, so the idea of trying to hack one that was likely extreme advanced while trying to avoid getting caught up in a battle royale intrigued him, "I don't know, but I'm damn sure gonna try. The equipment you gave could use a few modifications if I'm gonna do this though, assuming you don't mind."

Rick had no illusions that his hacking technology was as advanced as what Tim had when he worked for the Batman, "I need that intel, so make any changes you like. Hell, I'll probably keep em' in there. No point in downgrading my own equipment."

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that," Tim said, looking over at the case full of his Red X gear, "I'm gonna get off the line and start making some preparations. I'll call you once the night's over to let you know how things went. Sound like a plan?"

He'd taken the words right out of Rick's mouth, "Perfect, I'll talk to you then. Stay safe, and we'll bring you back to base once this is all over. Good luck."

Tim heard the line go dead after that, prompting him to set the phone aside. He knew he needed to start making the modifications he spoke about, but Tim found it difficult to pull his attention away from a file he'd be reading before Rick interrupted him. This was the same file that Rick had given him days ago, regarding his parentage and his apparent connections to the Great Ninja Nations. There wasn't as much in there as Tim would've liked, but what was there gave him plenty to pick apart. First was a picture that he'd almost memorized since opening the file. It was of a woman wearing red lipstick, with fair skin, dark eyes and light blue hair which she had in a spiky ponytail with long strands of hair framing her face. That women was Tim's mother, apparently named Guren, and she had quite a history behind her.

The biography the file also provided fleshed out a decent portion of her childhood. She was born in a small mountain village, high enough up that they experienced snow almost year round, and her follow villagers weren't exactly neighborly too her. Guren had been born with a bloodline known of Crystal Release, which allowed to create crystals out of thin air and use them in all kinds of different ways. This power manifested in her at a young age, and it terrified those around her to the point where she was nearly shunned out of the community entirely. That all came to an end when the Sannin Orochimaru came to her village and slaughtered everyone in site, with the exception of her. The tales of her incredible gift had spread to Orochimaru, and he wanted Guren to join his ranks so that he could train her to become one of his most dangerous soldiers yet. Seeing as she had nothing left, and never cared for her village to begin with, Guren agreed, and after that, she more or less vanished. There were no further reports on her whereabouts or if she stayed with Orochimaru.

Waller had been able to figure out one more thing about Guren though: How she'd met Tim's father, Jack Drake. Orochimaru, in order to make a little extra cash, would occasionally send his operatives off to America for some odd jobs, but only specific members. It was rare back then for anyone to know about the outside world, and Orochimaru only knew because of his Sannin status. Because of this, he'd always send the same couple of people for these jobs, with Guren apparently being the most frequent. It was during one of these missions that she met Jack, with whom she'd begin a sexual relationship. There had been no way for Waller to figure out what brought the two of them together or why Guren left Tim with his father only to never make contact with him, but DNA tests and Tim's powers prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was her son. Without much more to go off from, Tim was left to make some assumptions, none of which gave him any comfort.

"Either my mother never wanted anything to do with me, or she died before she could make any kind of contact," Tim reasoned aloud, deciding not to look over the file again, "Either way, I was stuck with a Dad who hardly ever noticed me and got himself slaughter like a crazy dog. Not exactly what I was looking for… hell, I don't know what I was looking for to begin with. I've already got a family back in Gotham, one that I know I can always count on. If all I ever get out of this is a better understanding of my powers, I can live with that. Right now, I've gotta stop worrying about all this background noise and focus on my work. I'm not letting Rick down. Hm, he did mention the League and some other heroes were gonna be there. Maybe I'll run into some old friends."

* * *

Bruce was the kind of person who put family in front of everything else in his life. For him, getting to see his sons was great enough on it's own, but working with the Titans on this occasion was ever better for him. He would get to watch Dick leading his team and fight side by side wtih Naruto. The very idea of that filled him with more pride than he could have ever expressed. It was kind of moment he'd been looking forward to since he first started raising the boys. If only that moment didn't mean that there was a threat out there big enough to require this many heroes to attack at the same moment.

Nonetheless, Bruce was ecstatic when he walked into the T-jet hangar and saw Naruto and Dick putting on the last bits of their gear, "Looks like you two are gonna be ready before I am. I must be slowing down in my old age."

"I don't know if we can call you old just yet. You're slowing down because of all the shit you put your body through," Naruto joked, running up to greet his father, "It's good to see you again, Dad. How've you been?"

"Stressed out," Bruce responded, pulling his son into a hug, "But that isn't anything new for me. What about you, Dick? Starfire's due anyday now. You ready to be a father?"

Dick was putting on his mask as he called back, "As I'll ever be. I'm excited and terrified all at the same time, which everyone's been telling me is exactly how I'm supposed to feel. Has it hit you yet that you're about have somebody calling you 'grandpa?'"

If that was supposed to be a jab, Bruce wasn't flustered by it, "It hit the moment you said you were having a baby, and I can't wait for the first time he says it."

"He?" Came the quizzical voice of Hinata, who appeared behind Bruce, "You guys are having a boy? That's great! I can't wait to meet him!"

The two remaining fiancees of Naruto, Temari and Cassandra, appeared as well, grinning like mad at seeing their future husband. Naruto ran over and scoped up all three of them for tight hug, "There's the three most beautiful girls in the world! The pictures of you guys don't even come close to how amazing you look in person. Temari, how's everything going with your brother and Barb? Oh, and Hinata, is Neji doing okay with his new team of Genin? Oh, and Cassandra, are you really gonna change alter ego to Black Bat?"

Taking an interest in his fiancee's lives was something Naruto never fell behind on, and that didn't go unappreciated by the women in his life. Temari was the first to give him a small kiss once he let them down, "On thing at a time, sweetie, one thing at a time. Kankuro's doing great, to answer your first one. Hinata said Neji's doing pretty well, and yes, Cassandra's gonna change her superhero name. Is that all?"

"Hehe, yeah, sorry," Naruto said, realizing he might have overwhelmed them. He got a small kiss from Cassandra and Hinata, then asked, "I'm really happy to see you guys, that's all."

Cassandra was going to tell him she'd been feeling similar when someone lept passed her, nearly knocking her over. Naruto caught her before she hit the ground, giving Cassandra a chance to see who'd been in such a hurry, "What in the… Conner, I know you're excited to see Megan again, but could refrain from trying to knock me over?"

Conner Kent, better known to the world as Superboy, had his martian girlfriend held tightly in his arms, their faces only inches apart, "Hello, gorgeous. You have no idea how hard it was to sleep last night without you lying next to me."

"I don't know what you'd ever do without me," Megan replied, before giving him a kiss, "Are Wally and Artemis here?"

The two young heroes, Kid Flash and Artemis respectively, were walking in as she asked that, with Etrigan not far behind them. Jason Blood had taken demon form long before they arrived, as Etrigan had he wanted to speak to Raven the moment he could see her, "Lady Raven, might I have a word with you?"

Raven had been lost in thought when Etrigan bellowed, but it didn't take her long to snap back into attention and head for the demon, slipping past Artemis and Wally as she did, "Etrigan, I haven't seen you since our little situation in Purgatory. How've you been?"

"Fine, I suppose. The League tends to prevent me from falling into boredom," Etrigan said in an almost dismissive tone. He looked around the room to make sure no one was listening to intently before continuing, "Lady Raven, forgive me for asking this, but… has Ares tried to contact you further since that day? Or perhaps your father?"

Now there was a question Raven hadn't been expecting at time like this, "What? No, not at all. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, it's merely a feeling that's been brewing inside me lately," Etrigan said, shifting his gaze, "It's as though many dark clouds, more than I've ever known, are slowing going to converge in the same moment, creating a storm the likes of which the world has never seen, and I can't seem to pin down what those clouds might be. I've been asking around to try and discern where this feeling may come from, but to no avail."

Raven blinked in response to such a vision, "Oh, is that all?"

There was doubt in Etrigan's mind that he'd frightened her, "Fear not, Lady Raven, I'm sure it's only a superstitious moment on my part. The world is so often on the brink of the darkness these days; it makes it more difficult for me to tell when my senses are playing tricks on me."

"Alright, but you'd better let somebody know if that feeling doesn't go away," Raven warned him, sounding oddly like a doctor, "I'm glad you're here, by the way. I don't know what kinda nasty dark magic we're gonna be up against, but having you here makes me feel a little better."

Etrigan bowed as a thank you. There likely would've been more discussion, if it hadn't been for Wally calling out to the group, "Come on guys, what's taking so long? I know I'm the speedster here, but still, I think it's time to get a move on!"

"Wally, half of us aren't even suited up yet," Artemis informed him, shaking her head, "Besides, Batman and Nightwing are the leaders here. We go when they say we go."

That was the first moment Bruce and Dick got true rush of getting to lead side by side. The two locked eyes with one another, grinned, then said at the same time, "Gather up any gear you might need and let's get moving. Do what we say, and this'll be over before you know it. Team, move out!"

* * *

Brother Blood had been carefully eyeing his reflection in his office mirror for nearly an hour. He couldn't seem to find the slightest of changes in his face, not so much as a lost wrinkle or a change in skin tone. His body felt sore in several places, but that was common for him after performing an experiment. All of this left Brother Blood in a state of uncertainty, "Well, at least no one will know I've gained a new set of powers merely by looking at me. I had hoped the experiment would make me look at bit younger though. Ah well, it was still a success by all counts. That's the important part."

"Hey, asshole," Came the unmistakable voice of Harley Quinn from outside his door. That door was soon busted down, as the jester came in holding back two howling hyenas on a lease, "Remember what I said I'd do if you pissed me off? Well it's dinner time!"

Although the hyena's looked all too hungry, Brother Blood was confident he could avoiding being on the menu tonight. It was that confidence that allowed him to maintain his calm demeanor, "Ah, Miss Quinn. This was supposed to be when I had a meeting with Red X, but I suppose I've got some time for you. I see you've managed to break free from my spell. Was it from sheer willpower, or did one of your little friends assist you?"

Jason walked through the door as answer, along with Rose, Ino, and Argent. Both his guns were already drawn and at the ready, "It's over, Blood. We know what game you've been playing here, and we're putting a stop to it tonight."

"Are you now?" Brother blood asked, a deep chuckle echoing from his throat, "Because I admire your tenacity, I'm willing to let your rudeness be forgiven, but you'd damn well better learn your place before I have to teach it to you. You know I can control your minds with ease, so why bother fighting it? Enjoy the gifts I'm showering you with and leave me be."

"Really? You can control all of our minds?" Ino, the one person Blood didn't know, asked him, "Well now this I have to see. Go on, give it a try."

Brother Blood never back down from a challenge, let alone one from a stranger. His eyes shifted from blue to red as he started to attack the heroes mind's, a move he'd done a hundred times. The effect was typically instantaneous, but Blood experienced something new this time: he hit a wall. He couldn't fully connect to their minds. In fact, he could hardly even connect to them at all, "What? This is impossible? None of you have the abilities to ward off my mind control! Unless… of course, the blonde girl. She's some kind of telepath, isn't she?"

"In a sense," Jason replied, raising his pistols and aiming them directly at Blood's chest, "All you need to know is that she's created a barrier that'll protect us from any of your tricks. Now, surrender before I unload an entire clip into you and feed your corpse to our friend's here."

It'd be an outright lie if Blood said he wasn't impressed, but these fools would have to be mad to think he'd merely roll over for them. He grabbed a bundle of the cloak he always wore and then said with a twisted smile, "Shoot all you like. It's not as though it'll do you any good. Allow me to show you the results of my latest experiment. I think you'll find them rather _enlightening…"_

In one swift motion that was so fast hardly anyone had been able to see it, Blood ripped off his cloak and slammed his hand on to his chest, setting off a red flash that made everyone dizzy. The new form Brother Blood had taken was difficult to make out, but undeniably threatening. His skin was jet black, much like Hidan's had been, and there were dozens red tattoos that glowed on his body, all of which seemed to be some sort of occult symbol. In a way, Blood looked similar to how Hidan had, only his transformation made him more muscular than before, his eyes began to glow red, and his voice grew a bit deeper, "Haha! What you're looking at is my finest work! Using every ounce of occult knowledge I've obtained, I replicated Hidan's condition inside my own body, careful to use various rituals to insure that I'd never have to sell my soul to that lower level fool that the Jashinist do! Between this and all the other godly powers I possess, do you fools think you stand so much as a chance against me or the rest of H.I.V.E.?"

"Considering we won't be alone against you or your school, I'm gonna say we'll be just fine," Jason responded, baffling Brother Blood. He wouldn't be baffled for long though, as the explosion of the ceiling above him forced Blood shift his attention elsewhere. As he was on the top floor of the academy, the sky above him was now easily visible, along with the Batwing, T-jet, and Bio-plane, which was used be select members of the Justice League. Jason was beaming when Brother Blood shifted his attention back to him, "We've got friends, Blood, and something tells me those friends can kick the shit out of any ally you've got. I hope you're ready for a role reversal, cause where you're going, you'll be the one having your every move controlled."

"Over my dead body," Brother Blood snarled, grabbing a small device connected to his body armor like pants, the only thing he was wearing, and pressing the button on it, "And luckily for me, that scenario's now impossible. I just put all security agents and students at H.I.V.E. on red alert, so you'll have to bring all of us down if you want to get out of here alive! Bring it on, heroes!"

* * *

Carmine Falcone struggled to drag his broken body through the abandoned alleyway, a trail of blood following him the entire way. His legs were broken, forcing him to use his arms exclusively, and his progress was slow at best. The speed didn't matter to Falcone though, as long as he was putting distance between himself and Abaddon. His plan to eliminate Abaddon had been a disaster to say the least, and he had no idea why. Before Falcone or his men could even arrive in the fake dumptruck they'd commissioned for this job, they were cut off by 20 men in the middle of the road. That was when Carmine knew something was wrong. From a nearby rooftop, a man that Falcone could only assume worked for Abaddon fired a rocket launcher at their truck, tipping them over and knocking every man inside into a state of confusion. Next thing any of them knew, Abaddon himself was ripping the back off from the truck, allowing the 20 men from before to slaughter Falcone's men with automatic weapons. More than 50 people died in the span of a couple of minutes, but Carmine, who'd been in the front seat with the driver, had managed to crawl out of the wreckage and escape, though only temporarily. Abaddon never lost track of him.

"Oh Carmine… come on, Carmine, there's no need to be a coward," Abaddon taunted Falcone, slowly walking up behind him as his enemy continued his futile effort, "I warned you what was gonna happen if you didn't leave me be. I've put you through every kind of pain I could think of, and that includes fucking your smoking hot little girl, Bella. She drained me, and that ain't easy to do. That didn't stop me from strangling the life out of her, but hey, that part was just business. I'm sure you understand that. By the way, putting your son front in center in that dumptruck was a big mistake. Alberto never stood a chance."

Something sored over Falcone's body and landed in front him, and it would've made him puke if he'd been able to. It was the head of his son, Alberto, with a set of terrified eyes staring directly at him. Falcone had lost all hope by the time Abaddon reached him and used his foot to shove the mob boss's head into the ground, "I know you've got more men coming, and I promise you, their fate won't be any better. You know, Carmine, I should really be thanking you. This city, and everything in it, belongs to me now, and I'm going to do anything I want to it. After people see what I managed to do to you and your whole organization, there's not gonna be any doubt of that. Thanks for the assistance, Falcone, and I'll see ya in hell. Be sure and tell your daughter how much fun I had with her when you get there."

Raising up his foot, Abaddon stomped on Falcone's head and crushed his skull, killing him in one swift blow. Abaddon would leave his body, along with many others, to be found in morning. This was one message everyone in Gotham was sure as hell going to receive.

* * *

**Note:**

As we get closer to the end of the fanfic, I've got something I need to tell you guys. It's something I've been thinking about since the beginning of the fanfic, and you can kinda tell that by the fact that I haven't mentioned Zetsu in the fanfic at all. While I'm keeping Obito, I really wanna cut out the Zetsu, Madara, and Kaguya stuff from the fanfic, or at least minimize/shift their roles. In the manga, I hated the way they just kept revealing someone else behind the last big baddy. When it was Obito, I was fine, because at least the twist of it was interesting, but when Madara, then Zetsu, and then Kaguya showed up, I wanted to start banging my head on the wall. Naruto's abilities started becoming downright ridiculous, and the whole thing where he basically became a god made me wanna facepalm. I'm going to keep the story more contained than that, and alter Obito's origin to make everything work out. That's all I'll say now, and I hope all of you understand. If have further questions, feel free to ask them in a review or PM. Thank you.


	62. No Regrets Pt 2

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another chapter of the Red Fox. We had a beginning of a battle brewing last chapter, one that sure as hell isn't going to end easily. The only other things I'll be talking about in this particular chapter is some Damian elements in the very beginning and that'll be it. I had planned to work in a section in the end with Abaddon, but I simply ran out of time thanks to an extra busy schedule this week. Honestly, it'll work even better as an opening for the next the chapter, so I'll leave it at that. Almost everything today is gonna be about this fight between Brother Blood/H.I.V.E. and Naruto/Jason's team. I really hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Dropkick Murphys: I'm Shipping Up to Boston

* * *

"Goliath, if eat those flowers, I fairly certain Mei's going to roast you alive," Damian told his pet just as he was about snack on the foliage sitting in the vase on the living room end table, "If you're hungry, I can get you some food from the kitchen."

Mei entered the living room, preventing Goliath from giving any indication of what he may have wanted. She had Ace following closely at her heels, as well as jumping on the couch when she sat down. The pup began to lick Mei's face, prompting her to sigh and start gently stroking her pet, "It's been a long day, Ace. First I had to get through a mountain of Mizukage paperwork, then I had to negotiate a trade deal with the Hidden Rock, and after that, I trained for nearly an hour. At least when I got home, Alfred and Barbara, being the freaking saints that they are, had already fed the kids and put them to bed. That would've been the perfect way to end the day… if Bruce could have been here to get a good night's sleep with me."

No matter their differences, Damian found it hard to watch Mei seem so distressed, "Did you not know father was going to be gone tonight?"

"No, he told me yesterday what was going on," Mei said, turning her head when Goliath jumped to the top of the couch to stand directly above her, "There was no question about it; Bruce needed to be on that mission. It's just difficult not seeing him sometimes, with the two living such demanding lives. There are nights when all I wanna do is spend a little time with him, but one of us has something that simply can't wait. It doesn't help that our jobs can both be pretty dangerous. Tonight, I'm the one worrying about him and the rest of the family, but some other night, it'll be me having to go up against an S-rank shinobi or going out on patrol as Cinder to blow off a little steam. I'm sorry, Damian, I don't mean to vent to like this."

Damian walked over and set down next to her, responding while Goliath tried to cuddle the stress out of the Mizukage, "It's fine, really. I had no idea you and father struggled with this sort of thing at all. You both seem so calm most of the time."

"Well, we've had a lot of practice," Mei conceded, leaning back in her seat, "I don't think Bruce or I could be married to any other type of person. A normal person would never understand the kind of situations we get ourselves into. We're lucky we've got so many people around who are willing to stick with us and make sure no one in this family is ever really alone. As hard as it's been sometimes, I don't think I've ever regretted entering this world Bruce has introduced me to. There've been more than enough unforgettable moments to make it all worth it."

With the way she was talking, Damian couldn't help but feel there was something he was missing, "You make this place sound perfect. I've been treated well here, better than I expected to be even, but that doesn't mean I'm not tired of being cooped up in this world. The most I ever get is a small break when I go for my runs. Not exactly enough to give me the feeling of freedom. Father knows I'm not a rookie, so why won't he take me out in the field? I would've given anything to go on his mission with him and properly stretch my legs for a change…"

Mei took a chance and placed her hand on Damian's, breathing an internal sigh of relief when he didn't immediately pull away. All she needed to do in a situation like this was tell him the truth, "Damian, your Father is doing everything he can think of to keep you safe. He's lost so much time with you already that he just can't stand the idea of losing anything else about you. Bruce has to make sure that you're as ready as humanly possible before he takes you out on any mission, and that includes being sure you'll listen to him. Trust is a two way street. If you want him to trust you out there, I suggest you try showing him that you trust him too."

"Hm, perhaps," Damian mused to himself, his ears perking up as he heard a fainting crying sound, "It seems my siblings have woken up."

Indeed they had. Mei stood up, which made Goliath and Ace jump down from the couch as well, and began walking towards her room, "I'll take care of them… would you care to join me?"

"Me?" Damian asked in disbelief, "You want my assistance."

Mei nodded, "Yeah, you're really good with John and Jikusume. They're calm as can be when you hold them. Come on, we can try and rock them to sleep together."

For one reason or another, Damian felt unable to turn down such an offer. He stood up and began following Mei towards her room, commenting on the way, "I've noticed John's bone structure doesn't to match up you or father. Are he and Jikusume truly twins?"

"He's your brother if every sense of the word, if that's what you're getting at," Mei replied, "I'll explain it to you some other time, but just remember, true family has nothing to do with genetics."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Brother Blood was struggling to maintain focus with everything that was going on around him. Calling it a brawl, quite frankly, would've been understating how insane things had become. From just the corner of his eyes alone, he could his security agents fighting off Harley's hyenas, Harley herself smacking Private H.I.V.E. over the head with her mallet, and Rose slicing his security bots to pieces with her swordsman skills. It was enough to make him wonder why he spent so much money on these protective measures, "How is it my men can't manage to get any kind of upper hand against a team of ragtag buffoons like this? For the love of God, those two aren't even doing anything! How is no one attacking them?"

The 'those two' he was referring to was Ino and Argent, who'd were back to back with one another talking strategy. They were speaking too quietly for Blood to hear, but he certainly didn't miss the moment before the young ladies parted ways, when Ino planted a decent sized kiss right on Argent's lips. Brother Blood had no idea what to make of all this, and his primary foe, Jason Todd, could see it, "What's the matter, Blood? Aren't you used to your grunts looking this stupid, or just enjoying the lovely view of my friends over there?"

"It is truly miraculous you fools have survived this long," Brother Blood sneered, preparing a defense for the bullets that, considering the guns Jason wielded, were undoubtedly coming his way, "How can those two act so foolish when their lives are on the line?"

Ino had heard that last part, and felt compelled to answer herself, "Hey, like you said, we could die tonight. I don't wanna die without having a little bi-curoisty. Plus, it could be a fun preview for later tonight if we win this thing!"

"Of for fuck's sake," Brother Blood cursed, not the least be sure whether she was kidding or not. It was a statement he'd have to disregard for now, as Jason was about to pull his triggers and unleash lead on him. In order to deflect the attack, Blood used his powers to turn the markings covering his arms into shields made of pure occult energy that raised up off from his skin. He pointed his forearms towards Jason, which meant the bullets hit Blood's shield not long after they left their chamber, "You can tease me all you like, but if you keep using toys like that, it isn't going to matter! Powerless weaklings like yourselves have no business challenging someone like me!"

To Blood's credit, he was right about Jason pistols; they hadn't even made a dent in shield. If he wanted to stand any chance against the headmaster of H.I.V.E., he needed something with a little more punch. It was a good thing he'd backed one of his more 'fun' weapons in preparation for the battle. Reaching into coat, Jason pulled out a metallic disk about the size of a frisbee and hurled it at Blood, who onced again tried to block it with his arm shields. Yet, instead of merely bouncing off the dark energy Blood was projecting, the disc latched onto the shields, absorbing their power. The device began to shake and sputter before exploding in a burst of energy that destroyed the now weakened shields and sent Blood flying into the wall behind him. With his foe's defenses down, Jason unloaded the remaining bullets in his clips into Blood's chest. He knew it wouldn't kill the old man, thanks to his newfound 'immortality,' but it would sure hurt like hell, "Not too shabby for a powerless weakling, huh? Don't worry, I'll give you a second to get all of the blood out of your mouth so can think up a comeback."

Brother Blood, ironically enough, did indeed need to spit out a stream of crimson before he was able to speak coherently, "Not many people could create a device capable of absorbing such unstable energy. Where did a little piece of shit like you get a weapon as advanced as that?"

"They're samples from an old friend of mine," Jason replied, sliding his guns back into their holsters, "You ready to admit you underestimated us?"

With his bullet wounds already healed, Blood had no trouble jumping before responding, "Not a chance! You've only seen the smallest fraction of my powers! I'm going to make you and your friends kneeled down before me once you see what I can really do!"

Jason smirked, reaching into the other side out of coat to pull out his magnum handgun with one hand while grabbing his specially made combat knife with the other. He cracked his neck and loosened up a little before lunging at Blood with just as much furiosity as before. This battle showed no signs of slowing down, "Glad to see you're not giving in easy. I was hoping to kick your ass just a bit longer before you'd give up. Come on, Blood, let's see if your powers can make up for the fact that you fight worse than most of your students."

"Why you arrogant brat," The H.I.V.E. headmaster shouted, lunging right back at his enemy, "It's time for you the teacher to put the student in his place!"

* * *

Things weren't faring quite as well with some of the other heroes, who'd gone a floor below Jason and his team for their fights so they could prevent any of Blood's allies from reaching him. Superboy, who was finding himself all too thankful for his super strength, was taking on Mammoth, a brown haired 19 year old with a goatee and incredible levels of strength. His uniform consisted of a sleeveless black unitard with a yellow pattern across abdomen which showed off his massive arms. Those massives arms were currently connected by a pair of bunched up fists as Mammoth raised them above his head only to swiftly bring them back down in a attempted to club Superboy over the head, "Mammoth is going to grind you into dust, tiny Superman!"

Superboy could already see why this student usually worked within a team. Strategy didn't seem like his strong suit. Still, when the hero caught Mammoth's attack with both hands, Superboy discovered that he made up for his lack of brains with brute strength more than ten times over. The shock wave from the force of the blow cracked the floor beneath the hero's feet and made his knees shake. He didn't care though, as this left Mammoth wide open for another attack, "Cyborg, take him out!"

"Oh hell yes," Cyborg called out, pointing his sonic cannon at the wide open Mammoth and firing, "Let's see how you handle this, ya ugly motherfucker!"

The sonic beam hit the villain like a freight train and sent him flying into the nearby desk of Brother Blood's secretary. It wouldn't be enough to knock him out, but it'd leave him dazed for a couple of seconds for sure, and that was a couple of seconds Superboy was going to need in order to catch his breath. Cyborg had really come through for him, "Thanks man, I owe you one. I can't remember the last time anybody's been strong enough to give me a run for my money."

"Yeah, he lives up to his namesake alright. He's a strong as Mammoth, and just about as smart as one too," Cyborg agreed, taking a moment to take a check on how his fellow teammates were doing in their battles, "Looks like Raven and Etrigan are having better luck with Jinx. Same with Beast B-er, I mean Changeling and Miss Martian up against Gizmo over there. Artemis is doing a damn good job snipping any of the security guys that try to get up those stairs too. Hey, where's Kid Flash? I thought he was on the same floor as us?"

"I am," Kid Flash called, whizzing past Cyborg and Superboy so that he could jump on Mammoth's head, slamming it into the metal desk as the villain was trying to stand back up, "I'm so good, I can fight all three of these guys at once. I'm the best backup there is; ain't that right, babe?"

Artemis was in the middle of launching an arrow with an electrified tip, which would go on to take out three guards, when she responded, "This really isn't the time for me to be boosting your ego, hon. You wanna prove your badass? Then start kicking the shit out of somebody!"

It wasn't a bad suggestion, though there was one fight that he didn't need to help out in much at all, and that was the battle against the mystic Jinx. One of H.I.V.E. tops students, Jinx was known in part for her unique sense of style, as she had light gray skin and pink hair that was shaped like a horseshoe with metallic black bands near the top. Her eyes matched her hair color, while her outfit consisted of a black, long sleeved dress with violet and black striped leggings underneath. Though the look was interesting to say the least, it wasn't really helping her against the two powerhouse magical beings she was going up against, "Can someone please explain to me how I got stuck with the only two people in the room who've got a foolproof way of deflecting my attacks? Seriously, what genius thought this up?"

"The young lady seems to have forgotten that we struck before any kind of plan could be created," Etrigan pointed out, summoning a fireball in each hand, "And I must say, she could be a fairly dangerous opponent, if one were to face her alone that is."

Raven had fought Jinx several times over the years, making her able to confirm a few things as the fireballs left Etrigan's hands and flew towards the villainess, "She's got skill, I'll give her that. One on one, Jinx can do some damage, mainly thanks to the fact that she can literally alter someone's luck with her powers. We haven't given her the chance to do anything like that though, and even if she was able to use her full abilities, I've learned a couple of ways around them. We're basically the worst people Jinx could be fighting right now."

As she attempted to deflect the fireballs with a wave of pink energy she conquered from her hands, Jinx couldn't help but agree, "You don't say? I can't even deflect those stupid flame attacks without burning my hands! Ah, son of a bitch, that hurts!"

"Ah yes, the flames of hellfire do burn at a mighty temperature," Etrigan mused, making Jinx all the more frustrated, "I'd simply recommend to you that you surrender now so that you don't have to face them, but something tells me your resolve is too strong for that."

"Yo don't fucking say?" Jinx cursed at him, her hands slowly becoming enveloped in a pinkish glow, "I'm done playing around with you assholes! Let's see you stop me from casting _this_ spell!"

The pink light shot from Jinx's hands and towards Etrigan, and he didn't know of anyway to deflect it. He had to hope Raven hadn't been lying before, and that she really did know how to stop such an attack. Conjuring up a spell of her own, Raven would soon put his mind at ease, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Etrigan went wide eyed as a wall of black, transparent light appeared in front of him, stopping the attack it's tracks. Not only that, the light absorbed the spell, then transformed into a concentrated ball of energy. That ball shot towards Jinx, hitting her in the chest and knocking her flat on her ass. It was the kind move that left Etrigan more than a little impressed, "You captured the attack and used it's power to create a more potent attack of your own. That's some highly advanced magic, lady Raven. I weep for any foe who truly makes you angry."

"I've got my moments," Raven said, her eyes never leaving Jinx, "Don't get too cozy. Even if she doesn't get back up, we're gonna need to help the others finish their fights."

Not a bad idea, although everybody seemed to have things pretty well under control at the moment. With Kid Flash bouncing back and forth, not only was Mammoth much more manageable, but Changeling and Miss Martian were having an even easier time with the techno-whiz Gizmo. This 'Gizmo' was another H.I.V.E. student who was rather short for his age, was bald, and wore green goggles. His outfit was basically a dark green one-piece with shoes built in, and he had a gray device in the middle of his chest. He also wore a sort of backpack that stored all his various technological devices inside, which were his main means of attacking the heroes. That backpack was currently being used a set of wings that allowed Gizmo to hover in the air while he used a controller to manipulate a pair of twin miniature jets which were capable of firing lasers and shooting off small missiles. Honestly though, they weren't difficult to dodge, or anywhere near as irritating as Gizmo's nasally voice, "What's wrong, losers? Can't you green skinned weirdos beat me without help from the speed freak? I'll bet the little snot rag thinks he's all cool just cause he changed his name? Pft, you guys still suck!"

"I know he's a teenager, but this guys talks like he's 10 years old," Miss Martian groaned, attempting to get a read on the tiny pain in neck, "Dammit, I still can't connect to any of their minds. That device in his chest is putting out some kind of energy that I just can't get around."

Changeling knew how hard to fight his surrogate sister's powers were, so that tech had to be some next level stuff. Gizmo must've upped his game since the last time he'd fought the Titans, meaning Changeling might have to think up some new strategies, "If you can't hook to their minds, then don't even bother trying. Just use your telekinesis or something like that to take out those jets, and leave the little asshole to me!"

Not the most complicated plan, but one that Miss Martian had no issues going along with. She refocused her mental abilities, allowing her to telekinetically grab Gizmo's toys. Once she had them firmly within her grasp, Miss Martian sent the jets careening towards one another, making them crash and explode in blaze of glory. Gizmo was outraged to see his hard work so mistreated, "Hey! Do have any clue how much time I spent perfecting those things? I'm gonna make you pay for that, you little-uh oh!"

"Well that's gonna hurt," Miss Martian said, referring to the cheetah form of Changeling that had just leaped at Gizmo, "Maybe next time you'll learn to shut your big mouth…"

Gizmo was terrified that he was about to be ripped apart, but really, Changeling was only interested in the device on his chest. Using his now massive teeth, the hero turned cheetah bit down on the device until her heard a series of cracks and sparks. Pulling his head up, Changeling could easily tell that the device was no longer functional, so he returned to his spot next to Miss Martian and reverted back to his human form. Again able to speak, he filled her in on the next stage of his plan, "Alright, now that you can use your powers again, can you just knock these guys out for us?"

"Not without risking minor brain damage," Miss Martian admitted, disheartening the heroes and slightly terrifying the H.I.V.E. students, "I can jumble up their thought process and make it harder for them to fight back though."

That caught pretty much everyone's attention. At the rate things were going already, Jinx only had one question, "Is it still possible for us to reconsider surrendering?"

* * *

Harley Quinn hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Something about the feeling of her mallet shaking in her hands as she smacked Brother Blood in head with it and the cracking sound his skull made just awoke a strange joy in her. She was giggling as she swung her mallet yet another time, hitting Blood and sending him skidding across the room, "You know what, Brotherfucker? I'm glad you're immortal now. Getting to beat the hell of ya like this without having to worry about killing you is awesome! I get to do this all day long, and you just keep on gettin' up for me to do it again! It's great!"

"Oh, I'm so glad you could help work out your issues," Blood snapped, standing up while holding his aching head. He'd switched opponents about 15 minutes ago when Jason ran out of bullets, most of which had been used to put Brother Blood through a hell of a lot of pain, the madman noting that the teen seemed to make it his personal mission to shoot off his 'little friend.' Since then, the vast majority of the H.I.V.E. security agents who were supposed to be protecting the headmaster had been defeated by Rose, Argent, Ino, and the previously mentioned Jason. The confidence that Blood had at the beginning of this fight was starting to waver, "You fools remind me of a nest of cockroaches; you manage to survive no matter how hostile the environment is."

Not a bad analogy in Harley's eyes, though she felt it applied to a different person, "If anyone's a cockroach here, it's you. I can stomp on you, burn you, or cut off your damn head, but you'll just keep on kickin'!"

Blood could hear those around him laughing at the insult, a few of the voices coming for him very own men. As if this situation wasn't embarrassing enough already for Blood, now he was being reduced to a joke. His rage was burning strongly enough to light an ocean's worth of gasoline, "You bitch, why are you doing this to me? What have I ever done to you? I took care of your daughter, gave you an obscene amount of money, and let your family live here without asking for so much as a dime! Not to mention the fact that I had complete control over you and never once took advantage of it! Do you think this is anyway to thank me for all of that?"

"You want me to thank you for things like kidnapping my daughter and not rapping me?" Harley snapped, her fury now rivaling that of Brother Blood's, "My mallet is too fucking good for you! You deserve the most painful thing I can think of! I'm gonna make you sorry you were ever born!"

With the kind of imagination Harley Quinn had, those threats held more weight than usual. Blood narrow his eyes and clenched his fists, ready to counter whatever attack his foe might have in mind. Harley tossed her mallet aside and began to dig inside a sack she had slung over her shoulder, pulling out three hand grenades with smiley faces painted on them. She pulled out the pins and chucked them towards Blood, who acted instantly to defend himself. His hands shot forward and small bits of magic shots from fingertips, hitting the grandes and making them explode long before they reached him. In order to protect himself from the force of the blast, Blood created another shield around his body, preventing any harm from coming his way. If he was lucky, perhaps some of the carnage that had missed him had found its way towards Harley, "Tch, I expecting more from that she devil. What was the point of that little display?"

"Look behind you if you wanna find out," Harley called from the smoke, "I've heard you'll be in less pain if you don't see the damage though, so you know, it's your call."

Blood discovered what she was referring to when he felt a sharp pain emanating from both his ankles. He screamed bloody murder and looked down to find that Harley's hyena's had latched onto his ankles, chomping on them for all they were worth. His first instinct was to knock them away, but something came ripping through his chest before he got the chance to do that. It was Harley, wielding a bat that had dozens of nails imbedded in it. It was a hell of a one two punch, but not one Blood was going to take lying down. Conjuring up some of his dark power, Blood shocked the the hyena's with a streak of red lightning that sent them running, then changed the course of that same lightning to that it's struck Harley. She was forced to take a few steps back, giving Blood another chance to speak, "I'll give you some points on that one, Miss Quinn. I'm impressed you thought of that on the fly. How you got those mutts to attack me just then, I'll never know, but it doesn't matter. If that was your big revenge hit against me, then I can only assume your reputation is far worse than what you're actually capable of."

Those were some bold words, and quite frankly, one's that he was going to regret. Harley Quinn pulled the bat out of his chest and tossed it to the side, then reached into her bag once again, this time retrieving a pair of items even more sinister… a blow torch and a bottle of lighter fluid, "Don't worry, I'm just getting warmed up! I'm not gonna be anywhere near as warm as you're about to be though! Come on, asshole, it's time for me to give you a little taste of what hell's gonna be like!"

Brother Blood had a bad feeling hell wouldn't seem so bad after a night like this...

* * *

"You're really sucking the fun out of this for me, you know that, punk?" The Trickster whined, throwing a series of jacks on ground in front of him before firing off another round of bullets from his comically old school tommy gun, "How are you avoiding all my wonderful pranks so easily?"

Those 'wonderful pranks; he spoke of included bouncey balls that could break through concrete, whoopi cousins that released poisonous gas, and teddy bears with flamethrowers inside of them. They were gadgets that were worthy of his flamboyant appearance, which consisted of pieces of multicolored fabric haphazardly stitched together. This amalgamation included orange and blue stripes, green and yellow polka dots, a blue cap and matching mask, and any other assault to the eyes one could think of. The Red Fox, his primary foe at the moment, had no idea how Trickster fought in something so ridiculous looking, but he did now why all his gimmicks were falling flat on their faces, "I hate to break it to you, Trickster, but this kinda stuff is nothing to me. Do you have any idea how many years I spent having to deal with the Joker's gadgets? You're stuff's not bad, but his, well, it's at a level you could never even come close to."

Trickster frowned, but made no effort to dispute his claims, "It's just not fair. How am I ever supposed to be the world's greatest prankster when the Joker's already done all the great gags?"

"Hey, you're not a mass murder, so I'd already say I prefer your pranks to his," The Red Fox mumbled, a phrase that would've lifted Trickster's spirits, if hadn't been for what his opennet did directly after saying it, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

"Great what now?" Trickster tried to repeat before the Red Fox released a massive gust of wind from his mouth that sent the jack on the floor flying towards the man who'd originally thrown them. Seeing as they were sharpened, the Trickster soon found himself dropping the the tommy guy and using his hands to try and defend himself, "Hey! What's the big idea? How'd you even-ow! Those little bastards really hurt!"

With his foe's guard no longer an issue, the Red Fox quickly sprinted up to the Trickster, leaped in the air, and kicked him square in the face. The villain stumbled for a few moments before falling onto the floor behind him, out cold. Now that he was taken care of, the Red Fox could shift his focus elsewhere, though he hadn't decided where that might be yet. It wouldn't be something he had to think about for long though, as his new primary target literally came crashing towards him through a nearby wall.

All he got as a form of warning was a small explosion before Spoiler came flying out of a cloud of dust that used to be a rather sturdy wall, followed by someone the Red Fox had never seen before walking nonchalantly out of it. Based on the red X's that covered his costume though, his identity seemed pretty clear, "Well would you look at that. I'm finally in the presence of the new kid in town I've been hearing so much about. The fact that you're kicking the shit out of one of my friends doesn't give a good first impression, Red X… and for the record, Red Fox sounds way more badass."

"Just keep telling yourself that," Red X fired back, doing his best to keep both Spoiler and his new foe in his sights, "Man, you guys have got a whole lot of heroes running around this place. I saw some security cam footage before I got jumped, and there's a shit ton of heavy hitters just tearing everything apart. If I had to guess, Etrigan's probably on his way up to see Brother Blood as we speak, which means I sure as shit don't wanna be him right now."

Spoiler stood up and brushed the dust off from herself, scowling in the direction of Red X, "I wouldn't feel too bad for him, since you're about to get your butt kicked just as badly he is!"

"Mmmm, you're quite beautiful when you're angry," Red X remarked, stunning his enemies, "It almost makes me want to end this fight right now and see if you can put that passion to use in, shall we say, 'other ways.'"

It didn't take a genius to understand what he meant, and Stephanie sure as hell wasn't going to let him say something like that and get away with it. She shot towards Red X, screaming at the top of her lungs, "The only passion you'll be seeing from me is how passionately I'm about to kick your ass!"

Red X waited until Spoiler was directly in front him, then leaped to his left, grabbing his opponent's wrist on his way. Rather than using it to throw her, the young mercenary left behind a red ring of crystal which stretched all around Spoiler's wrist. At first, she had no idea what the purpose of such a move would be, but soon discovered its sinister implications. The crystal began to expand, reaching up towards her fingers until her entire hand was encased in the substance. Spoiler could only stare at it as Red X chuckled beside her, "What? I thought diamonds were a girl's best friend. To be fair, that isn't exactly dimond, but the color still matches the rage in your eyes beautifully."

"He's kind of a jackass, but I've gotta admit, he's pretty smooth," The Red Fox said, drawing his Soultaker Sword. Once it was ready, he called in a louder voice, "Alright, lover boy, based on the way you're talking you _aren't_ here to protect Blood, so why don't you tell me why you _are _here before I decided to find out how well those crystals hold up against my blade?"

As he knew exactly what weapon the Red Fox was holding, that wasn't a scenario the undercover operative needed to see played out. Instead, he would find a way to make his exit before he inadvertently gave himself up, and thanks to a special little crystal he held between his fingers, that wouldn't be a problem, "Would you buy that I merely wanted to take this place in before it came tumbling down and stayed when I saw the gorgeous girl in purple? No? Then I do believe it's time for me to take my leave."

The Red Fox dashed towards his target when heard that, intent on preventing any kind of escape. Red X was more than ready with his crystal, smashing it on the ground the moment he finished speaking. It released a flash so strong that Naruto was certain in the seconds after it went off that he'd be blinded for a few days. Oddly enough though, his vision returned to him less than 30 seconds later, although that did nothing to soften the blow of Red X having vanished, "Dammit, he got away! How are we ever gonna figure out who this guy is if he vanishes almost as quickly as we find him?"

"I'm more pissed off by the fact that he was hitting on me," Spoiler added in, rubbing her sore eyes, "That was the first time in a long I really felt the fire down in my stomach though. The spark I got kinda made me feel like myself again. He knew exactly how to push my buttons. Maybe I should thank that asshole…"

Any type of 'thanks' would have to wait, as Batman and Nightwing soon entered the room. What was noteworthy was that the two of them were walking rather than running or being thrown through a door. There was no rush in their steps, and they were chatting with one another without the smallest hint of urgency in their voices, "Well that was fun. Do you remember the last time we kicked ass together like that, Batman?"

"Probably sometimes before we started calling you Nightwing," Batman replied, stepping over the unconscious Trickster, "No matter when it was, you're right. You and I were completely in synch back there. To be fair thoug, .E. didn't have nearly the talent pool I was expecting it too. With a few exceptions, Blood was making his team out to be far more dangerous than it actually is."

Nightwing nodded in agreement, looking around the room find not so much as a single guard or professor still awake. By virtually any measure, this mission was turning out to be a massive success. If the team leader had to guess, he'd say there was only one thing left for them to do, "All the rats are either beaten or leaving the sinking ship, so I think it's time for us to go after the Captain, assuming the Red Hood hasn't finished him off already. What do you say, team? You wanna go upstairs and witness the final downfall of H.I.V.E?"

"Man, your lines are almost as bad as Dad's," The Red Fox joked, earning a small laugh from those around him, "Cheesiness aside, yeah, let's go watch Blood get his ass kicked. I can't wait to see the look on his smug face when he realizes just how screwed he really is!"

* * *

Controlling Harley Quinn had become increasingly difficult as her battle with Brother Blood raged on. No matter what she did to him, whether it be physical or mental, nothing ever seemed to be enough for the jester. No matter how deeply she cut or how badly she burned Blood, she just wanted to do more. He had to be begging for the ability to die before Harley would be satisfied. Really, that might not even have been enough, considering that Blood was currently lying on the floor, beaten to a bloody pulp and unable to move. His regenerative powers simply couldn't keep up with the kind of damage Harley was doing to him, "Please… no more… I surrender…"

"You surrender when I say you surrender," Harley snapped, reaching into her nearly empty bag. She found a crowbar with a broken off ended, which left it nice, sharpened, and just perfect for stabbing into Blood's left arm, pinning it down to the ground, "Where's all your clever snarkiness now, huh asshole? Are you gonna have to wait for your damn throat to heal up before it can come back?"

Jason put his hands on Harley's shoulders as gently as he could, trying to think of some way to calm Harley down, "Mom, it's over, we've won. All his guards are out cold. We can stop now."

Ripping herself away from her son's grip, Harley screamed back, "No! He has to pay! Nobody controls me anymore! Do you hear me? Nobody!"

"No one's trying to control," Jason replied, his voice remaining soft, "All we wanna do is help you. Blood's finished, and so's our work here. Please, I don't want Deula to see you like this."

Harley seemed to snap back to attention at the mention of her little girl. She looked down at herself for the first time since the battle had begun, seeing all the blood that now soaked her costume. After a few seconds of remaining perfectly still, Harley took in a deep breath, followed by a few steps away from Brother Blood. She was shaking a little, so Jason put his arms back around her. This time, she made no attempt to push him away.

It wasn't much longer before the rest of the heroes came flocking in, resulting in numerous wrap-ups of what all had gone down with each group. Jason and the others on his team neglected to mention Harley's near loss of control, something she was eternally grateful for. Everyone was soon caught up to speed, leaving on one matter remaining: What to do with Brother Blood?

Batman and Nightwing were the first to propose sparing him and incarcerating him in a specially designed prison, but Blood had shown his craftiness on more than one occasion. Containing him would be difficult to say the least, and if he ever managed to break out, they feared what potential new powers he might gain in the process. Etrigan and Raven could both feel unspeakably foul energy radiating off from him, leading both to recommend he be destroyed. Thanks to his ability to conjure hellfire, Etrigan was the only one able to burn off the dark marks that covered Blood's body, which would undoubtedly lead to his death. It was a debate that would be drawn out for nearly an hour, with both sides making strong cases as to why they were in the right. In the end though, the consensus was that Blood was simply too dangerous to try and contain. Though a couple of team members were far from pleased with the results, everyone allowed Etrigan do what needed to be done.

He roasted Brother Blood with hellfire until the H.I.V.E. Headmaster was nothing more than a pile of ashes ready to be blown away by the wind. After all the years of narcissism and endless attempts to prove he stood above all others, Brother Blood went out with a whimper. There was no great final speech for him to give and no chances for him to spit blood in the face of those who'd defeated him. Blood could only lay there and scream as the unyielding flames consumed him. In many ways, it was a fitting end for such a cold excuse for a human being.


	63. Past, Present, and Future Pt 1

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the next instalment of the The Red Fox, a fanfic that has quickly spun into something far longer than I ever thought it would be. As stated in the last chapter, I'll be jumping right in with some Abaddon related stuff, and that'll be where we end off in the chapter as well. In between, we'll being do things like seeing Naruto returning to his home and Selina checking in on Kitrina. By no means the flashiest chapter I've ever written, but one I feel will set up the larger things to come, and hopefully be pretty entertaining as well. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Jerry Goldsmith-Alien Suite

* * *

Traveling to different time periods was the kind of thing the Reverse Flash lived for. Watching some of the most important event in history play out before his eyes had never grown old to him. The trip Reverse Flash was on now though was not one of pleasure. He was doing research on a new player in his world who'd managed to shift the speedster's attention away from his long time nemesis, a feat few people had ever managed to accomplish. This person though, who still went by Abaddon in this time period, was dangerous enough to force even the most unlikely of alliances. Thawne was thinking about this situation along with many other things as he used his powers to sneak around Abaddon's fortress, currently in a year placed directly in the middle of his reign of terror. Hopefully it'd provide him with more information than any of the other years he'd visited had, because since his talk with the Flash, he'd come up empty handed. Out of the handful of significant dates Thawne had been able to pin down with the mostly demolished records, this was the last one that held any kind of hope of finding something that could help them stop Abaddon.

"The surprise attack starts in less than a minutes," The Reverse Flash reminded himself aloud as he zoomed through the underground labyrinth of the ancient castle Abaddon had turned into his base of operations, "There has to be something here that can give me some kind of hint about Abaddon's weakness. That little ambush crew that worked on this plan disabled the security systems already, so that makes things easier on me, but I've gotta try to avoid anyone seeing me or interacting with me at all. This thing needs to play out exactly like it did before if the information I'm gonna get here can be of any use. Here's hoping I'm not too late."

Thawne made it to the top floor of the makeshift fortress in no time at all, and avoid being seen thanks to his unstoppable speed. He came to a halt just before reaching Abaddon's room though, using his powers to vibrate through a wall and then run up it to reach the roof. Now in position, the Reverse Flash hid himself behind a stone gargoyle, carefully peeking over to see who might arrive. As it turned out, his ears would be more useful to him for spotting any oncomers than his eyes would be. A shriek in the air rang out through the sky, making Thawne's head shoot up in the direction from which it came. There, soaring through the air, was a massive creature with two bat like wings, red fur, a muscular, almost humanoid frame, and fangs the size of steak knives with a matching set of claws. Someone wearing a tan trench coat and thin body armor rode upon the beast's back, but they were too high up for the Reverse Flash to make out who it was. It was an incredible sight to be sure, but one that raised some questions for Thawne as well, "They're going for an aerial assault? If that's the case, then why bother disabling the security systems? I knew there special mines in the castle walls to stop Martians and speedsters, so I suppose it's likely there's some in the ceiling as well. Still, of all the attacks they could go for, why an aerial? As soon as they break through that roof, Abaddon's going to know they're attacking, and the element of surprise all but vanishes. The only reason they'd move foreword with a plan like this is because they already know they can face him head on and just needed a way in. Looks like I may have finally hit the jackpot with this time period."

Back in the air, the man riding atop the flying beast could be heard calling out, "It's now or never! Goliath, go for the dive bomb!"

"Goliath?" Thawne repeated to himself, "Interesting name. I'll have to do a little research when I get back to see if I can identify whatever the hell that thing is. I don't remember seeing it in any of the records."

Moving at a speed faster than the Reverse Flash ever would've expected, Goliath shot down towards the roof of the fortress, being sure to lead with shoulder, which was protected by a layer of leather armor. His shoulder hit the stone ceiling and sent a massive shockwave across it that nearly knocked Thawne over. He ended up perfectly stable, although the ceiling didn't, soon caving in and creating a gaping hole that stretched about half way across the stone plain. With their way now clear, Goliath and his rider flew into the fortress, and they didn't do it alone either. A new figure came into the Reverse Flash's view, one who was flying in a sort of black body armor using a set a rocket boots and red glider wings, and entered Abaddon's lair through the same opening. Thawne wanted to see what was happening below, but waited a few moment to be sure no other intruders would appear and give away his position. When no one else arrived, he ran up hole and looked inside to find a once extravagant bedroom that was now trashed thanks to the ambush, as well as an infuriated Abaddon, "You fucking whelps! How dare you interrupt my rest! I'm going to rip off your heads and send them right back to that fucking pitiful group of morons you call a resistance!"

The Reverse Flash was lucky enough to be at just the right height to see exactly what was going on, and, considering it was just this Goliath creature and the two men who accompanied it fighting Abaddon, their odds of winning seemed pretty low. Perhaps more noteworthy than that though, was the costume the man who'd flown in second was wearing. It looked to be a more advanced version of the Batsuit, only it completely covered the wearer's face and bared a red bat symbol. Whoever it was underneath that costume, they were the first one to respond to Abaddon's tirade, "Don't worry, Abby, we'll be out of your hair in no time. We just need to check one thing before we go. Goliath, you know what to do!

"Graaahhhhh," Goliath screamed as he lept into the air just as the man in the batsuit threw a small glass orb in his path. Using his deadly claws, the monster shattered the orb, releasing a red mist that then enveloped his hand. The creature's speed would served it well right then, as Abaddon was left unable to dodge as the upcoming slash as it reached his face, Goliath screeching as it did, "Scraawww!"

A head on attack like that didn't exactly strike fear in Abbadon's heart, as they'd never been able to pierce the biological body armor that he wore at all times. That was going to change rather quickly, as Goliath's claws hit the head section of the armor and began to dig through it, soon puncturing straight inside. Pulling with all of his might, the bat creature ripped off a large portion of the mask like section that covered Abaddon's face, revealing it to the world. There was something about the ferocity with which Goliath attacked that suggested a history between the creature and the tirant. Abaddon stood still for a moment before reaching up his hand to feel the hole in what he thought was an indestructible suit of armor, "That's not possible! How'd you do that? Nothing's ever come close to even touching me in fucking years! Answer me, dammit!"

"It's demonic energy," Answered the one in the trench coat, "Dad had a suspicion that it would be the one thing you weren't invulnerable to after all the different powers you've absorbed. He got the idea after the last time he saw you take just a tiny hit of Kurama's power. Goliath is one of the few creatures who can touch this stuff continually without killing or maiming himself, so we gave him the honor of testing it out on you. Now that we know it works, well, I think you can figure out where things go from here. We know where to get an almost unlimited supply of your weakness, so we've finally got the upper hand. You're finished, Abaddon!"

Thawne would've expected the biggest headline there to be that Abaddon was vulnerable to demonic energy, but it turned out the glimpse he got underneath the villain's armor was far more telling. There was a face underneath it that he recognized instantly, even if it was a face he never would've expected to find. The predictability of it didn't matter though, at least not to the Reverse Flash. His eyes didn't lie, and there was only one person with hair that blond and eyes that blue. With a jolt, the speedster turned and dashed away from the fortress, intent on connecting to the speed force. He had to make it to per-war Gotham, so that maybe, just maybe, he could stop this thing before it ever began, "Never would've pegged this thing on Wayne's little brat, but I'm not going to question it. I know who Abaddon really is, and I'm going to kill him to make certain he never gets strong enough to kill me. Sorry, Naruto, but in the words of that beast rider… you're finished!"

* * *

"Ah, home at last," Naruto sighed in relief, setting his bags down by the kitchen table before calling out, "Hey, Alfred, guess who's back?"

Following a quick set of footsteps, the butler entered the kitchen with a grin on his face and Goliath on his shoulder, "Master Naruto, how excellent to have you home! How was your trip to Jump City?"

Naruto was a little to distract by the by creature perched on Alfred's body to answer that, "Alfred, are you aware that they're a um… dragon… bat… thing on your shoulder?"

"Hm? Ah, you mean Goliath. I see your father hasn't mentioned your brother's new friend just yet," Alfred reasoned, walking closer to Naruto so that he could get a look at the creature, "It's impossible to say what he is, but I can assure you, you've got nothing to fear from this little bundle of fur here. Go on, Goliath, say hello."

Flapping his tiny wings, Goliath flew off of Alfred's shoulder and over to Naruto's. He sniffed the young blonde's neck, paused for a moment, then proceeded to lick his nose. It was impossible for Naruto not chuckle, "He's pretty cute, I'll give him that. I wonder if Stephanie's gonna react to-"

"Oh my gosh!" Stephanie screamed, sprinting into the room and scooping Goliath up into her arms, "It's so cute! It's so cute! It sooooo cuuuuteee!"

Goliath looked almost terrified as he Stephanie held him to her chest and spun him around. Alfred felt obligated to intervene, "Miss Brown, I hate to spoil the moment, but I do believe you're making the poor thing dizzy."

Stephanie skidded to stop and held out Goliath in front of her, noting the way his eyes were practically spinning in his head, "Uh oh! Sorry about that, little guy. You're just so freaking cute!"

"What is with the girls around here and animals?" Naruto wondered aloud, "You'd think they're all Inuzuka's or something."

The noise they were making attracted the other housemates, as Mei and Damian entered the room, the former holding John and the latter holding Jikusume. Mei did her best to balance John with one arm while she pulled Naruto into a hug with the other, "The prodigal son returns at last. It's good to have you and Stephaine home, we all really missed you guys. Barbara's gonna be over in a little bit, so we're all gonna have a big lunch together and catch up what's been going on with everyone. It's gonna be great!"

"Indeed it shall," Alfred agreed, then glanced over at the kitchen, "However, I'm going to need some assistance in order to have it ready in time. We're going to have to split up duties between watching the little ones and helping me cook."

Damian's grip on his younger sister didn't loosen, "I've only ever learned to cook for survival. If your concern is taste, I'm better suited to waiting the children."

Although he'd just entered the room, Bruce already had enough information to make a crack at the expense of his son, "You know Damian, just saying 'I'll watch Jikusume,' would've sufficed."

"Perhaps, but it wouldn't have sounded anywhere near as interesting," Damian replied, walking back towards the living room, "I await whoever you choose to assist me."

Bruce rolled his eyes at his son's antics, but didn't say anything else regarding the matter, turning his attention to his wife instead, "Mei might as well stay with John, since he's nice and comfy in her arms. I'll help out the rest of in the kitchen in just a moment. I need to have a quick word Mei first."

No one questioned it as Bruce lead his wife out of the room, though Mei herself couldn't help but feel a bit confused, "Honey, is something wrong? You look kinda tense."

"That's because I am," Bruce responded when they were out of hearing distance, "I didn't bring Naruto and Stephaine home just because I thought they were ready. Something's come out about the massacre of Falcone's crew a few days ago. Barbara called and told me about right before the battle against H.I.V.E."

Mei had seen the site of said massacre first hand, having been on patrol the night it happened. She rarely did night patrols, thanks to the constant work of being Mizukage, but this was one in particular hat stuck out firmly in her mind, "That was some of the most gruesome stuff I've ever seen, and that's saying something. Did they figure out who's behind it?"

"Yes and no," Bruce answered, making Mei narrow her eyes, "They've got a name that's been floating around town of a guy who was supposedly involved. You're not gonna believe this… it's Abaddon."

There was a name that sprung a spectrum of emotions inside both of them all at once. After the Flash's mass warning, every member of the Justice League and all of their affiliates had been trying to track down Abaddon, to no avail, and now he'd been plopped right into their lap. However, with how dangerous he apparently was, whether or not finding him was a good thing remained to be seen. Mei had a dozen battle plans and hundreds outcomes playing out in her head alone, "He's here, in Gotham? That bloodbath with Falcone's crew has me thinking he's just as powerful as we've been hearing. Still, if we gathered everyone up and attacked him head on right now, we could probably contain Abaddon with minimal damage to any surrounding areas. But, if he manages to get away, we lose the element of surprise and we might be able to find him again before he becomes unstoppable. Dammit, we finally know where he is, but there's no way to figure out what to do with him."

Bruce always was impressed by the strategic side of Mei's mind, "You're coming to the same conclusions I did. The best thing we can do right now is call a League meeting and consult with the others. Once we've got everyone's input, then we can get a plan in place and hopefully put all this behind us. Does that sound about right?"

"Yeah, at this point, it's the only real option we've got," Mei said, leaning into her husband's chest with a sigh. He wrapped her arms around her, careful not to squeeze too tight and upset John. Mei knew dwelling on thoughts like these would get them nowhere, leaving her with only one logical thing to suggest, "Come on, we should go and spend some time with the family. Something tells me moments like this are gonna become a little more scarce in the near future."

* * *

There were plenty of places in the Hidden Leaf where Selina could've had Kitrina staying. Over a dozen families had offered their homes for the young lady to stay in, and each of them had assured Selina that her sister would be well taken care of. Yet, for whatever reason, Kitrina was placed with the most ironic family possible: the Inuzuka's. Yes, the sister of Catwoman was staying with a clan dedicated to all things canine. No one seemed quite sure what to expect, but Selina was supposed to visit today, only a few days after Kitrina had first arrived, to make certain she was settling in well. There was a chance she would stop by and see Kakashi too, but Selina's main focus was her sister and whether or not she was happy in the Hidden Leaf.

Selina walked up the front door of the Inuzuka estate and knocked on the door, taking the moment to observe the size of the place after she did. It was nearly as large as Wayne Manor, though the architecture was noticeably more eastern in influence, which made sense, given where it had been built. Those were only details Selina had time for, as a women with long, spiky, untamed brown hair, elongated canine teeth, and red tattoos on her cheeks answered the door. It was was Tsume, the current head of the Inuzuka clan, who greeted Selina warmly as usual, "Hey, Selina, what's up?"

"Not much, I'm just here to check in on Kitrina like we talked about before," Selina reminded her, walking into the house once Tsume stepped aside, "So, how's it been going so far? Is my sister adjusting okay?"

"For the most part, yeah," Tsume replied. Her companion dog, Kuromaru, had walked up to Selina and started sniffing her leg. It didn't seem to throw Selina off, but Tsume decided to mention it just to be safe, "That's Kuromaru, my partner. He does that to everybody who comes in, it's just a precautionary thing. Can I get you a cup of coffee or something?"

Shrugging, Selina followed Tsume through a couple of doorways and into her kitchen, "Sure, I've never had your guy's coffee before. Is it any different in the Hidden Leaf?"

Tsume walked to a small cupboard over the kitchen counter and pulled out a few coffee cups. The kitchen itself was much smaller and homier than Selina was exacting, which was by no means a bad thing. It gave the place a nice, cozy feeling that Selina could take in as she sat at the kitchen table, Tsume soon joining her with the coffee in hand, "It might be a little stronger than what you're used to in Gotham, but other than that, it's just plain old coffee."

"Strong is just the way I like it," Selina said, grabbing the cup from Tsume, "Thanks. Hate to impose, but do you have any cream I could use?"

Letting out a brief laugh, Tsume walked over her fridge and grabbed the cream. She couldn't resist asking as she set it on the table, "How often to people make jokes about 'the Cat liking cream in her coffee?'"

"Pretty much any chance they get," Selina admitted with a laugh. She moved the conversation back towards her sister as she fixed up her coffee, "So, you said Kitrina's getting along 'for the most part.' Is there some little issue with her I should know about?"

Tsume took a small sip from her mug before answering, "Eh, her and Kiba have been arguing a little, but I kinda figured that might happen. Their personality pretty much gave that away."

Right as Selina was about to ask Tsume what she meant, the voice of Kitrina came ripping through the house, "Why don't you take a fucking picture? It'll last longer!"

"Oh, real original," Kiba could be heard shouting back, "And for the record, I'm trying not to look, but you're making it kinda hard walking right in front of me in nothing but your underwear and a tank top!"

Selina and Tsume stood up from the table and headed straight for the livingroom, where Kiba was sitting on the couch with Kitrina standing over him, her fist tightly clenched. He wasn't wrong about what the young lady was wearing, with her clothes consisting of a tight pair of panties and a white tank top. Putting what was essentially a younger version of Catwoman in an outfit like that was bound to make for an awkward situation, and now it was one Selina had to try and diffuse, "Woah woah, let's hold on a second. What's the problem here?"

"Kiba's ogling me," Kitrina snapped, pointing directly at the shinobi, "He was trying to be all sneaky about it, but he was totally checking me out!"

"Okay, I'll admit that I glanced over at her for a couple of seconds," Kiba began, holding his hands up in defense, "But I totally wasn't staring! All I did peak a little! For god's sake, I'm sorry, Kitrina, I really am! I shouldn't have looked, okay?"

Tsume got in between the two of them, focusing her attention mainly on Kitrina, "Alright, so he's admitted he was wrong and said he's sorry. Kitrina, do you think maybe you could forgive him?"

A few tense seconds were the prelude to Kitrina's response, "Fine… but he'd better not think I dress like this because I'm some kinda slut! It's way hotter here than it is in Gotham this time of year! I'm just not used to the heat, got that?"

"Yup, I got it," Kiba said, recoiling back into his seat, "I didn't meant to snap at you, by the way. I don't react well when people get in my face like that."

Akamaru, who'd been sitting silently next to Kiba during the argument, now walked in front of his partner and set his massive head on his lap. Tsume could tell Kitrina was confused by how a dog bigger than a wolf had become so timid all of a sudden, so she decided to explain, "Akamaru doesn't like arguments. Inuzuka's dogs might be intelligent, but they're still dogs at their core, so they'll try and cheer up everyone they can if a room seems tense. Walk up to him; you'll see."

"Dog's have never really been my thing, but what the hell? Let's give it a shot," Kitrina mused, moving so that she was right next to Akamaru. She began to gently stroke the dog's head, which made him look up and begin licking her fingers. It was enough to earn a giggle from Kitrina, "Hey, you're pretty friendly, aren't you big guy?"

As amusing as it was to watch Kiba desperately trying not to look at Kitrina for too long as she pet his dog, Selina had something on her mind, "Will you guys excuse us for a second? I need to have a quick, private conversation with my sister."

Kitrina found herself being dragged through a hallway, into the kitchen, and pinned against a wall mere seconds later. Part of her wanted to ask how her sister had moved that fast, but that really wasn't the main question that needed answering here, "Hey, what're you doing? Why'd you drag me out like that?"

"Because you were putting the moves on Kiba," Selina whispered, grabbing her sister's attention, "First of all, it isn't that much warmer here, and we both know it! You're dressed like that to get his attention! Then there was the way you scanning him with your eyes! The whole time you were 'arguing' you were just trying to see how he'd react to what you did!"

"That's… not entirely untrue," Kitrina said, her cheeks turning a tint red, "I was also looking at him because he's cute, and it's funny seeing him get all worked up."

As enjoyable as it was seeing her little sister getting all flustered over the young man, Selina had a few things that needed straightening out, "Kitrina, is this just you having some fun with a boy you like, or are you thinking about an actual relationship with him?"

"I wasn't sure at first, but he is doing really well on all my standards," Kitrina admitted, counting down a metaphorical list on her fingers, "It seems like he can handle my craziness, he's willing to admit when he's wrong, he's cute, and he's respectful. Hell, he hasn't hit on me yet and it took me wearing this to even catch him glancing at my chest and ass. Most other guys I know would've tried to get me in bed by now if I was staying with them."

Selina saw a couple of potential problems coming up if Kitrina started dating Kiba, but they weren't any problems they hadn't worked around before. Kiba was a pretty good kid in Selina's eyes too, so this really wasn't the kind of thing she had any reason to fight, "Tell you what: if you promise me you won't do anything stupid, like get yourself knocked up, I won't step in and put stop to this. Deal?"

That was about as good an offer as Kitrina ever could've asked for, "Deal. I'm gonna give him a quick goodnight kiss before I go to bed tonight. If there's any kinda spark there, I'll say yes to the date you just know he's gonna ask me on in the morning."

"Sister, you are just conniving as I am," Selina said with a smirk, "Come on, we'd better get back in the living room so we don't' worry our hosts… but put some real clothes on first. You've tortured Kiba enough for one day."

* * *

Jason didn't have the faintest idea how to start the conversation he so desperately needed to have with his mother. He was sitting next to her on a hotel bed at the moment, alone with Harley in the room, having asked the girls to take Deula to the park so they could speak privately. Harley wasn't looking him in the eye, which told Jason she knew what this was about. Sliding his hand across the cheap hotel sheets, Jason grabbed his mother's hand and asked her, "Mom, are you gonna talk to me or not? Come on, you know you can't sit there and ignore me forever."

"Why not?" Harley asked in response, "It's better than me admitting I nearly lost it with Blood, or that it was my fault in the first place that we were in that mess. Is that the kinda stuff you wanna hear?"

This was the exact direction Jason was hoping they could avoid, "Mom, I'm not trying to blame you for anything. I only want to make sure you're okay after everything that's happened, that's all. I wanna understand what made you so upset. Can you at least look at me?"

Harley finally looked her son in the eye. She could how desperately he wanted to help her, and it made any attempt to refuse him impossible, "If you wanna know the truth, fine, but it ain't gonna be pretty… before we start this, there's a couple of things you've gotta understand. You weren't around to see what me and Mr. J were like together, but-"

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked in the middle of her sentence, "I fought you in the Joker about a hundred times when I worked with Bruce and Naruto. It was was pretty clear how he felt about you. You were basically the clown's property, and he treated you a little better than one of his henchmen. For him, that was as close as he could ever get to any kind of relationship."

An imperfect summarization, though one Harley had seen coming, "That's what most people thought. You've got the first part right, Mr. J owned me, but I don't know if he really treated me any better than one his goons. Those goons didn't mean anything to him. He'd kill one of them because he got bored. Me though? No, he'd never let it be that simple with me. His masterpiece had to be maintained…"

Jason was hearing this 'masterpiece' talk for the first time, but the way his mother had more or less spat out the word told him all he needed to know, "The Joker warped your mind; twisted it into something you didn't recognize. If that's what you're trying to tell me, it's a little late. Anyone who ever saw you and the Joker together could figure he had complete control over you."

"It wasn't just that he controlled me, it was that I knew I'd never really be free ever again," Harley said, her head hanging, "Mr. J's favorite thing in the world was taking something he thought was too 'bland' and making it into art. He always said blandness was disease the world created to hold us back, and that madness was the only crue. Probably sounds pretty stupid now, but he was so good at telling people exactly what he needed to so he could get right under their skin."

"Believe me, I remember," Jason muttered, his own altercations with the Joker replaying in his mind, "Wait, what's any of that got to do with you being his 'masterpiece,' or never being free again?"

Harley looked up at her reflection in the hotel mirror. She'd showered since they got to the hotel, so her face was relatively clean, but there was a paleness to her skin that never really went away. It was hard for her to know if that was some kind of stain from the makeup she wore constantly or a side effect of the fact that she was almost never in the sun with bare skin, but either way, it was something she couldn't help but notice as she continued her story, "Mr. J didn't just seduce me back at Arkham because he thought it was funny or because he wanted to escape… I was an experiment. He wanted to see if he could turn someone like me, a woman who'd 'abstained from all amusement and fun' into art. Needless to say, it worked. I was morphed from some career crazy psychologist into the partner of the Clown Prince of Crime. It was Mr. J's ultimate success story, proof that anyone could be driven over the edge if you just gave them enough time and the right circumstances. After all that, there was no way he was gonna let me go back to my normal life. That'd spoil everything he'd worked so hard for."

Every sentence seemed more difficult for Harley to get out than the last, so Jason decided to try and finish the story for her, "Lord knows when it comes to the Joker, escaping isn't an option. He's too smart to hide from, so you must've known you'd be by his side for as long as he was still up and kicking."

"That idea gets even worse when you start thinking he might never die," Harley reminded him, her gaze turning away from her reflection, "I know I'll never be the same after everything Mr. J did to me, and honestly, I'm okay with that part. Harley Quinn's closer to who I really am than Harleen Quinzell was, but that doesn't mean I don't hate the hell I had to go through to get here. After Mr. J died and started raising you, I made a promise to myself. No matter how much I loved the Joker, I could never let anyone control me the way he had ever again. From then on, I was going to decide who I was, and anyone who did tried to take control away from me was in for an ass kicking. Which brings me back to Brother Blood…"

Jason felt all of the various pieces clicking inside his mind simultaneously, "No wonder you went crazy on Brother Blood. He open a pandora's box of repressed emotions he wasn't ready to deal with and paid the price."

"Yeah, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy though," Harley mumbled in a sarcastic tone before falling back onto the bed, "Long story short, I've got a lot of shit I need to work on. That's a side of me I don't want Duela to know about, ever. One way or another, I've gotta find a way to control it."

"I understand that, but you don't have to do it alone," Jason remind her, laying down beside her on the bed, "I'm here for you, mom, and so are the girls. Sure, they're not as close to you as I am, but I know they'd give you someone to talk to if you just asked. All I'm trying to say is that you don't need to hide anything from us. You know that, right?"

Harley rested her head on her son's shoulder, whispering to him, "Yeah, I know it. It's just hard to open about things like that. Why don't you call the girls and tell them to get back here? We can go out and grab a bite to eat a restaurant or something. Our little way of celebrating coming back to Gotham."

In all the hustle and bustle that'd come after the H.I.V.E. incident, Jason had almost forgotten that they'd returned to his home town. He had to admit, there was something about being back that simply felt right to him, "Sounds like a plan. I know a couple of restaurants around here that should have something everybody likes. We'll have to make sure we keep our heads down though. Gotham might be my home, but it's not exactly a city of friendly faces…"

* * *

"Please, just let me do it one more time," Naruto begged, holding a thin strip of beef between his chopsticks, "It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen!"

Bruce could see most everyone at the table wanted to see the trick performed once more, essentially forcing him to give in, "Fine, but only because it's the last piece of beef you've got. At least I know this is definitely the last time."

Not wasting a single second, Naruto flug the strip of beef into the air. In a flash, Goliath leaped from Damian's shoulder and snapped up the beef in his jaw. He'd only let half of it get into his mouth though, whipping his body around so that the other half shot away from his teeth and towards the floor. Ace didn't allow it to hit that floor though, leaping into the air and catching the bit of meat for himself. Everyone laughed as the pets happily munched on their snacks, with Barbara in particular loving the how fluidly the two animals performed the little stunt, "That gets better every time! They're the perfect animal tag team!"

"Yeah, they're great together," Damian agreed, watching Goliath as he flew down on the ground next to Ace, "It's nice that Goliath's been able to find a friend here. I won't fear he's lonely if father ever lets me go out on a mission."

Rather than ignoring the thinly veiled compliant, Bruce decided to use it to ask his son an important question, "If you plan on going on missions, you'll have to abide by our rules. Does that request mean you're ready to commit to the way we do things? Are you gonna promise not to go running back to Talia and the kind of things she taught you?"

Damian felt as though he'd suddenly morphed into a deer staring headlong into a set of headlights. This whole thing started with was him as an undercover for his mother, but over time, he found himself questioning her ideals more and more. He'd seen the good that his father and those around him could do, and they didn't have to commit the horrible acts the League of Assassins did in order to achieve it. His parent's dueling ideals were going to force Damian to make a decision soon, especially since his aunt was due to give him his final orders for the mission any day now, but as things stood, making a decision was going to be impossible for him, "I don't… I mean, I didn't… you can't expect me to-"

"Everybody, hit the deck," Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs, making everyone leap from their seats, "I mean it! Get down, now! Kurama's can feel something coming! He's going nuts!"

Everyone did a belly flop onto the floor just in time before something nearly indescribable occurred in the Wayne's kitchen. It began with something breaking through the front door with such force that they could feel it all the way in the kitchen. Milliseconds later, whatever had broken through their front door made it into the kitchen, leaving them no time to prepare any kind of counterattack. Thanks to an unseen guardian angel, they wouldn't need one. A small disc, roughly the size of dime, shot through the window like a bullet and landed on the floor in front of the intruder as he was about to reach the Bat family. The disc burst on contact, releasing a foam that captured the attackers foot without struggle. Face planting into the floor below, the stop the figure came to was so abrupt that it nearly the ripped out the section of the floor he'd been standing on. In the seconds that followed, the Bat family was able to stand up and see who'd interrupted their lovely meal, with Mei being the one to identify him, "The Reverse Flash? What the hell is he doing? I thought he was calling a truce until we figured out how to stop Abaddon!"

"I was," the Reverse Flash groggily mumbled out as he tried to stand up, the foam encased foot making that absurdly difficult, "Until I found out the blonde brat _is _Abaddon, or is going to become him anyways!"

That revelation was enough to get the room spinning, though Temari had an extra question running through her mind, "Wait, does this guy know who everyone is? And he's one of the bad guys right? If that's the case, isn't that kind of a PROBLEM?"

The Reverse Flash managed to steady himself before snapping, "I'm from the future, kid, after everyone's already figured out who Batman was. Honestly, it's so obvious, I can't believe it takes them as long as it does. That isn't why I'm here though. I went back into the time stream again to try and figure out who Abaddon might be, only this time I actually got something. There was a moment where Abaddon's facemask was ripped off and I got a good look at him. His face was unmistakable. It's the little blonde bastard standing right in front of us, and we need to kill him before he kills us!"

"That's impossible," Bruce told the speedster, his gaze remaining steady, "Even if I did believe Naruto could ever turn into the kind of monster Abaddon is, there's no way it could be him. Abaddon's been moving in like mad recently to take out as many major players in Gotham as possible, and Naruto hasn't even been in the city. How do you account for that?"

"He can duplicate himself, can't he?" Thawne recollected, glaring down the blonde in question, "I know what I saw, Wayne, and you're not gonna say anything that'll change my mind!"

A new voice came from the same window that the device had been shot through, startling everyone, "Maybe he can't, but I can."

Thawne knew who the figure leaping through the now shattered window was, to an extent at least. The black and red Batsuit he was wearing gave him away all too easily, "You! You're that resistance fighter I saw battling Abaddon! So you're the one who was sent back with the time ripple! Congratulations, you dolt, you just doomed all of mankind!"

"Actually, I just saved it," The man in the batsuit replied, pressing a small button on the side of his cowl that allowed him to remove it. Underneath lied the face of a young man in his twenties with dark hair and light blue eyes. He turned away from the Reverse Flash and addressed the Bat family, "I'm sorry about the mess, but I had to make sure that assassination attempt failed. We had records that said an unknown person saved Naruto's life today, but I never thought it'd be me… my names Terry McGinnis by the way. Like your friend their said before, I'm from the future. I'm here to help you guys stop Abaddon."

For nearly a minute, no one spoke. It was Mei who said what was on everyone's mind, "Questions… just so many questions… too many me to know where to begin… Bruce, you got anything?"

Bruce could only figure out the bare minimum, and with him, that was beyond rare, "Okay… so Terry's a resistance fighter from the future who got sent here through a time ripple that was opened by Abaddon, and when he got here, he realized he was some kind of historical figure that saved Naruto from an assassination attempt by the Reverse Flash, who saw Abaddon's face, and it look almost identical to Naruto's… I think. Maybe…"

"Close enough," Terry said with a shrug. He reached into a gauntlet on his wrist and pulled out a flash drive, holding it up for everyone to see, "I've got footage on this that'll explain everything better than I ever could. It'll prove Naruto's innocence and clear up everything else you might wanna know. I suggest we watch it and then I'll fill you in on the small pieces it doesn't give you."

With how lost the group as a whole felt right now, the idea of a flash drive that would explain everything sounded like a Godsend at that moment. Naruto stepped aside and motioned for Terry to lead them, "After you. I'd tell you where the Batcave is, but I've got a funny feeling you don't need me to."


	64. Past, Present, and Future Pt 2

Hello out there to all my spectacular readers, and welcome to another chapter of The Red Fox. We're currently rushing towards the big confrontation with Abaddon, but we've got a few plotlines that need finishing up before we get there. This should be the last chapter before the final arc of the fanfic officially begins, and it'll be one that'll clear up some of the questions Abaddon himself has more than likely raised. His origin will be fully revealed, and we'll get a slightly larger glimpse into the future he's created. Anyways, I'll stop talking and get on with the chapter. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-The Brother Bright: Blood On My Name

* * *

"So we still use flash drives in the future," Naruto remarked as he and the rest of family waited around the Batcomputer for Terry's files to come online, "Good to know."

Terry didn't look back when he responded, his eyes staying focused on the keyboard, "I'm not sure if they still uses them or not, the flash drive was just the only thing we could get the file onto. One of our speedster operatives, Impulse, had to do a lot of era jumping to get the video you're about to see. How he got the information on here, I'll never know, but it'll be a few minutes before I can switch it to a format compatible with this time period's technology."

Only a few people in the room had even the faintest idea of what he was talking about. Thawne likely would've known if he'd been down there, but they'd decided to leave him upstairs to make certain he wouldn't make another attempt on Naruto's life. He was going to miss out on something fascinating, as the screen finally began to light up with an image of a fully armored Abaddon being front and center. All around him was desolate and destroyed city, hell on earth really, that no one could recognize. By no means was it good quality video, seemingly taken on a phone or cheap camcorder, but it was enough to get the point across. A barely understandable voice over that sounded as though it been record in a tin can began to play over the video, "_To whoever finds this, this is the final video record of everything found by the research team chosen to study the terrorist known only as Abaddon. On screen is the only clear footage ever recorded of him. As you can see, he's not a typical human, having a planet based anatomy similar to that of Poison Ivy. These similarities stems from his origins in the lab of Gotham madman Jonathan Crane, AKA, the Scarecrow…"_

"Scarecrow, of course this is somehow his fault," Naruto muttered, rage briefly flashing in his eyes, "I can't wait to see what insanity he's created this time."

The footage cut to a series of papers on a desk, the footage now of slightly better quality, "_What you're seeing is the results of all the various tests we ran on what little biological material we were able to retrieve from Abaddon, as well as the research data we were able to salvage from Crane's old computer systems. It reveals Abaddon is a version of Pamela Isley's plant humanoids she'd been experimenting on while she was Crane's lover. Using the DNA of the vigilante known as 'The Red Fox,' Crane was attempting to create these humanoids in order to have something with a similar genetic structure to that of his nemesis so that he could run tests on. After his defeat at the hands of the Red Fox, data on Crane's experiments becomes increasingly difficult to find, forcing us to find our own. To be clear, Abaddon is by no means a clone of The Red Fox, now known as Naruto Uzumaki. Though he is the genetic base for Abaddon and the two do look similar, they're two wildly different entities."_

Cassandra almosted wanted to run over and pause it right there, "Can we show that part to the Reverse Flash? I think he should know that his lack of foresight nearly ended in the death of an innocent person."

"_All of this on its own wouldn't result in anything more that a slightly above average metahuman," _The voiceover continued before the question could be finished, now showing footage of Abaddon ripping through an army without difficulty or remorse, "_However, there are two other things to factor in that increase the danger he presents considerably. Abaddon is being completely void of any form of empathy. Other people's pain doesn't factor into any decision that he makes, meaning the death of thousands or something as horrific as rape doesn't register with him at all. He'll conquer countries simply to ensure their government doesn't interfere with his vices. There's no reasoning with him; it's submit or die. Perhaps even more terrifying is that fact that he has access to what's known as chakra, a spiritual energy given to him by his Uzumaki based DNA. Somehow, he's discovered how to use it in combination with his botanical DNA to extract the genes that give others their powers and replicate it within his own cells. Essentially, he can suck the powers out of anyone he comes across. He must be destroyed if the human race is to be protected. Ab… can't… he'll dest…"_

The video turned to static, but it didn't matter at that point. Terry's message had been conveyed. He pulled out the flash drive and turned to face the Bat family, "So there you have it. Abaddon, the creature dangerous enough to unite timelines. In my time period, he's already absorbed the ability of some of the most dangerous individuals in the world, making him almost unstoppable."

Bruce latched on to the second to last word in that sentence, "Almost unstoppable, but not completely, if the Reverse Flash is to believe. A weakness was found that allowed for him to be defeated at some point in the future."

"Pretty fitting that you're the one who brought that up, considering that you're also the one who discovered it," Terry remarked, then quickly amended, "Or will discover… I'm not sure what tense I use here, but you get the idea. Bruce was the one who figured out how Abaddon could be defeated."

"Well don't keep us in suspense," Damian ordered Terry. A bit rude, but nothing everyone else wasn't thinking as well, "What's Abaddon's weakness?"

Terry shook his head at Damian's demeanor, apparently unphased, "Nice to know all those stories I heard about you being a pain in the ass as kid were true. Before I get into this, just keep in mind that this isn't the only thing that can hurt Abaddon, it's just the only thing that can do it effectively and consistently."

Even the more level headed of the group, in this case Hinata, was getting frustrated with constant waiting, "We all get the idea, so please, tell us what the weakness is already!"

"Well if you really wanna know that badly...," Terry started to joke, the glares nearly burning through his skin by this point, "You guys aren't much fun, are you? It's demonic energy, that's what Abaddon's vulnerable to."

Mei was expert in all forms of chakra, meaning that demonic chakra was no mystery to her. If demonic energy in general was anything like demonic chakra, there could be some issues ahead for them, "In my experience, demonic power is difficult contain and even more difficult to control. Only a select few can manage it. Granted, we got someone, Natuto, with access to a massive amount of it who can control it better than anyone I've personally seen, but that's only one source. The only other person I know of at his level is Killer Bee in the Hidden Cloud. Terry, would those two alone be enough to stop Abbadon?"

"At Abaddon's current state, I can't really say," Terry admitted before reminding her, "Don't forget though, there's also Etrigan, Raven, and couple of other Justice League members who can use demonic power as well, not to mention the massive source of it we were going to use to finish him back in my time."

A remark like that was enough to get some eyebrows raised, Naruto's included, "Massive source? Tell me you're not talking about-"

Temari realized what Naruto was about to say, and took particular hostility to the idea, "Oh, hell no! If you're gonna start talking about that collection of Tailed Beasts the Akatsuki's been rounding up, you can forget it! They almost killed my brother; I'm not letting them anywhere near my fiancee!"

"Hold on. Before we get any further in this discussion, I need a little clarification on something," Bruce began, setting Temari's fears aside for the moment, "Did the resistance manage to convince the Akatsuki to ally with them? Am I understanding that right?"

"Well I hadn't actually said that yet, but yeah, we did," Terry confirmed, making everyone's jaw drop, "It's not that crazy when you think about it. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

Not exactly a sentiment everyone could agree upon, but that was a matter for another time. Too much information was being thrown around at once, making it difficult for any kind of coherent discussion. If they intended to move any further with this, Barbara had a suggestion, "Seeing as this isn't really getting us anywhere, maybe we should hold off on discussing this anymore until the meeting tonight with the Justice League? We could get all the new information into a file or something and send it out to everyone involved. Hell, we can even send some to the Hidden Villages and invite them in to discuss this thing too. Once we know how everyone feels and the information is fully understandable, then we can move foreword."

Alfred, who usually only weighed in when he was asked directly or was trying to prevent Bruce from doing something crazy, felt an overwhelming urge to speak up, "If I may be so bold, Master Bruce, I believe Miss Gordon just out did you in strategic planning. She said the only completely sensible thing I've heard since I got down here."

"No worries, Alfred, I'm right there with you," Bruce said, glancing over at the Batcomputer, "It's going to take a lot of work to get all the information to the right people though. Is everyone up from a cram session so that we can all this ready in time?"

Despite how low it landed on his list of things he wanted to do on his first day home, Naruto was up for it, "Hey, if it means we'll be able to keep everyone safe, I'll deal with some computer work. I'm guessing we all will."

Stephanie had never been a fan of being spoken for, but in this case, she had to agree, "We've only got one chance to make this call, so we'd damn well better make sure everyone's completely informed. Between me and Barb, we shouldn't have any problem setting up a relay that'll get the data to everyone we need to. You can work on getting the actual info together while Barb and I fix up everything else."

"Hinata, Mei, and myself can work together getting the information in the form the Hidden Villages will actually understand," Temari offered, beating the two ladies she mentioned to the punch, "With all of us working together, we should have things ready in no time."

Moments like these almost made Bruce wonder if his team even needed him anymore, "I couldn't have set it up any better myself. Alright, anyone not otherwise assigned is with me getting the remaining factors ready. Maybe we can get Terry to fill us in a little more about how came to wear our symbol while we work."

Terry only then realized he'd completely left out that part. And just when he thought his explaining was done…

* * *

"Yeah, I'm the glad to hear the intel was useful for ya," Tim said into his cell phone, his mind wandering as he glanced around yet another empty hotel room, "Alright, Rick, I'm pretty beat. If you'll permit me, I'm gonna hang up...did I say that right? There's a specific way I'm supposed to ask to leave the line, right? Hm? Yup, I'll call you if anything changes. Good luck announcing your candidacy tonight. Alright, bye."

Tim hung up the phone and set it down next to him. Looking up at the plain, eggshell white ceiling, Tim let out a massive sigh. Slowly but surely, he'd begun to really miss Wayne Manor all those there that he cared about. For as long as this problem had been stirring, it didn't really come front and center until he saw Stephanie again during the mission at H.I.V.E., the first time he'd seen her in what felt like an eternity. All this soul searching Tim had been doing only ever left him with more questions, and he was edging closer everyday to giving it up altogether, "Maybe it's time for me to go home. After everything's that happened, that only thing I've been able to walk away with is some new powers and a history even worse than my old one. I should just accept the fact that neither of my parents gave a damn about me and that I've already got people in my life who do."

"While I'd agree with you on the latter, I think you're a little off base on the former," Came a bellowing voice that nearly gave Tim a stroke. His shot up and looked to his right to find Jiraiya sitting in his window with a wide grin on his face, "What's up, kid? I didn't scare ya, did I?"

"Scare me? You're lucky there's not a brown spot on this fucking bed right now," Tim snapped, the grin never leaving Jiraiya's face, "How in the hell did you get here? Oh, who am I kidding? You're a Sannin, that's how. Better question; how'd you know I where was?"

Jiraiya leaped through the window so that he was properly in the room before explaining, "I had Tsunade call Rick Flagg and ask him to give me your location. She asked him not to tell you I was coming. He was hesitant at first, but after he heard about the info I have for ya, he caved and told me where you were staying."

Curiosity overtook Tim's anger, "Really? I'm guessing it's something pretty major then."

"You could say that, yeah," Jiraiya replied, holding a file out in front of Tim that he'd been intentionally keeping out of sight. He continued to speak as Tim took the file, "Bruce called me the other day to ask if I knew anything about a shinobi with a bloodline that would allow him to make crystals to use in battle. I wasn't sure, but I thought I remembered one of Orochimaru's old recruits having something that sounded about right. Once I found out about your connection to a woman by the name of Guren, I knew I had to come have a talk with you before I said anything to Bruce."

Tim wasn't seeing much of a connection there, "And tell me what, that my mom was just some random shinobi who occasionally popped into Gotham, got knocked up by my dad, and left me on his doorstep? Hate to break it to you, but I kinda already figured that out on my own."

"I think you'd better open that file," Jiraiya suggested to his young friend, "You just might find yourself pleasantly surprised."

With a build up like that, how could he not open it? Tim took a peek inside and began scanning the various contents of the file. In matter of seconds, he was left speechless. Only three words left his mouth, "Is this real?"

Jiraiya was glad to see the information was having this kind of effect on him, "I wouldn't be showing it to you if it wasn't. You're mother didn't leave on your father's doorstep because she didn't love you. Guren would've given anything to keep you and raise you in proper family, but she knew that was never going to happen. She got pregnant after sleeping with your father on one of her missions, with the whole encounter boiling down to him being charming and her never having any time for a real romantic partner thanks to her constant work with Orochimaru. Getting pregnant would've been seen as a problem to Orochimaru, so Guren worked to hide it, wearing baggier clothes and visiting Gotham for checkups whenever she got the chance under the gise of missions for him. To make sure you'd have a home once she gave birth, she convinced your father to take you in. Sorry it's not all that detailed of a story, but that's all I could find for the early stuff regarding you."

"Hey, it's better than what Rick and I could get," Tim replied, his eyes beginning to water, "I can't believe she decided to have me in a situation like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she did, but…"

The alternative route Guren could've taken was a discussion neither of them wanted to have at a moment like that. Jiraiya was far more concerned with making sure Tim understood what this meant, "There's a lot more in their than you might have noticed at first glance. Guren was always doing her best to watch you from afar. She had your father sending her pictures of you as you grew, telling her how you did in school, all about your crushes… everything a good mother might wanna know."

Tim appreciated everything that he heard, but one major issue resonated in the back of his mind, "You keep talking about her in the past tense… she's dead, isn't she?"

"I'm afraid so," Jiraiya confirmed, recalling the details with perfect accuracy, "About five years ago, before Orochimaru's death. She died on mission for him, but that's all I could figure out. The details were pretty vague. Again, I know it's not much, but I hope some of this has helped you make sense of everything that's been running through your head lately."

"I think this is one case where a little goes a long way," Tim replied, choking back a few tears, "I don't mean to be rude, but can you um… could maybe step out for a little bit? I need to make a few phone calls."

Jiraiya had already been planning on giving Tim some time to process things, so the request was no problem for him. With only a nod, the Sannin backed up and leaped out the window, vanishing into the night. It was an almost Batman like move, which made the fact that the Toad Sage had tried to give Tim some gentle guidance all the more fitting. This was the sort of thing the young man needed to work out on his own, and Jiraiya had no doubt he'd do just fine with the task. He was taught by the world's greatest detective after all.

* * *

The life of Terry McGinnis read like a strange mirror to that of the man who'd inspired him; Bruce Wayne. In the horrific future created by the growing madman that was Abaddon, Terry lived in one of the safer section of Gotham City with the rest of his family, protected by what of parts of the GCPD still remained. Much of the city had fallen into disarray after Abaddon ripped most of the local law enforcements to shreds during one of his attacks. With the US Military too preoccupied fighting off the attacks of Abaddon and his agents in other parts of the Nation, Gotham was forced to create a sort of militia from the remains of the GCPD and some small time vigilantes to defend what sections of the city they could, leaving the rest to be controlled by a set of anarchist gangs. Out of all of these gangs, by far the most dangerous were the Jokerz, a group individuals who based themselves off from the madman they were named after. It was this gang that would rip Terry's father out of his life, murdering the man during a raid designed to steal a chemical weapon he was working on for the militia. His death would lead Terry to take the very symbol that had fought the original Joker and use it to stop this new gang. Naturally, the use of that symbol caught the eye of the original user, Bruce Wayne himself, who'd been forced to give up his nights of jumping from rooftop to rooftop thanks to his old age. Rather than force him to stop, Bruce decided the world needed Batman again and allowed Terry into the Bat Family, which was still doing everything in it's power to fight off Abaddon and all those who followed him. Terry would become a fitting member of that family, and one they were going to be all too happy to have a little earlier this time around.

"So Gotham becomes a sort of no man's land in the future?" Bruce asked, going through small aspects of the tale as he put the finishing touches on the data they were about to send out, "And here I thought I'd already seen the city at it's darkest moment during Joker and Scarecrow eras. What sort of people do they have defending it after I retire?"

Terry had been looking over the various aesthetic of Wayne Manor when Bruce had asked, so it took him a second to refocus his attention, "Hm? Oh, nobody you'd know other than the younger members of the family. I already mentioned the GCPD and some of the new vigilantes, but I guess there's also what was left of Project Cadmus. After President Flag cleaned the psychos out of the program, they ended up becoming one of America's best assets. Their research is part of what kept Abaddon at bay for so long."

"Wait, 'President Flag?' As in Rick Flag," Naruto asked, prompting Terry to nod, "When does he become President?"

As if Terry hadn't dropped enough bombs on them today, his response left the small group huddled around kitchen table utterly baffled, "He should be the next President, assuming my being here doesn't cause some kinda massive shift in things."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at his eventual successor, "Are you sure about that? As far as I know, he isn't even in the running for it right now. Seems like we would've heard something about him by now if that was the case."

"Hey guys, you're not gonna believe this," Mei began as she walked into the kitchen, "The news was on the tv when I was walking by, and I stopped for a second to watch because Rick was on doing some kinda press conference. He's running for freaking President!"

The entire room went silent, with the only exception being Alfred, who didn't miss a beat as he said, "My Lady, if there was an award for perfect timing, you would've won it at this very moment."

"And I would thank you in my acceptance speech," Mei replied with ease. Small bits of laughter began to echo through the room, with the Mizukage giving a mock bow for added effect. As she brought her head back up, Terry came more clearly into her view, allowing something rather striking to come to her attention. Looking at the strong structure of his face and his dark as could be hair, a crazy idea struck her, "Bruce, honey, could you do me a favor and take a nice, long look at Terry's face? I want you to tell me if he reminds you of anybody…"

A strange request, but Bruce was sure Mei had her reasons. He glanced up at the youth and at first didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The longer he stared though, the more Terry's features seemed familiar to him, though he wasn't sure why. When the same conclusion that Mei had come to finally struck Bruce, he had only one thing to say, "You must be joking…"

Damian seemed to be the sole person, other than Bruce and Mei, who had some idea of what was going on, "What, did the two you only now realize that Terry has Wayne blood running through his veins? His facial structure gave that away to me the moment we met him."

"My word, I can't believe I didn't see it," Alfred said, his eyes locked on Terry, "The hair color, the cheekbones, the nose, it's all there!"

Now that they mentioned it, Naruto could see exactly what they were talking about, "He's almost like a lankier version of Dad. It starts to get kinda freaky if you stare at him long enough."

"Bruce, I don't suppose there's any chance you can explain this?" Mei said, eyeing her husband, "Cause right now, the only explanation I've got that doesn't land you in hot water is that Damian had kids in the future that he never tells us about!"

This was an issue Terry had been nervous might come up, though he'd been hoping no one would notice the parallels and he would have one less thing to explain. He knew exactly why he had the features of a Wayne, but there was someone who could explain it a little better than he could, "I should probably fill you all in before Bruce or anyone else ends up getting blamed for something they knew nothing about. As much as I wanted to keep you guys in the dark as much as possible to protect continuity, I don't really have a choice now. There's another video you guys need to see."

Cassandra was starting to grow tired of all new information that was coming to light. Usually she absorbed information with ease, but the day wasn't even half over and already her head was spinning, "We're still not done unraveling this convoluted mess? I really don't know if there's anything left you could say that would surprise us at this point!"

"How about that my little brother wanted to be Robin after Damian took on his new identity and was almost was almost good enough to get it?" Terry asked as he began to lead the way to the Batcave, "Or that my fiancee, Dana, has grandparents from the Hidden Mist? She can even use chakra, and is pretty great with Water Style apparently."

With Cassandra failing dead silent, Naruto couldn't resist, "What, no dry, witty comeback for that one?"

Everyone one laughed except for Damian, who took away something a little different from the remark, "Hold on, when do I become Robin?"

* * *

"_My dear Sister, I cannot stress enough to you how short sighted this plan seems," _Nyssa told Talia through the earpiece the latter wore, "_You know I'd never speak out of turn like this if I didn't feel it were absolutely necessary, and you're past with the Detective is preventing you from making a rational decision! Please, Talia, you must reconsider what you're about to do!"_

Talia was already in the backyard of Wayne Manor when Nyssa's protests began, not that she hadn't made at least some of her concerns known back at the base. Having just gotten through the first line of defenses, Talia had no plans of turning back now, "I'm only doing what has to be done. Damian's progress reports suggest he may have begun to sympathize with his father's views on things, and I can't allow that to continue. Give me five minutes with him and I'll have him re-convinced of our side and the two of us can insure Bruce's return to the League from there."

Her words may have sounded almost sane, but Nyssa knew her sister well

enough to hear the deeper meaning within them, "_You and I both know it won't be that simple! Even assuming that he and Damian are alone in there, do you really think you can beat Bruce in a one on one battle? Even father never managed that feat! Defeating him would be the only way you'd ever get him here too, because you know he'd never willingly leave his wife and children! Assuming you'd be willing to kill innocent children, do you think for a moment that you can take on Mei Terumi in any way if she's in there as well? You'll be destroyed! You're not thinking clearly! For the love of God, turn back!"_

"Your objections have been noted," Talia responded before reaching up to her ear and removing the earpiece. She tossed onto the ground below her before stomping on it, grinding it into the grass for good measure. She would have no interruptions during this mission, "My son and my beloved, you'll be home soon enough, and then we'll at last be a family. We shall rule the League of Assassin together, just as Father always wanted. One way or another, it will be glorious, and I'll be damned if I let that harlot stand in my way. It's time to take back what's rightfully mine."

* * *

With the whole family once again gathered around the Batcomputer, Terry began to pull up the video he spoke of before, though many family members, Barbara in particular, were still having a hard time wrapping their heads around all of this, "So now we've gotta sit through another video of insane explanations that we probably won't understand when it's all said and done? I feel like we're in a science fiction movie that's doing a really shitty job of getting its exposition out there and now it's trying to force all it onto us at once."

Terry could see where see was coming from all to well, "Maybe, but this is real life. If it was a movie or something, hopefully they'd at least give the audience a few clues by now as to what might be in store. Anyways, we're getting away from the point here. Give me a minute and I should have the video up and ready to go. Hopefully it'll keep Bruce off the couch tonight…"

"_Greetings, to anyone who may be viewing this," _Came the deep voice of Rick Flag as a video of him sitting behind a desk in what looked to be the oval office of the White House in the dead of night began to play, "_My name is Rick Flag, the 45th President of the United States. I'm leaving you this message in order to give you all the information on a classified project we've just begun: Project Beyond. It was originally proposed by the now deceased Amanda Waller in the hopes of creating the next true Batman. She felt that, although Bruce Wayne had trained several worthy successors and even had children of his own, no one be able to capture the same power, that exact same element, that made the Batman who he was. He was able to produce an entirely new generation of heroes that no one else ever could've trained, and Waller didn't want to take a chance that no one could fully fill those shoes. So, in order to insure the safety of future generations, Amanda set out to rebirth the Batman by recreating every last variable that lead to his concept, right down to the smallest detail."_

It was impossible for Bruce not to comment, "This is insane. Even if I thought there was some kind of need for a Batman reincarnate, it's not possible. I don't care if you went and cloned me, it wouldn't be enough to get a second Batman just like the first in every way."

Mei was in complete agreement, but was also far too focused on the video to discuss it at the moment, "I don't get her reasoning anymore than you do. Let's just watch the video and see if we can get some kinda explanation."

"_The first thing she knew she was going to need was someone with DNA as close to that of Bruce Wayne as she could possibly get," _Flag continued on as a small window appearing the corner began to show footage of everything he was speaking about, "_Using experimental technology she'd been working with for just under a decade and posing it under the gise of a flu shot, Waller was able to rewrite the DNA of a man named Warren McGinnis to match that of Bruce's, meaning those new genes would be passed on to any children that Warren might have had. Roughly a year later, Terry was born, and tests conducted in secret during a checkup confirmed that the experiment had worked. In terms of biology, he was Bruce's son."_

Glancing over at his father, Damian asked in a mutter, "So how many more children do you think you have that you know nothing about? Did you have a child with Harley Quinn that she never told you about as well? Or perhaps Catwoman?"

Bruce shot his son a quick, but deadly glare, "Don't even joke about that. At this rate, I'm almost wondering if that's a genuine concern I need to look into."

"_With Terry having the proper parentage, it was only a matter of waiting until he reached the same age that Bruce had his turning point at," _Flag said, his voice taking a quieter shift in tone, "_However, none of those involved in the project were sure of what to do when he reached said age. For the original Batman, witnessing his parents death before his own eyes was the catalyst that drove him to become the Dark Knight, but setting up something akin to that was farther than anyone was willing to go. All we could think to do was guide him from the shadows to make certain he was involved in the types of things that would insure the kind of growth we were looking for. Rock climbing, martial arts, and advanced placement classes are but a few examples of how we accomplished this. Terry's progress has been undeniable, and if it continues at this rate, we're going to get a hell of fighter out of the deal whether he ends up associated with the Bat Family or not. That's the state of things currently. If further developments cause it to become necessary, another tape of this nature will be made. This is President Rick Flag signing off…"_

The video cut off right there, giving Terry a chance to fill in the blanks, "I didn't find out about this until about two years after I became part of the team. Kind of ironic my Dad still ended up dead even though these guys decided against it...ironic in a tragic kinda way anyways. Well, there you have it. The full story on what lies in your future. Now what do you say we stop standing around trying to figure out what it's like and focus on trying to fix it?"

"Hey, after having to deal with all explanation, a little action sounds perfect," Naruto remarked, many others soon nodding in agreement, "We've got the information ready, so let's send it out and so we can have the plan ready by tonight and actually start doing shit tomorrow. Sound good to you, Dad?"

Bruce was still the defacto leader of the group, meaning this was the type of thing he had to confirm. Normally he'd confide in his wife for a call like this, but the look she had in her eyes already told him exactly which way she leaned, "If there are no objections, you've got the all clear from me. We need to stop reacting and finally take the offensive in this fight!"

Everyone, from the vigilantes to the shinobi, shot towards their positions, emboldened by Bruce's words. Things were starting to feel as though they were falling into place. It was a great moment that would've hung on a little longer if it wasn't for the baby monitor on Mei's hip starting to go off. Both John and Jikusume had begun to cry, meaning they'd likely woken up for their supper. Times like this were precisely why Mei had a stairway built into the Batcave the lead right up to the nursery, "Our work is never done, is it? Bruce, could you come up there and help me with the two of them? I don't know if you needed to-"

"I've always got time for my children," Bruce assured her before she'd even finished, "Damian, would you care to join us? Mei keeps on telling me your brother and sister seem to have taken a shining to you."

Damian shrugged, following the couple as they headed for the stairs, "Why not? I'm not sure if I'd be much help with what they're doing at the moment anyways. It'll give us a chance to discuss what Terry said before about me inheriting the mantle of Robin anyways."

"You know what? That actually sounds like a great idea," Bruce replied, startling his son, "I think you've come far enough that we can at least talk about it. It might help give you a reason to start caring more about Gotham. Besides, it's not like we'll have anything else worry about while we're up there."

After spending so many years as an iconic superhero, you'd think Bruce would know better than to sat something that would tempt fate as badly as that.

* * *

Words couldn't describe the level of frustration Abaddon had reached by this point. For weeks he'd been listening to this creature, this _thing, _that had appeared seemingly out of thin air and claimed to be his only hope of moving towards the life he wanted, but Abaddon had yet to see any kind of results. So much time had been wasted on this thing, time that could've spent enjoying the various pleasures the world had to offer, and Abaddon was sick of it. That thing, whether it was a piece of him or not, was done bossing him around!

Abaddon kicked open the door to his own room where the creature remained in its garden pot, looking no more sinister than any other inanimate plant. Yet, the rage Abaddon felt towards it was anything but inanimate, "Alright, you tiny piece a shit, me and you need to have a talk!"

"_Indeed we do," _The foliage replied in a whisper that only Abaddon could have ever understood, "_But before we start, get over here and connect with me. I don't feel straining my voice for this…"_

"What you do and don't care doesn't mean shit to me anymore," Abaddon screamed back, walking forward until he was directly in front the 'future piece of himself,' "I'm done dealing with your shit! You keep talking about time travel and weaknesses and all this other shit, and I ain't putting up with it anymore! You might be telling the truth, but I don't give a shit! You're sucking all the fun out of this for me, so fucking forget it! I'm out!"

Though he couldn't express it vocally, the small piece of Abaddon had no trouble showing his feelings about such an outburst physically. The vines that made up his body began to grow larger, with thorns popping up on every other inch of them. They lashed about in a furious fashion, the whisper from before turning into a much harsher hiss, "_You insolent fool! Just look at you; every mistake I ever made just waiting to happen! If your life wasn't tied to mine, I'd end you myself! Shut your worthless mouth and listen to me for once and you just might learn something! You're only one step away from assuring that you're completely unstoppable, and you're about to lose it all thanks to a lack of patients! Do you think I like this situation anymore than you do? I'd much rather be back in my time with beautiful women in my bed holding bottles of champagne, but instead I'm stuck here, dealing with you! I can't believe I was ever this stupid!"_

There was a lot to unpackage in that rant, but one element in particular stuck out to the full Abaddon, "One step away from being unstoppable? You mean I'm close to never having to worry about any of these fucking heroes ever again?"

"_Closer than you could ever imagine," _The creature replied, replacing Abaddon's rage with intrigue, "_So sit down and take in every word I'm about to say to you, because we're about to claim this pitiful world for ourselves, and no one will ever be able to deny us what we desire ever again… prepare yourself, you fucking twit, because you're about to become a God!"_


	65. Coming Back to Haunt You Pt 1

Well everyone, we're back, and it's time for another exciting chapter of the Red Fox. I've been beyond busy lately, so much so that finding two freaking seconds to relax can feel like a miracle, so I'm ecstatic I've been able to keep up with my writing schedule as of late. Thank all of you readers out there for getting me over 450 reviews and favorites and close to 500 followers! This chapter is going to feature far more action than the previous one, and will even open with a fight scene I'm guessing all of you could see coming. They'll be some emotional moments as well, but this is going to be focused more on ramping things up a bit as we get closer to Abaddon's big move. Now then, let's quit talking and jump right into it. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack: Santa Esmeralda featuring Leroy Gomez-Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood/Esmeralda Suite

* * *

As Mei took step after step down the hallway the lead to her children's room, a fear began to grow in the back of her mind. It was something small, something that probably didn't mean anything, but that didn't stop Mei from worrying as any mother would, "Bruce, do you hear that?"

"What? No, I don't hear anything," Bruce replied, his eyebrow soon raising, "Which is a little odd. It's passed time for John and Jikusume to get something to eat, and they never go back to sleep when they're hungry."

Damian could see what his parents were getting at from a mile away, "You don't think there's something wrong, do you?"

That wasn't something Mei was going to wait to find out. She shot towards the door before anyone could stop her, pushing the door open so hard it almost broke off its hinges. Her reaction told Bruce all he needed to know about what they were dealing with, "Get away from my babies, you bitch!"

"Mei, who is it? Who's trying to," Bruce called, ending his sentence before it was finished when he got to the doorway and saw who they were dealing with, "Talia? What in God's name are you doing?"

Talia was standing in the middle of the nursery holding bottles up to the mouths of John and Jikusume, who she must've moved from two cribs into just one, John's to be exact. She wore a sinister smile on her face as her eyes met Bruce's, "Why, these poor little ones were crying. I thought they might be hungry, that's all. The little mini fridge you keep in here with the breast milk inside and microwave on top of it is an especially nice touch. Wish I'd thought of it when Damian was still an infant."

"If you don't step the hell away from my babies, you might never get the chance think of anything ever again," Mei snapped, ready to go for the killshot at any moment, "Why are you here? This really isn't the time for you to be poking your nose into our business!"

"Seeing as you're currently sleeping with my beloved and have my son by your side, I beg to differ. I'd say this very much the time to be poking into your business," Talia quipped, her eyes shifting over to her son, "It's time for both Damian and his father to stop playing games. It's all too fun to run around the rooftops at night and pretend you're some kind of hero, but now they need to deal with the real world and real world solutions. You're coming back to the League with me, were we can do what needs to be done to save this wretched world. Now you can either come quietly, or I can tear down this life you've built yourself and force you to come back!"

Damian felt a chill run down his spine as he heard his mother speak in a tone completely foreign to him. The emotion pouring from her body was something far beyond anger, the likes of which Damian had never seen, "Mother, please, leave my siblings alone. They've got no part in this. They're completely innocent."

Those two words had come to mean far less to Talia than they once had, "What creature in this world is really 'completely innocent?' We're all born into the darkness. It's only once we've grown that we get the chance to shed a little light into the world."

"You consider murdering thousands of people shedding light onto the world?" Asked Bruce, his remark creating the scowl on Talia's face, "That's all the League of Assassin does. It tries to drive out the darkness by destroying it. You never learned that darkness can't be destroyed, only replaced with light."

Talia could hardly look Bruce in the eye after listening to a philosophy like that, "Bruce, your foolish ramblings stopped stealing my heart a long time ago. Now then, since I can already see you're not going to listen to reason, you're leaving me with no choice. The death of your parents before your own eyes was what pushed you to become the Batman. Perhaps witnessing the deaths of others you hold dear will push you towards the final step in your journey."

With a single flick of the wrist, Talia slid a small knife out from under the sleeve of the combat armor she wore, the light shimmering off from it nearly giving Bruce a stroke. He would've leaped at his ex-lover right then, if hadn't been for the fact that Mei was already directly in front of her. In the split second it took Talia to take out the knife, the Mizukage had used her incredible speed to get in between her foe and her children, grabbing Talia's wrist with enough pressure to nearly shatter the bones that laid underneath her skin. Mei's voice wasn't an angry one, instead speaking in an eerily calm manner, "Unless you wanna lose that hand, I'd recommend dropping the knife. If you think for a moment that I can't or won't follow through, go ahead and try me."

"Oh, don't you worry, I'll be trying you soon enough," Talia growled, letting go of the knife and allowing it to hit the floor. Mei freed her hand, giving Talia the chance to step back and transition into her fighting stance, "I have a feeling it'll be just as effective for Bruce to watch me rip your heart out, and quite frankly, it'll be even more fun for me!"

Mei could hardly believe what she was hearing, "You really want to take on me? In case you hadn't notice, I just about broke your hand off less than 2 seconds ago. What the hell makes you think this is gonna end in anyway but with you in a whole lot of pain?"

"You got the jump on me, I'll admit that," Talia said, her arms up and at the ready, "But I'd like to see you manage anything like that when I'm alert! Come on, show me what you can do! I want to see what makes the title of Mizukage so prestigious!"

This was a prime example of what could happen when someone underestimated the power of a shinobi. Mei, confident in her ability to contain the fight and avoid harming her children, took one step towards Talia, who then began to charge directly at her. Instead of continuing to move forward, the Mizukage stayed where she was at, allowing her foe to come to her. Channeling chakra up from her stomach and into her throat, Mei waited until Talia was in the perfect position and shot a small stream of steam at her face. The attack burned Talia's face, temporary blinding her. Unable to defend herself properly without her vision, she was left at the mercy of Mei, who first buried her fist in Talia's stomach, followed by a kicking her shin, and topped off with an elbow strike to the ribs. Talia fell to her knees, but Mei caught her by the neck before she could fall all the way to the ground. Leaning down, the red haired shinobi whispered into her enemy's ear, "There's plenty of things you could've done to piss me off, most of which would've just gotten you thrown out of my house or maybe smacked around a bit, but you so much as _think _about hurting my kids, you'd better be ready to enter a world of pain you could never prepare for!"

Talia didn't have much to lose at this point, so she decided to go for broke and attempt on sweeping Mei's legs. The Mizukage saw it coming the second she began, prompting her to do a backflip over her opponent's head with her neck still in hand. Her momentum was enough to lift Talia into the air and send her flying towards the wall. She hit it, immediately bouncing off and landing on the unforgiving floor. Damian couldn't stand to watch as Talia tried to get back onto her feet, shaking like a frightened dog, "Mother, please, just stand down! This is a fight you can't win!"

"You're right, I can't win… at least not on my own," Talia replied, looking up to stare deep into her son's eyes, "Damian, you must help me! It's time for you to rise by my side, and become the Demon you were always meant to be!"

Damian froze in place. What he was he supposed to say after an order like that from his own Mother? She'd lost any form sense she'd once had, and not just because she was crazy enough to think Damian fighting alongside her would be enough for them to overcome the Mizukage. He walked over to his Mother, both Bruce and Mei watching him carefully, and leaned down beside her. He pressed his forehead to hers and began to whisper, "Mother, I love you, and I always will. You raised me to be strong, and fight for what I believed in with everything I had. I know you did the best for me that you could, and I'll always be grateful to you for that… but, I will never be your Demon. I've chosen a new path for myself, the path of a Robin!"

Those words cut Talia deeper than any blade ever could've, "No! You can't betray me like your Father did! You're my son, and I'm not letting you go too!"

"It isn't up to you," Mei snapped, pulling Damian back before his Mother could grab him, "If Damian wants to go with you, that's one thing, but if he wants to stay here, you'll have to take him over my cold dead body!"

Talia had figured out by now that wasn't going to happen. She couldn't defeat them, and she couldn't take her son home with her. Her last attempt at a family had been in vain, and she'd been left with nothing, "No… oh, god, no! This can't be happening! Father, why would you leave me like this? I've got nothing! No son, no lover, no true purpose! All I've inherited is an age old dream I never believed in to begin with!"

"That's not true, Talia," Bruce said, tentatively approaching her, "It doesn't have to be that way. You can reject your father's legacy. You can become something greater than he was. Please, listen to-"

Grabbing the knife she'd dropped before, Talia began to stab in Bruce's direction, "Stay away from me! You know nothing of my Father! He was right about this world! It's cold, unforgiving, and deserves to be purged of the virus it's accumulated so quickly! If my beloved and my son won't join me, fine! I'll cleanse this world without either of you! You can burn with the rest of the scum that inhabits this planet!"

Damian wanted to say something to convince his Mother it didn't have to be this way, but it was too late. Talia had already grabbed a smoke pellet and crushed it in her hand, creating a cloud around herself. Her son tried to dive into the smoke in order to grab her, but it was too late. She was gone, and Damian was left flat on his face, "What? It was two seconds, and were in an enclosed space! How could Mother have possibly escaped?"

"Talia always was good at making an exit," Bruce remarked, then pointed towards an open window on the left, "Also, there's that."

At that point, the comedy of the last remark was lost on everyone in the room. Damian's face as well as his eyes were riddled with pain. The conflict may have been over, but that didn't mean he was feeling any better about the situation. If anything, his heart had sunk even lower, "I just turned my back on the League and my own Mother. What kind of person am I?"

"The kind who has to make tough decisions sometimes," His Father reassured him, leaning down beside his son, "Damian, I'm sorry you got put into a position like this. This is the kind of choice I was hoping you'd never have to make, but I knew Talia was more than likely going to force your hand eventually. I wouldn't have stopped you either way, but I'm glad you made the decision that you did. I love you, Damian, and if this the place you chose, then I swear to do everything I can to make it a home you can grow to love."

Damian's eyes had begun to water, so his Father pulled him for a hug to try and comfort him. Mei leaned down, joining in on the hug before whispering, "Damian, is there anything we can do to make you feel better after all that?"

"Finally letting me go out on a few missions would be a start," Damian joked, making his Father and Stepmother chuckle, "I'll be fine… we should probably finishing feeding John and Jikusume though."

* * *

While things were coming to close on a lighter note up stairs, things down stairs were just about to begin as Stephanie walked into the living room looking for someone who she could give an update on the situation, "Hello? Anybody in here? Bruce, where are you? We just wanted to let you know that the info should be on its way now. Huh? What's this?"

Stephanie found half a dozen packed bags sitting on the living room floor, still zipped up and untouched. She had no idea what to make of them, so she crouched down to get a closer look. When she did, a voice came from behind her and said, "Hey now, don't be going through my stuff. I know I've been gone awhile, but even you couldn't lose your manners that fast."

"There's no way," Stephanie said to herself, recognizing the voice in second. She spun around to find the face of a young man she hadn't seen in months, "Tim?"

Indeed, Tim Drake had finally returned to Wayne Manor, wearing the same small smirk that he'd left it with, "Hey, Stephanie, did ya miss me?"

Stephanie stared blankly at Tim as she close the small gap between them. There faces were now only inches apart, making the boy wonder if a kiss might be coming his way. It wasn't, "You fucking jerk!"

"Wait, what?" Tim asked a second before he was slapped across the face, "Ahhh! Shit, what was that for?"

"Don't try to play dumb," Stephanie snapped, tempted to slap him again, "How could you leave me like that without saying goodbye? You couldn't write me a fucking letter? For God's sake, anything would've been better than what you did! I should kick your ass right now!"

Tim quickly realized he didn't have much of a leg to stand on when it came to disputing that, so he decided to go with a different approach, "Okay, so what I did was inexcusable, I admit that, but can I at least tell you why I did it?"

He'd admitted he was wrong, and that was at least a start in Stephanie's eyes, "Fine… you've got one minute, starting now!"

"You mean right now or when I first start?" Tim began to ask, quickly deciding that was a rather stupid idea and stopping himself, "You know what? Scratch that last part. The reason I left was because I started to feel like I didn't know who I was anymore, and it was getting harder and harder to pretend that didn't bother me. The reason I never told you I was leaving was because I knew you'd try and stop me. I'm not saying it's a good reason; I'm just saying it was the reason."

Stephanie hadn't gotten any angier at the explanation so far, so he must not have been doing too bad, "You've still got 30 more seconds…"

"Believe me, there's more," Tim told her, taking a split second to think of what to explain next, "Okay, so I went to work for Rick Flag uncover for awhile, since he was the only person I could think of who could keep me fighting crime without working with someone Bruce has direct access to. I love Bruce, but this is something I needed to do without him. Not only that, but Rick was able to give me information about my Mom that'd I'd been looking for since I was little. She was a freaking a shinobi! I've got a bloodline and everything! Can you believe that?"

Now things were starting to get really interesting, "Hold on, you know who your Mom is? And you've got a bloodline? Holy shit tell me who she was and what it is!"

Tim almost felt as though he was in the clear now. That wouldn't last for long, "My Mom's name was Guren, and my bloodline is this freaky looking Crystal Release. Here, let me show you!"

"Wait, Crystal Release?" Stephanie asked, thoughts already brewing in her mind. Once Tim raised up his hand and began to form a rough chunk of red crystal within in his palm, her suspicions were confirmed, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"It's not all that impressive right now. It's a whole lot cooler when I do it with my suit on," Tim began before Stephanie knocked the crystal out of his hand, grabbed his shirt, and pinned him against a nearby wall, "Hey! What the hell? I thought we were finally starting to get somewhere!"

Stephanie's rage had returned just as quickly as it had left, "Because, you asshate, you're the Red X! You're the one who was hitting on me back at H.I.V.E.! You're the reason I left Gotham _and _the reason I came back! Ah, you're driving me fucking insane!"

To be fair, Tim had planned on telling her that himself, "I was gonna say something about it before you started snapping at me again! You've got every right to be upset with me, I'll say that till I'm blue in the fucking face, but you've gotta let me finish the story before you jump down my throat!...Please and thank you."

"Well if you're gonna say please and thank you," Stephanie muttered sarcastically, "Fine, go ahead and tell your story. Just so know, the longer it is, the longer you get to live, so don't spare a single detail!"

If there was ever an incentive to be a great storyteller, that was it right there. Tim was gonna have to work his ass off to keep Stephaine from beating the hell out of him. He'd been hoping to come here and start things back up with his girlfriend right where they'd left off. Only now did it hit him how stupid that idea had actually been.

* * *

"Ah man, this place reeks," Abaddon whined as he slinked his way through the sewers of Gotham City, carrying the pot with the portion of his future self under his arm, "Is this really the only way we could've gone, or are you just screwing with me cause I have a nose and you don't?"

If the future portion had been able to properly laugh, he would have, "_No, this was our sole option, although it is added bonus getting to watch you suffer through the stench of this place. It's not much farther now. You get me to the right drain, and I'll make sure our future is secured. That fool, Naruto, may have given us the base for our powers, but I'll be damned if I let him lead the world to our destruction a second time."_

Abaddon still struggled to understand his link to the person who apparently go on to become the greatest throne in his side, "I don't get what Naruto is to us exactly. Are we like his clone? Or is it more like he's our Dad or our brother? Seriously, what the fuck is he?"

"_He's nothing! At best, that self righteous fool is our genetic base," _The future portion snapped, attempting in no way to hide his utter fury, "_We've grown far beyond anything he could ever be! I swear, when I get my hands on him, I'm going to suck every last drop of blood and chakra from his body and feed his worthless corpse to the buzzards!"_

"Man, and people say I've got anger issues," Abaddon mumbled, passing by two more large drains before his ally in the pot tapped him on the shoulder, "Hm? What, is it the next one up or something?"

That was the exact reason, but the fact that future portion of Abaddon had to vocally confirm it kind of defeated the purpose of the shoulder tapping, "_Yes, you dolt! Honestly, you dolt, I don't know whose mind I absorbed to make me so much damn smarter than you, but I can't wait until you finally come across them!"_

"You know what? We're already here, so I'm just gonna let that go," Abaddon said, walking up to the drain and holding up the pot, "I don't how you plan on doing this, but have at it."

Abbadon watched as the vines of his future self slithered up into the drain and used its thorns to latch itself inside. Another brief moment of struggling was all it took for the planet to rip itself out of the dirt it rested in, roots and all. Continuing to use the thorns, the creature slowly made its way up the drain, calling down to his partner as he did, "_Don't wait up for me. You'll know when my work is complete, trust me."_

Considering he was knee deep in raw sewage, Abaddon hadn't planned on waiting around anyways, "Fine by me. I'm gonna go back home and get a fucking shower. That asshole'd better bring back something amazing after making crawl through all of this literal shit."

* * *

"I hope you aren't tired, cause we're sure as hell not gonna let you get any sleep tonight," Temari whispered into her fiance's ear as she headed towards the living room with him beside her and Hinata and Cassandra behind her, "We got plenty of new ideas to try out while you were gone. You're in a for a whole lot fun later…"

Naruto shivered at the very idea of what they could've had in mind. There dozens of comebacks he could've thrown out after that sulter comment, but as it turned out, none of them would be needed. His focus was shifted completely when he crossed the threshold into the living room and his instincts narrowly allowed him to duck before a lamp came flying past his head, "What the hell? Dude, what's going on in here? Stephanie, why are you-wait...holy shit, is that Tim?"

It was indeed Tim, but he didn't have much time to say any kind of hello, as he was too busy dodging various attacks from Stephanie, "Stephanie, what're you doing? You said my explanation made perfect sense, so how can you still be mad at me?"

"I'm mad at your because you haven't given me a good enough reason to be mad at you," Stephanie screamed, lunging to tackle Tim and failing miserably as he ducked out of the way, "You do all of this crap to me and made me so upset, but I can't even be pissed because I totally get why did what you did!"

"Do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now?" Tim asked, realizing the moment after he did, "Okay, calling you crazy might not be the best way to convince you not to kill me…"

Naruto could see his brother was going to need a little help here. He dove in between Stephanie and Tim, ready to do everything he could to keep them from breaking anything else, "Guys, let's calm down for a second! You nearly hit me in the head with a lamp, it looks like you managed to bust a freaking couch, and I'm guessing that big ass crack in the window is from you guys too! Alfred's gonna flip out when he sees what you guys did to his nice clean living room!"

"Did someone in here call for me?" Alfred asked, walking into the room after hearing his name. It didn't take long for him to notice the issues Naruto had brought up before, and even less time to notice that Tim had returned to them. His joy at seeing the young man was dampened slightly by the former, "Master Drake, if want me to be happy to have you home again, I'd recommend that you not destroy a day's worth of hard work less than an hour after you've walked in the door."

Despite it being nothing more than another example of Alfred's dry humour, that last comment gave Naruto an idea, "You know, Stephanie, Alfred's got a point. We've all been going crazy wondering how Tim is and where he was, and this whole fight is kinda killing the moment. Not trying to be rude or anything, but could you maybe hold off on beating the hell out of him until we've all had a chance to catch up with him?"

Stephanie could see what Naruto was trying to do, but decided to go along with it anyways, "Fine, go ahead, catch up with the asshole! It's not like I'm that pissed off at anyways. I've just got a whole lot of residual pissed off-ness and frustration built up that he's gonna have to deal with!"

"I'm not every sure if everything you just said even makes sense," Tim mused, earning a death glare from his girlfriend, "But, if it means all it's gonna take is a little time and things can be back to normal, I'm good with it."

"It'll be more than a 'little' time, and I don't know if normal is something we're ever gonna get back to," Stephanie warned him, adding in as she walked passed him to leave the room, "But, if you show me you're worth it, then just maybe I'll give you another chance. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go get ready to leave. I might not have given him the news myself, but something tells me Bruce is gonna be in here any second to tell us it's time to-"

As if on cue, that was when Bruce walked into the room and interrupted her, "Guys, it's time to go. The reports got to all the right places, and pretty much everyone we contacted is interested in coming to the meeting. We've got a location set up here in Gotham that should be pretty easy for everyone in the Justice League and the Great Ninja Nations to get to. We start the meeting in two hours, and if I had to guess, it's gonna go all night. Hope you guys didn't plan on getting to much sleep tonight."

"The first time I heard that tonight, it sounded a lot more fun," Naruto groaned before something rather funny hit him, "Hey, Dad, don't you notice anything different about the group of people you're talking to?"

Bruce had been in such a rush to get going and set up the meeting spot that he'd completely spaced out that Tim was even there, "Hold on, Tim? When did you get back? No one gave me any kind of heads up you'd come home."

Sensing the recurring theme here, Tim decided another drawn out explanation like the one he'd given Stephaine might not be the best idea, "Okay, I'm really happy to see everyone, but let's wait until we get to wherever the meeting is and we're all in one place so that I can do the helloes and explanations at one time. Seems like that'd be a hell of a lot more efficient."

"I'm rubbing off on you," Bruce joked, his smirk growing as he stared at Tim. There was something so satisfying about seeing his family nearly whole again. If Jason were there, it'd be even more perfect. Oh well, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, "I couldn't be more ecstatic to have you home, Tim, but we'd better get moving. There's a lot of work to be done, and it's a damn good thing we've got you here to help. You have no idea what kinda things you've missed while you were gone."

* * *

One of 'those things' that Bruce had been referring found itself quite busy at the moment. Abaddon's future self was currently using his thorns and vines to climb his way through the dimly lit halls of Arkham Asylum, having already climbed his way through one of the old drains minutes ago. He'd been able to have his men, or at least the men of his foolish past self, get ahold of the blueprints for this place, which made his entry rather easy. Unfortunately, he had no idea where his target was being kept, meaning he would have to figure that much out on his own. As he clung to a nearby ceiling, Abaddon did everything in his power to deduce where his prize might be hidden, "_They wouldn't want someone as powerful as him kept just anywhere. Hell, they probably wouldn't even want him to be mobile… but how could immobilize someone like that? They took him out in the first place by freezing his ass like a popsicle, so who's to say they didn't just keep him frozen? That's gotta be it, and the easiest place to keep him on ice would have to be near Mr. Freeze's old cell. It'd be childsplay to divert some of the chemical they're using to chill his cell into a another. If I can get to the special containment wing and find where they kept Freeze, I'll find the key to making myself unstoppable. All I need now is a keycard to get there."_

Abaddon's needs would be mere seconds later, as a guard talking on his walky-talky gained his attention, "Yeah, I'll there in a couple minutes. Shouldn't take me long, just got be there to keep an eye on the maintenance guy while he does some fixing up. I'll call ya back when I'm finished. See you in a few."

"_Somehow, I doubt that," _Abaddon mused, snatching up the guard with one of his vines as he walked by. He began to strangle the Arkham employe, using another of his vines to search the man's body for the card while he did. It took him a couple of seconds, but Abaddon soon found the small piece of plastic he was looking for, "_Talk about a lucky break. Not for you of course, but I've got what I need, so what do I care? Thank's for the assistance, now do me one more favor and stop breathing!"_

The guard gurgled in response, which Abaddon naturally took as him saying 'you've got it.' His hands trying to rip the vine from his throat might have suggested the guard wasn't fully committed, but his body soon went limp nonetheless. All that was left for Abaddon to do was hide the body in a nearby air vent, and then he could head to the special containment cells. This was going to be even easier than he thought…

* * *

Tim had to work through a series of tearful reunions and long winded explanations before anyone could so much as think about setting up the meeting hall at the Wayne Hotel and Casino. It took a little longer than it probably should have, but, since Bruce owned the place and could ask the employees there to do anything he wanted with no questions asked, it didn't end up becoming a problem. The setup turned out to be the easy part, while trying to get everyone in the room and properly represented proved to be a real bitch. Everyone in the League arrived right on time and without question of what had been so urgent, as they knew Bruce would never have called them in like this if it wasn't warranted. Those in the Great Ninja Nations proved a bit harder to convince, but all of the connections the Bat Family had along with the substance of what they'd sent out ended up being enough to get even the most reluctant guests. With everything in hand and everyone seated around a series of three large connected tables, Bruce was ready to begin the meeting.

"First, I want to thank all of you for getting here on such short notice," Bruce said, standing at the head of the series of tables, "I know this couldn't have been easy, but given the circumstances, I didn't have any other choice but to call this meeting the way I did. Our first order of business is to make sure everyone understands the situation in its entirety. There's a lot complicated stuff here, so you can all ask anything you like. Who's first?"

"On your left, whippersnapper," Came a crabby voice not far from Bruce. It belonged to a very short, older man with a long beard and a moustache, a big red nose, and thick eyebrows. He was completely bald, except for a small ponytail, and wore a green and yellow coat with a red collar. It was quite the look, but wasn't enough to detract from the new figure's anger, "The name's Onoki, I'm the Tsuchikage, and I wanna know what in the hell gives the Mizukage's boy toy the authority to call in every damn person he wants from every corner of the damn planet!

Bruce glanced over at his wife before responding, "I realize that 'boy toy' remark was meant to be insult, but when your wife is Mei Terumi, it's really not."

After shooting her husband a quick wink, Mei decided to answer Onoki's question herself, "It's not that Bruce has the authority, Onoki, it's that he has a reputation that makes him worth listening to. I know damn well you didn't come here because he asked you to; you came here because you saw that three other Kage's were and you knew this must've been some pretty serious shit. A, I'm guessing you're the same way, am I right?"

"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't the case," A, an oddly named man with dark skin and a large muscular build, replied. He had whitish-blond, combed back hair, a small moustache, and goatee as well, "This Abaddon freak already had my intrested, but having a meet up like this was the real nail in the coffin. So, let me ask you, as the Raikage, do you really think I've got anything to worry about when this many people are going to going be after Abaddon? Is a group like this really gonna have any trouble taking down one measly opponent, or can I focus on leading my damn village like I should be?"

"You can focus on whatever you like," Bruce replied, shrugging, "But if your goal really is to protect the Hidden Cloud, you'd have to be crazy to ignore Abaddon and the threat he poses. Terry, would do me a favor and try to give them an idea of what we're dealing with here?"

Terry stood up so that he could properly address the entire room before he began, "Like Bruce said, I'm Terry, and I come from a timeline where Abaddon was able to rise to power and nearly claim the entire world for himself. I don't have time to go into how I got here, but I can tell you as much as I can about how dangerous our foe really is. He's a homicidal, unapologetic, lust driven creature that can't be reasoned with in anyway. All he cares about is getting every last fucking thing he desires. I cannot stress this enough. He has to be destroyed if he's to be stopped, and in my time, destroying him was nearly impossible because he'd absorbed the powers of so many people with immunities to so many different things. The only reason we were ever able to stop him was because Bruce figures out the one thing Abaddon's not immune to in the future. There's no way for us to know everything Abaddon's vulnerable to right now, but we can say for certain that he's vulnerable to demonic energy, since he's still got no defense for it in the future. If we hit him with it now, there's a good chance we can stop this monster before he kills thousands of people."

A had a solution already in mind, "Demonic energy? Well if that's what Abaddon's weak against, we're in the clear. I can send out my brother, Bee, against him. He's a master when it comes to Demonic Chakra. He'll rip Abaddon to shreds and this whole thing'll be over in no time."

"We've thought about moving forward with a plan like that, but we're afraid he could escape and then he'd know exactly how we plan to stop him," Terry replied, adding another key piece of information shortly after, "We believe Abaddon's sent back a small portion of himself too, and if that's the case, he probably already knows what kind of attack might be coming for him. We need to hit him as hard as we can the first time to make damn sure he's never got the chance to become too powerful for us to stop. Is there anyone among you who doesn't think that's the best possible thing we can do right now?"

Martian Manhunter wasn't necessarily against the plan itself, but there was one major concern he couldn't ignore, "Let's suppose we move forward with your plan. What sort of collateral damage do you project this'll lead to, assuming you can project the number at all that is? We won't have time to clear out the area we'll be fighting in I'm guessing."

By no means was that concern solely Manhunter's, as even the small degree to which Terry had explained the plan seemed like it would result in one hell of brawl. Gaara, there to represent the interests of the Hidden Sand, had another concern in much the same vain as the previous one, "Speaking of that fight, you keep saying that Abaddon is more powerful in the future than he is now, and yet, you managed to muster up enough demonic power to destroy him. How exactly did you pull that off?"

"From the way I understand it, they found themselves a rather sinister ally," Bruce answered for Terry, his distaste for the unnamed group apparenet in his tone, "They convinced the Akatsuki to use all the power of the Tailed Beasts they'd gathered to destroy Abaddon. How they pulled that off, I still can't tell you. Terry, why don't you fill me in, along with everyone else?"

Terry had been planning on doing that already, but the conversation had been more or less hijacked away from him. Granted, he'd left the floor open for questions, but he figured they'd at least give him the chance to answer one before moving on to the next. That didn't matter now though, as Terry was once again at the helm of things, and he had plenty to tell them, "We found someone the Akatsuki would trust to give them the message and made it as clear to them as we could what _ALL_ of us stand to lose. That person is someone we've got access to even now, in Gotham in fact. Someone you've got tucked away on ice in Arkham Asylum…"

* * *

"_At last,"_ Abaddon said to himself as he hung above a cell with a metal door six inches thick, "_I've found my prize. I can practically feel the chakra radiating off from him from here. Time to pay my soon to be friend a visit."_

Using the card he'd 'borrowed' from the garud earlier, Abaddon swiped the security system's card reader, which went through a series of beeps before gears began to sound off, indicating the door would be open before long. The steel screeched as it scraped across the walls, which was made from the same material. A burst of cold air was able to escape from the cell, which was open completely just fifteen seconds later. Inside was the man who was the key everything, a heartless man, ironically enough, who'd spent nearly half a decade in that cell after his defeat at the hands of the Batman. It was the one time Akatsuki financial manager, Kakuzu, standing as still as a statue, just waiting for a chance to be free and bloodthirsty once more. Oh, he'd be free all right, but he had no idea what was coming once he was. Only time would tell who's pawn he would truly be revealed to be.


	66. Coming Back to Haunt You Pt 2

Hello folks, I hope you're ready for another chapter of The Red Fox, cause it's time to see how Kakuzu ties into all of this. Many of you likely have an idea of where I'm going with this, but I doubt you know _exactly _what's going to happen. I suppose we'll have to wait and see. This chapter is going to pick up where the meeting left off, with Terry attempting to explain the situation to the various guests, and we'll move along with the various plotlines I've got set up from there. Like the last chapter, there'll be some strong moments of tension/action in this installment, ramping things up as we move towards that final confrontation, but will be dedicated to setting the state for the final battle with Abaddon as well. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack-Jimmy Eats World: Sweetness

* * *

"You want us to try and reason with Kakuzu?" Bruce asked, fighting to keep his jaw from hitting the floor, "No matter how good of a story we told him, I still wouldn't trust him enough to unfreeze him and let him out of Arkham. I barely defeated him the first time, and if I'm being honest, I had to cheat to do it. I'd need to have an undeniable guarantee that we could stop Kakuzu if we needed to before I would even consider a plan like that."

Funny he should say that, as Terry was just about to tell them, "That's exactly what we had. You put an explosive implant in his one remaining heart that could kill him instantly if he turned on us. At first you wanted something that would immobilize him, but there wasn't any way to do that, and the stakes were too high, so you went along with it."

Naruto was still rather fuzzy on a couple of details, "Okay, so how does that answer Manhunter's question? And what do we do with the Akatsuki once this thing is over? It's not exactly like we can pretend we'll stay friendly with each other after this thing's finished."

"I got sent foreword too soon for me to give you an answer on the second one," Terry admitted, "But the first part is pretty simple. With everyone pitching in, I think we can clear out an area, probably in Gotham, since that's where Abaddon's at, that'll be large enough for us to take this freak down without hurting anyone. Most of us will keep the surrounding area contained while anyone with access to demonic power hits Abaddon with everything they've got. The more people we have, the larger the area we can get cleared out, and as long as we use people like Naruto or some of the Akatsuki members who know how to safely use demonic based powers, we should be able to end this with minimal damage afterwards. It's a lot to ask, I know, but considering what we stand to lose vs what we stand to gain, I firmly believe it's more than worth it. Is there anyone here who doesn't agree?"

"It's not a matter of whether or not we agree, kiddo, it's a matter of whether or not we can do it," Tsunade said, speaking for the first time since she arrived, "Jiraiya, hypothetically speaking, what do you think it would take to get the council to approve a plan like this? I know what I think, but I've got a feeling your answer would be a hell of a lot funnier."

Jiraiya, not wanting to disappoint, fired right back with, "Short of you kidnapping a shit load of Yamanaka, forcing them to take control of each unwilling council member, who you've tied down so they can't escape, and having them all vote while they're like that, I don't think there's anything that would do it. Maybe you could threaten em', but then you might have to break a hand to make sure they know you're serious, and they can't really sign anything they'd need to with a broken hand…"

As funny as that was, mostly because Bruce had a feeling Jiraiya wasn't entirely kidding, the head of the vastly wealthy Wayne Empire had a real solution to the problem, "I can muster up as much cash as my personal account can spare, send to the Hidden Villages as 'Misson Payment,' and write it up as some sort of charitable donation. I'll have to be careful with the amount so that I don't raise too many eyebrows, but it should be enough to get us some help at least."

"That's not a bad idea," Green Arrow mused, "I can probably throw in some of my Queen Enterprise profits too. Hell, if all us who've got the money pitch in a little, we shouldn't have much trouble hiring all the hands we need, right guys?"

Mei had a sort of lightbulb go off inside of her head, "You know, it wouldn't be hard for us Kage's to dub some of these shinobi as being on training missions, in which case the village pays a third of the usual salary. With the kind of money you're talking about, the Villages would still make out like bandits, so I can't imagine council would shoot it down. You'd get way more shinobi if we could pull that off. I hate to put the other Kage's in this kind of position, but do all of you think could talk your various councils into this?"

Three of the Kage's were nodding in agreement, with A doing so by far the most reluctantly, while one remained stoic. It was Onoki, who was still unconvinced of almost anything he'd heard here tonight, "You must be joking. The Hidden Rock is hardly hurting for money at the moment, and even if we were, we'd never stoop so low as to work with the tree huggers! You've got enough people to handle the situation yourself, so leave us out of it! We've got more important things to do than be a part of your crazy schemes!"

"You can't be serious," Said Tsunade, trying to comprehend what she just heard, "You're going to put the hundreds of lives at risk now and possibly millions in the future because you refuse to bury the hatch with the Hidden Leaf for even a matter of days? The generation before me loved to call you 'The Great Fence Sitter' since you would never fucking commit to either side, and I can see why! We're finally all on the same page with something, and you still won't show you've got any kinda spine! The entire world's at stake, and you seem to be the only one here willing to take that risk! Are you really gonna put bunch of bullshit ahead of the safety of the ducking human race?"

Onoki found that a far too simple way to look at things, insultingly simple in fact, "Forgive me, miss high and mighty, but I prefer to put the needs of my own Village first! I not going to go against our best interest to help a Village that I personally watch try and destroy us purely out of spite, and I'm not gonna let them sit there and try to pretend they're better than us either!"

Most people in the room had no idea what Tsuchikage was talking about, but Tsunade and Jiraiya both had access to classified information that shed some light on the old man's ramblings, "Jiraiya and I are both well aware of what Madara Uchiha did to the Hidden Rock, but that wasn't an action of the Hidden Leaf! Madara attacked your Village on his own accord and his claim that he was there as an ambassador of the Hidden Leaf was a lie! How can you keep this much bile in your heart for us when you know we didn't really do anything to you?"

"Because, whether it was your fault or not, the last time the Hidden Rock even considered working with you bastards, it lead to the death of hundreds of my comrades," Onoki snapped back, using his powers to levitate out of his seat. His legs were to small to storm off, so turning his back and floating away in a huff would have to do, "I'm not letting your foolishness take the lives of my shinobi, especially not when some of them are my children and grandchildren! If you want to keep me updated, by all means, do so, but don't expect me to send any help your way!"

Jiraiya couldn't help but notice a small fault in logic in that second to last sentence, "Before you go, tell me something, Onoki… what are you going to tell you children and grandchildren when they ask you about this? What are you going to say to them when they ask why the Hidden Rock was the only one who didn't step in and try to stop what could end up becoming one of the most dangerous evils the world has ever seen? I suppose you could say it was to protect your Village, sure, but what if they after that they ask why the other Villages were willing to set that aside when you weren't? Do you really want to be the many trying to explain to the next generation why the Hidden Rock coward in fear while the rest the world stood up and fought?"

"You son of a bitch," Onoki spat, turning back towards Jiraiya and growling at him, "Are you trying to guilt me into this?"

"If that's what it takes, you bet your ass I am," Jiraiya fired back, his tone unshifting, "There are people's lives at stake here, and I'm not going to sit around and miss a chance to save a few more of them. I've seen what can happen when we ignore a possible threat and just hope it goes away on it's own. I'm not letting Abaddon become the next Orochimaru."

Onoki met Jiraiya's gaze, both sets of eyes unflinching. Everyone watched with hitched breath, waiting to see if either would cave. In the end, it was the Tsuchikage who blinked first, "Fine, we'll do this your way. Set up your meeting with Kakuzu and keep me updated constantly. I don't want to have to move tropes with only five seconds notice. Even with your seal system, I'll need a few hours to-"

Everyone was getting ahead of themselves, forcing Bruce interrupted to point out, "People, we haven't even confirmed yet that Kakuzu is will be willing to work with us. Sure, he agreed in one timeline, but that's no guarantee he will in this one. Before we even think about moving any farther forward, my team and I have something we need to do."

"Yeah, we need to go and make friends with a psychopath," Naruto replied, not even sure himself if that was actually a joke, "We're in for an interesting next couple of weeks."

* * *

Thousands of miles away, deep underneath the Hidden Rain Village, another meeting was taking place, this for a much darker purpose. It was for the remnants of the Akatsuki, a band of terrorist whose power had slowly but surely been called into question. It was somewhat understandable, given the defeat of Sasori, Hidan, Deidara, and Kakuzu, but those four could hardly compare to the power that Kisame, Itachi, and their two leaders still possessed. One of those two leaders, technically the second in command, was Konan, a beautiful blue haired woman with green eyes and stoic expression carved firmly into her face. Beside her was the second leader, the man most people had come to know as Pain, who strapped into a barbaric contraption. Said contraption was made entirely out of metal, and kept his hands and feet locked into a position that left him looking like a hunchback. Several metal rods were inserted into his back, and he was thin enough that his bones were visible underneath his pale skin. Along with red hair and set of Rinnegan eyes, the man was a sight to behold, though it was a sight few people would ever get to see. The Akatsuki had to be secretive in order to protect the future they dreamed of creating.

"I'm glad to see you both made it," Pain said in his raspy, yet still commanding, voice, "As you've probably guessed, we've have much to discuss."

Kisame yawned while spoke, reluctant to be there at all, "Yeah, like how we're up shit creek without a paddle. To finish collecting all the tailed beasts, we're gonna have to try and get the whiskered brat or the rapping moron alone long enough to extract their power, and that's a big enough problem on it's own with how powerful they are. You take that into account along with the fact that they've got army's worth of heavy hitters ready to come after them if we try and take em', and you've got a solid recipe for a shit sandwhich. Everybody's onto us now, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm starting to get kinda tired of chasing after something I don't know if we're ever gonna get. Not trying to tell you have to do lead us, but ya think maybe it's time to switch up strategies, boss?"

"I understand you skepticism, Kisame, but you don't need to worry. I've known for some time that we'd end up in this exact position," Pain replied. He'd never been one to scold someone for voicing respectful concern, "There's a reason I haven't shown our foes the power my Path's posses. With you or Itachi, we run the risk of our friend's planning ahead and setting a trap for us, but they can't set a trap for something they know nothing about. I'll have my Path's handle the retrieval of the two final Tailed Beasts, and from there, we'll move forward as planned. Konan, would be so kind as to inform these two what their part in finishing the preparations. I'd do it myself, but I'm feeling rather… tired today."

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Knona to hide the sadness in her heart at her friend's current state. Pain, or Nagato, as she still called him when guests weren't around, had been grown weaker than Konan had ever seen him. Despite the fact that he still held enough power to flatten virtually any S-ranked shinobi he met with his Path's, his real body had become frail and nearly useless without the aid of his machine. Not the kind of condition you wanted to see someone you cared about in, but there mission was nearly complete. Now was not the time for Konan to start disobeying orders, "Whatever you say. Itachi, Kisame, the two of you are going to go after Killer Bee. Sounds like exactly what you would've done before, but it's a little more complicated than when first thought. It appears A, the Raikage, has hidden his brother in order to prevent us from reaching him. Because of this, we need to-"

"Konan, hang on," Pain order, coughing before he could get to the next part, "I'm sorry, but they'll need to leave. An urgent matter has just come to my attention."

"In the split second while we've been standing here?" Itachi asked, his tone remaining dry as ever. His question had been more sarcastic than anything else, as he'd felt the same presence enter the room that Pain, and likely everyone else among them, had. It was a presence that hung above them and clearly wanted to be recognized, considering that it could've kept its power hidden entirely if it had wanted to. Kisame and Itachi both knew who it was, but also knew they weren't supposed to acknowledge it, "Well, Kisame, it would seem we're going to need to step out for a moment. Shall we?"

Kisame didn't see any reason to bitch, so he followed his partner out of the room. The second they were gone, a figure wearing an Akatsuki robe with short, dark hair dropped from the ceiling. He wore an orange mask with a spiral pattern focused around his right eye over his face, which ended in a hole that showed off his single Sharingan. His speaking voice wasn't something you'd expect from a such an intimidating character, "Pain, Tobi has arrived! He's ready for you order's sir!"

The mock salute wasn't that followed that statement wasn't enough to get a laugh out of Konan, "Dammit, Madara, cut the act! This isn't the time for your games!"

"A little testy today, aren't we, Konan?" Madara, (or at least the man they believe to be Madara), replied, his voice noticeably deeper than before, "It's fun to the play the fool, just for the record. No one suspects you're capable of much, and then, like a snake in the grass, you strike when they're defenses are down."

Konan scowled at the twisted soliloquy, "I thought the whole point of what we're doing was to rid the world of snakes, or at least the ones hiding in human form. What are you doing here? I thought things were going according to plan."

"They were, but as you were just telling Kisame and Itachi, things have changed," Madara replied, his eyes moving in the direction of Pain, "We've got a new issue that's going to need dealing with. I've been keeping an eye on Uzumaki, as I always do, and my research has lead me to discover there may be a new threat we have to eliminate before we move forward. Some new bastard in Gotham's been going by the name of Abaddon, and he's got a set of powers that seemed too similar to something I've faced before. I got my hands on some of his DNA from a bloodbath he staged a few days ago, and his genetic makeup bares a striking resemblance to an old friend of mine's…"

"You don't mean the First Hokage?" Pain asked, putting two and two together quite easily, "How could that even be possible?"

That was something Madara had been wondering himself, "I can't tell you, but his DNA shares plant like qualities and he's able to absorb all forms of chakra, and that's all I really need to know. He needs to be taken out before we move any farther with our plans, otherwise we run the risk of him stealing the Tailed Beasts away from us with his powers and destroying everything we've worked for. He doesn't seem too powerful right now, and I'd rather not give away your powers or mine just yet, Pain, so I'd recommend sending Itachi and Kisame to handle him. Other than that, continue doing what you were meant to do; bring peace to this dark and uncertain world."

Madara turned to jump back up into the rafters and vanish as he always did, but a mumble from Konan stopped him, "And here I thought what we were meant to do was follow your orders blindly."

"Konan," Called Pain, scolding his second in command, "There's no reason for you to-"

This was one of many occasions where Madara didn't need someone to speak for him, "Now now, it's alright. I've always admired Konan's _spunk, _as it were...it's just a pity that her _spunk _was not enough to stop her from being kidnapped all those years ago. If she hadn't been so foolish, perhaps your dear friend Yahiko would still be alive."

"You bastard," Konan muttered in a dangerously low voice, raging radiating off from her, "I should kill you on the spot for even speaking his name."

Pain needed to calm his friend down, or things were about to get messy, "Madara, as cruel and tasteless as that remark was, I apologize for Konan's words. It's a sensitive subject, and one you should've left alone. We may answer to you, but I'd be careful with how much abuse you try to put us through."

Though he was almost satisfied, Madara still needed one more twist of the knife to ensure his subordinates didn't disrespect him again. Not for his ego, but rather to make certain they'd never so much as think of disobeying him, "Abuse? Why, Pain, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. What I'm saying now couldn't possibly be worse than witnessing it, the death of Yahiko that is. The whole experience really must've excruciating. Seeing Konan with a knife to her throat, the man who holds her life in his hands ordering you to kill your best friend to save her life, and then, the noble hero that is, Yahiko sacrificing himself to save a woman he loved and friend who was too afraid to move. I can understand why you lost control in that moment, murdering dozens of those poor-"

"Would you shut up, you vile monster?" Pain screamed, unable to continue listening to the smallest of moments from his past, "We haven't forgotten what a foul place this world is, and we haven't begun to doubt our quest! Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"It's close enough," Madara replied, satisfied they were still under his control, "Don't worry, my friends. Everyone has doubts now and again. That being said, try not to force me to be so blunt in the future. Go back to your meeting now, I've got work of my own to do. Tell Itachi and Kisame what I told you and contact me once they've eliminated the threat. We've got to get things back on schedule. We've had far too many setbacks lately, and if there are many more, I'll be forced to come out of the shadows and finish the plan myself… without the aid of either of you. Ta-ta."

Rather than leaping out, similar to how he entered, Madara began to vanish inside a black vortex that originated at his eye. This was nothing new to Pain or Konan, so they weren't exactly in awe of the feat. Both of them were too upset for anything like that. As much as they hated Madara, they knew they couldn't defeat him, and that, if they ever wanted to see the world they'd work so hard for become a reality, they needed to do as he said. No one disobeyed Madara Uchiha..._nobody._

* * *

There was something so sinister about entering Arkham Asylum, no matter how many times one had to do it. Perhaps it was the fact that the walls had spent over a century housing the most twisted minds in Gotham...perhaps it was the knowledge that things had gone wrong so many times, leading to the spilling of so much innocent blood...or perhaps it was the way a camera was always on you, watching like God from above. No matter what the reason, the Red Fox could feel the sinister aura as he waited with his father for the notorious Kakuzu to be brought to them, making the situation all the more tense, "I really don't know what to think about this. Yeah, it's the way Terry says we stopped Abaddon in the future, but we're talking about working with the Akatsuki here. There could be a 100% guarantee from dozens of time travelers, and I'd still think this is a bad idea."

"I'm right there with you," Batman admitted, currently looking over an injector he'd brought with him designed to insert a small, capsule like objects into people's bodies, "But sometimes we have to take risks, especially if it means saving millions of lives. We'll have to keep a watchful eye on him, and that'll mean stepping up our game. That's assuming he he says yes at all."

Naruto wasn't counting on any kinda refusal, "Even if Kakuzu doesn't wanna work with us, he'll agree to whatever we say just because he thinks he's smarter than us and can find a way to get rid of the explosive device. The only question is whether or not we're gonna have to use that thing."

It was unfortunate that Bruce didn't have so much as a little room to debate with his son on that front. The conversation would've dragged on a little longer if it hadn't been for the guard now entering their line of view. He was wheeling Kakuzu in on a dolly, as the one time Akatsuki member was kept frozen from the neck down to ensure he would remain under control. Kakuzu knew he had to say something the second he saw the Batman, "So it was the Dark Knight who awoke me from the world's longest nap? What, beating me wasn't enough, now you wanna rub it in too? You didn't even have the decency to kill me."

"What can I say? I'd prefer to think of going mad all by your lonesome in this disgusting place," Batman retorted, not in the mood for Kakuzu's banter, "I'm not here to taunt or argue with you, Kakuzu, I'm here to make you an offer. First thing's first...Do you have idea where you're old gang would be shacked up tonight? That is, could you find them quickly if you needed to?"

"Theoretically speaking, yeah, we've got systems in place that would make it a cakewalk," Kakuzu said, and likely would've shrugged if he'd been able to, "But if you think for a second I'd ever roll over on them and work as some kind of a double agent for you, you're out of your fucking mind."

The Red Fox could've guessed that, "We're not here to turn you into a mole. We need the Akatsuki's help, and we want you to be the one to ask them for it. There's somebody new we need to take out, but we'll have to work together if we ever wanna pull it off."

He may not of known who he was, but Kakuzu had to imagine this guy was pretty special if he had these guys asking the Akatsuki for help, "You're shitting me? Who're we dealing with here, the devil himself?"

"No, but pretty damn close," Batman replied, pulling out the file they'd accumulate over the past couple of days, "Lean back, Kakuzu, cause you're in for one hell of a story. You won't get all the details, but you'll get what you need. Believe what you hear or don't if you wanna be stupid about it, either way, this guys coming, and you need to know what he's capable of. Hopefully you can make your boss see exactly what we're in for."

* * *

Abaddon was lying on his bed at that moment, mostly unaware that he'd been the discussion of so much debate as of late. All he was aware of right now was how comfortable he felt as he began to drift off to sleep, having sent his bossy bundle of time traveling vines away hours ago. He'd be free of that pain in the neck soon enough, but until then, he was content to rest in his lavish bedroom, thinking to himself, 'Yeah, this is the life. All I need now is something warm to eat and a stiff drink. A nice looking girl wouldn't hurt either, hehe.'

He'd have two visitors before long, but they wouldn't girs… or all that good looking for that matter. One of Abaddon's men came crashing through his bedroom door, rolling on the floor as he landed and forcing his boss to shoot up. When he did, he saw the sharpened grinning death of Kisame walking towards him, not that he any idea who it was, "What the fuck? Who in the hell do you think you are, busting into my place! I'm gonna skin you alive put you on my my mantle, ya fucking Jaws wannabe!"

"I feel like that'd still be a stupid joke even if I knew what it was referencing," Kisame grumbled, his blade, an unwrapped, shark looking Samehada, in hand, "I'm guessing you're Abaddon, since you've got the freaky skin tone going. Your boys didn't put up much of a fight, so you'd better give me some kinda challenge here, alright, veggie boy?"

Abaddon hadn't been that insulted in a long time. He held his hand straight out in the direction of Kisame, firing deadly vines from his fingertips, "Challenge this, asshole!"

"Man, and Itachi makes fun of my lines," Kisame fired back, swinging Samehada at the upcoming attack. The vines were torn to shreds just as his partner was walking in, "Can you believe this guy? Is this really the guy we're supposed to be nervous about?"

Not quite as dismissive as his friend, Itachi replied, "I don't know; I do sense a kind of darkness in him. Given enough time and the right conditions, he's got the potential to become something a bit more threatening."

Kisame had a hard time buying it, "Even if that is somehow the case, it isn't going to matter. This punk's about to get a taste of what the Akatsuki can do! Water Style: Shark Bullet!"

A pool of water materialized in front of Kisame as he slammed his palm onto the floor, of course taking a form of shark, and shot towards Abaddon. More vines shot from Abaddon's back and towards the shark, meeting the attack before it ever reached him. The vines sapped all of the chakra from the attack and left it nothing more than a formless puddle that splashed harmlessly onto the floor, "I'm not gonna lie, that attack looked really cool… too bad it's as fucking worthless as you are!"

"I'll be damned, this kid might have some fight in him after all," Kisame said, his grin growing. He dashed at Abaddon with Samehada at the ready, "Don't worry, ya walking weed, there's plenty more where that came from!"

"Oh good, I was hoping you'd take up even more of my time," Snarked Abaddon before Kisame brought his sword down towards his foe. Abaddon used the vines from his back to catch it before it could make contact, , "Can we speed this up? I was about to take a nap before you guys barged in here."

That remark would've held for weight if it wasn't for the fact that Abaddon's vines began to shrivel up, the energy held within them being sucked into Samehada. The blade groaned and the vines crumbled into dust, giving Kisame back the power, "You were saying?"

"How the fuck?" Abaddon asked, mostly to himself.

Kisame brought the blade down closer to his enemy's throat, "What, haven't you ever seen a chakra eating sword before? By the way, don't make me do that too many more times. Samehada doesn't like the taste of your chakra."

Reading facial expressions had never been Kisame's biggest strength, as Abaddon was about to show him, "Huh, so I guess I'm not the only one who can do that… interesting."

"Wait, what?" Kisame asked before he felt a sharp stab in his ankle, "Ah! What the fuck?"

The Akatsuki based shinobi looked down to find a vine digging into said ankle, drawing a fair amount of blood. He smelled chakra like sharks smelled blood, so he had no idea how the attack had caught him off guard. Things managed to get worse when he felt energy being sucked from his body and into the vine, similar to how Samehada had done it before. Kisame used his sword to sever the link between him and the vine, then jumped back as quickly as possible. From the corner of his eye, he could see Abaddon laughing at him, "What's the matter? Not as though and special as you thought you were? Come on, you'd think a guy like you could handle a little pain."

Itachi knew when it was time for him to step in, "Kisame, I think it'd be best if you left this one to me. He's got some raw power, but I don't imagine he has the mental fortitude to stand up to me for long."

"Did you just call me stupid? Cause I'm pretty fucking sure you just called me stupid," Abaddon growled, meeting Itachi's dismissive eyes, "We'll see how smart you feel after I've got you by the throat and I'm ripping every last bit of chakra out of your body!"

Thrusting his hands out, Abaddon fired off dozens of senbon sized thornes at Itachi, all of which would've been enough to turn any normal man into a human pincushion. All of them phased right through the Uchiha, as if they were passing through thin air. A flock, (or murder, if you prefer) of crows broke the mirage that had once been Itachi, confirming that he'd never been there to begin with. Abaddon quickly found the real Itachi directing in front of him, his hand to his mouth, "Fireball Jutsu!"

A ball of flame shot from Itachi's mouth and engulfed Abaddon completely, making him scream out in agony. It wasn't long before the rest of the room started to go up as well, and neither of the Akatsuki members wanted to stick around and wait for it to get worse. Itachi took out four kunai and sent them hurling at Abaddon, carefully aiming so they'd pin his limbs to his bed. That wouldn't keep him down for long, but it didn't need to. Looking Abaddon directly in the eyes, Itachi used his Sharingan to put the fool in a deep trance. Not a full Tsukuyomi, seeing as that would've been pointless, but something strong enough to keep him from thrashing around too much. Kisame took great joy in seeing the little bastard in so much pain, but he wasn't a fan of the heat the flames had begun to give off, "Nicely done, but I think we'd better get outta here before this place roasts us alive."

"I'm inclined to agree with you, but I'm worried about his healing factor," Itachi explained, impressed that Abaddon still had the strength and lucidness to curse them out, "Pain said he heals quickly. If the fire fades and he's still alive, we'll have to come back and finish the job… assuming he doesn't find a way to finish us first."

"Well, why don't we just wait across the street?" Kisame suggested, "Once this place calms down, we can come in and make sure he's finished. If someone shows up to try to save him, we'll just take them out too. Easy enough, and it's not like we've got a deadline or anything."

Itachi always had said that Kisame was smarter than he looked. People saw him and usually couldn't get past his blue skin, gills, and sharp teeth, and yet, there's was a deadly mind underneath that deadly exterior. Following his friend as he left the room, Itachi never once glanced back to watch the soon to be burning corpses that littered the hideout floor. In fact, he was hoping he wouldn't have to look back at anything from this incident, and that it would nothing but an unfortunate footnote in the book of things that had caused trouble for the Akatsuki. Like many other times in his life, Itachi would find himself sorely disappointed…

* * *

"I have to say, I never expected to see your face again," Pain admitted, looking over the subordonat he'd assumed long dead, "Is it still safe to assume that you're not foolish enough to think you could ever deceive me, Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu was still a little stiff from being on ice for so long, so he had to shake out his various body parts as he spoke, "I'm not here to deceive you, Pain; I'm here to deliver a message."

"Deliver a message," Pain repeated, "Really? Well now you've got me intrigued. What kind of message could _you _have for me after so many years away?"

It was hard to blame the man for the skepticism laced in his voice, "I know what you're thinking, and yeah, what I'm about to say is gonna sound pretty fucking crazy, but I think it's worth listening to. The guys from Gotham who captured me in the first place, the same ones that've been sheltering the Nine Tails, wanted me to warn about this freak called Abaddon-"

Konan stopped him right there, "Wait, Abaddon? That's who they wanted to talk to you about?"

"Yeah, they want our help with taking him out," Kakuzu said, glancing between Konan and Pain, "Please don't tell me you guys have already heard of him. I don't like the idea of anybody nasty enough to be on both our radars."

"I'm afraid your fears are justified," Pain replied, his mind running through hundreds of different things, "So many people have come together to warn the world about one entity. One can't help but wonder what he's capable of."

The time for wondering wasn't going to last long. Something began to stir underneath Kakuzu's skin, and it wasn't the wires connected to his one remaining heart. Kakuzu could feel it slithering inside of him, prompting him to look down and say, "Ah fuck, just when I thought I'd started to-AGH!"

Pain's eyes widened as vines burst from Kakuzu's body and came shooting towards him at a speed his eyes could hardly keep up with. The vines ripped into Pain's chest without mercy, splattering blood all across the room. Konan felt helpless as she watched, trying to make sense of it in her head, 'No, this can't be happening! We knew this was the one place where Nagato might be vulnerable to a direct attack, that's why took so much care to make sure we'd sense any kind of energy coming our way! How did this get past us?'

"This thing… can mask its power," Pain said, struggling to speak through the blood pour out of his mouth, "I don't know how… but it can. Konan...run!"

With the rage that currently filled her body, running was the last thing Konan planned to do. She prepared to strike the attacker with one of her paper based jutsu, but was forced to stop when she realized the plant was doing more than it seemed upon first glance. It was sucking the life out of Nagato, his Rinnegan eyes included, and absorbing power it could from Kakuzu as well. A body was forming at a rate Konan couldn't believe, and she knew that body would soon have the Six Path's of Pain at its beck and call. She may have been powerful, but Konan knew she was no match for the entities controlled by the bearer of the Rinnegan. Using her abilities, she created two wings made of paper on her shoulder blades and proceeded to use them to fly up towards the ceiling, using a few paper cranes made from explosive tags to clear the way for her once she was closer. Konan looked down only once to see the creature, that thing she assumed to be Abaddon, nearly finishing his transformation, "That monster's got the Rinnegan. He's going to have control over both the Path's and the Gedo Statue. The things he's going to be able to do now that they're in his command…" She shuttered at the thought, "God help us all."

* * *

And just like that, everything fell into place. Abaddon had not only stopped his foes from getting their hands on the weapon that would spell his doom, he'd taken control of it himself! His little smuggling plan had worked, he'd used Pain and Kakuzu chakra to regain a real body, and there was nothing left that could stand in his way.

By the time he'd returned to the hideout his past self was staying in, it was already too late. The building was burnt down and the younger Abaddon was buried under the rubble left behind. He wasn't dead of course. No, Abaddon remembered his little scuffle with Itachi and Kisame rather well, and how he had to dig himself out of the wreckage of his home much like he had to dig out Crane's lab when he was first born. There had been paramedics and firefighters there for him to feed off and regain his strength the first time, but that wouldn't be necessary now. He'd merely did out his more foolish counterpart and absorb what was left of him for himself, using him to put the finishing touches on his new look. It was going to be oh-so-special the do-gooders saw what his new found powers had done to his already intimidating form, "Just wait until those fuckers get a load of the new me…"


	67. The Only Road Left Pt 1

Hello there ladies and gentlemen, we're back once again for another instalment of the Red Fox! I'll be picking up with the cliffhanger I left you all on in the last chapter, and dedicating some time to finishing up a couple of the lingering subplots I've still got going before the official final battle begins. I'm not sure on the exact number of chapters left in the fanfic (the final battle chapter is going to be three instalments long, so there's that) but I can say for certain that I've squeezed in most of the things I've wanted to. A couple of subplots I really wanted to tackle simply didn't make the cut, but a possible omake in the form of a separate story isn't out of the question to try and salvage them later. Oh, and there's some stuff in this chapter where the characters powers, or at least the theories behind them, might not be 100% canonical but, say it with me...It's a fanfic! Anywho, let's get on with this thing! Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack- Beat the Devil's Tattoo: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

* * *

Something was wrong. Naruto could feel it deep down in his belly, this unsettling darkness that swept over the young Uzumaki like a dark cloud. The sun had just risen above the trees around Wayne Manor, and Naruto had taken his first sip of morning coffee. He'd been expecting a warm sensation in his stomach, not this lingering sense of dread, "Ah man, what the hell was that? Kurama, did you feel that just now, or I'm going crazy?"

"_No, Kit, I felt it too," _The Nine Tailed Fox replied, shuddering at the strange feeling, "_I haven't felt this kind of darkness since I was in the presences of Madara Uchiha. With him though I was right up next to all that nastiness. This feels more like a wave flying off from some dark shit miles away from us. I'm fairly certain it's what gave me nightmares last night too. Not really sure what to make of it."_

Naruto wasn't either, but he felt like there might be a way to find out. Taking his cup of coffee with him, Naruto walked from the kitchen to the living room to find Tim and Stephanie sitting on the couch next to one another watching television. They weren't cuddling or anything like that, but they weren't at each other's throat's either, which was a good sign that they'd begun to rebuild their relationship, "Hey, hate to interrupt whatever you guys are watching, but I can check something on the news real quick? It'll just take a second, I swear."

"Sure, knock yourself out," Tim said, tossing the remote over to him, "We just watching _Supernatural_"

As far as Naruto knew, TIm had never liked Supernatural all that much, so he was probably just watching for Stephanie. There was a joke or two that could've been made there, but the timing just wasn't right. Flipping it over to Gotham's local new station, Naruto found himself lucky enough to catch the morning news broadcast, which was just what he was looking for. A newswoman was on the screen with a small box to her left containing pictures of burnt building. It was collapsed, but there was a large hole in the center, indicating that something had dug its way in or out. Whatever it was, it must've been pretty strong, given the size of the rubble left behind. The reporter on screen began to speak, "_No one could be found near the scene to tell the police exactly what had happened, and four fire fighter were murdered along with two paramedics. We're not releasing their names at this time, but our hearts go out to their families. We'll update you as the story develops."_

Tim looked over at Naruto, "How'd you know that was gonna be on the news?"

"I didn't," Naruto admitted, "I just had a bad feeling, or me and Kurama did anyways. Seems like something pretty dark's been moving around today and last night, and I'm just hoping it's not our new friend."

Normally, Tim would've asked what new friend he was referring to, but he wouldn't end up having to. The screen went to static and at this point, everyone knew what that meant. Stephanie groaned to herself, "Oh come, another bad guy managed to take over the news feed? Do they just know when we're watching tv or something? Who do you guys think it's gonna be? My money's on Two-Face. We haven't heard from him in a while."

"It's not gonna be the Two-Face," Naruto told her, confusing the the two younger heroes, "I know exactly who it's gonna be, no matter how much I wanna be wrong…"

The image that soon graced their television screen confirmed what he'd been afraid of and scared the hell out of Stephanie and Tim at the same time. It was a massive figure, at least seven and a half feet tall, with dark green skin that looked like tree bark, and a face and hair the nearly matched Naruto's. This was of course Abaddon, only a few things had changed since the last time they saw him. His eyes now contained the purple rippled pattern of the Rinnegan, and his shoulders had two spikes pointing out of each. Various kanjis covered his body, almost as though they'd been carved in, each one the name of different person or bloodline. His smiles showed off his massive teeth, which were all a fair bit sharper than the average human's. Combine all of that with muscles that would make Bane jealous and vines constantly slithering across his body, and Abaddon's new form was all too terrifying. The only improvement was that the gravel had left his voice, leaving a deep, sinisterly soothing tone in its place, "_Hello, Gotham. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Abaddon, the person who's about to run your city. I've decided to leave you all a little message that I urge you to spread throughout the rest of the world. Head the words I'm about to speak, and no one has to get hurt this time around. Act like fools, and I'll wipe out as much life as I possibly can to teach you all a lesson."_

"Well, this is off to a great start," Stephaine mused, noting that Naruto was too engrossed in what he was watching for any kind of comeback, "Okay, not the time for jokes… got it."

"_The first thing the world should know is quite simple… I've got no interest in controlling this tedious little planet," _Abaddon told them, leaning back in sort of stone throne he'd made himself. There was no real indication in the video of where he might've been filming, "_Having to deal with you pathetic creatures, you humans, is nothing but a waste of my time. As long as I'm given everything I ask for, you can all go about your lives. Ruling over you would be a chore at best, and I'll only do it if you give me no other choice. Do not mistake this for some kind of mercy. It's indifference to your existence, and that is all. Should you challenge that indifference, you'll quickly find there's no warrior to be found that is capable of stopping me."_

Naruto had seen some arrogant people in his life, but the attitude Abaddon was giving off might just have been the worst he'd ever seen, "Cocky bastard. You've got no idea what's coming for you…"

Leaning in towards the camera, Abaddon shifted in such a perfect way that it seemed almost as though he was looking Naruto directly in the eye. Fitting, as would continue with, "_And when I say 'no warrior,' I mean it. To all those out there who might challenge me, especially the fool in the fox mask, if you so much as come near me I'll wipe off the face of the Earth!"_

"Wait a second, why he's got it out for Naruto?" Tim asked, a question on everyone's mind, "I mean, yeah, the two of you share this weird DNA base, but that doesn't give him a reason to call you out specifically, does it?"

"_Time after fucking time, the Red Fox rallied those idiots against to make my life even harder," _Abaddon said, seeming unable to resist verbally attacking the Red Fox even further, "_Acting all high and mighty, as though there was some kind of point to the sacrifices he'd driven those people into! Sharing so much as a single shred of DNA with a fool like that is bad enough, but a genetic base? It makes me sick to my stomach to think someone who drives the world to such an idiotic place is linked to me in any way!"_

Stephanie could feel the crazy vibe coming off from this guy just by watching him on tv, "Well, I guess that explains it… kinda...not really."

Catching himself, Abaddon took a small breath, returning back to his main point, "_Look at me, losing control like that. Most of you watching probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Ah, just as well I suppose. This message is for the heroes anyways, and all they need to know is this…" _He paused for effect, "_The Gedo Statue is mine now. The one weapon in the world that had the potential to destroy me now rests in my hand, and with it's power, I can wipe out cities and create armies. There's no stopping me this time, so either bow to my will, or watch the world you hold so dear burn. It's your choice."_

"We need to get Dad in here," Naruto said as the screen returned to static, "Things just got a whole lot more complicated…"

* * *

Chojuro was practically jumping for joy when he walked into his girlfriend's apartment, yelling and whooping to anyone who could hear him, "Babe, you're not gonna believe it! The Mizukage just gave me a huge promotion! Basically, since I already work alongside the Justice League so much and I'm pretty well respected with the council, Lady Mei was able to convince them to make me the official ambassador to United States! The Hidden Mist doesn't really need one, with the Mizukage being married to an American and all, but Lady Mei thought I deserved a position that 'better exemplified how important a role I play in her army.' From here on out, I get a 20% raise, I get to spend almost as much time I as I want here in the States, and I get to do more stuff with the Justice League! How freaking awesome is that?"

When no one responded, Chojuro realized Karen hadn't been listening. He looked around for her and found she was in the kitchen with her back to him and her headphones in her ears, hence the reason she hadn't heard him. Rather than walking over and tapping her on the shoulder though, Chojuro thought he'd get the blonde's attention a slightly different way. Walking up behind her, Chojuro put his hands on the girl's waist and spun her around, kissing her before she could a single word out. At first there was a bit of squirming, but she soon melted into the kiss. It was quite the sight, especially to the person who'd just walked into the living room, "Chojuro, what the fuck are you doing?"

"Oh, hey Karen," Chojuro replied, breaking his kiss with the blonde and turning to face his girlfriend, "Wait, Karen? But then who was I…"

Chojuro turned back to the woman he'd been kissing to a confused blonde who looked almost identical to Karen, with the exception of slightly smaller curves and being a tad bit shorter. He was left trying to figure out what the hell was going on well Karen continued to chew him out, "I take one little nap and the next thing I know, you're out here sucking face with Kara! You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Kara?" Chojuro repeated, his eyes darting between the two women, "Wait, you mean this Supergirl? Holy shit, you two look identical from behind, and almost just as identical from the front too! Look, I was trying to give you a surprise kiss, and I had my eyes closed! I really thought she was you, okay?"

It wasn't all that hard to believe he could mistake Kara for Karen, in fact it had happened before plenty of times, but if that was the case, it still left one pretty large question on the table, "Okay then, Kara… why the fuck didn't you stop him from kissing you?!"

Kara had gotten her bearings back, so she was able to start explaining, "I'm sorry! I was gonna push him away at first, but… he's a _really _good kisser! He knew every little thing that I like! I've never been kissed like that before; it's insane!"

"Of course he knows what you like! I've been the one he's been trying to please, and we're basically the same fucking person," Karen yelled, immediately seeing the confusion on her boyfriend's face, "What, have I not explained that to you yet?"

Shaking his head, Chojuro took a shot at guessing the big twist, "What, are you like clones or something?"

"Two versions of the same person from different dimension actually," Karen said, already knowing Chojuro was going to need a little more than that, "Basically, when an alternate universe version of Batman named Owlman tried to travel across dimensions to destroy the entire multiverse, the Justice League stepped in to stop them. They met me in alternate dimension where my arrival from Krypton was-"

"Let's just leave at 'we're the same person from parallel worlds,' okay?" Kara suggested, interrupting her counterpart, "So um… now what?"

Karen had a fairly strong opinion on that, "Now, we pretend this never happened and move the hell on. That way, I don't have to kill either of you."

That was fine with Chojuro, mainly because he didn't want to incur his girlfriend's wrath, but Kara had another idea, "Chojuro, will excuse us for one second?"

"Um, yeah, go ahead," Chojuro replied as Kara pulled Karen off to the side, "I don't whether or not I should be afraid right now or not…"

Kara, in tone so low Karen had to use super hearing just to understand it, asked her longtime friend a question she never imagined would come up, "Theoretically speaking, if Chojuro knows what I like when we're kissing, do you think he'd know what I like for 'other things?'"

"Oh you are not going there," Karen hissed, "I know it's been a while and you're looking for a nice guy, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna let you have sex with my boyfriend!"

Trying to defend herself, Kara fired back with, "I was suggesting that I have sex with him… okay, I kinda was. I was thinking we could try that thing you've always wanted to do. Come on, you know what I'm talking about."

Karen blushed, a rare occurrence, "You mean have a three way, with you? Gosh, I don't even know Chojuro would-"

"If you can finish that sentence with a straight face, I'll give you a thousand dollars," Kara interrupted, her hands on her hips, "If he knew you were okay with it, do you really think for a second he'd turn this down? There isn't a guy on the planet who say no in his position and you know it!"

"Okay, you're right about that, but it doesn't mean that I'm instantly gonna agree to do this," Karen replied, her mind going a little crazy, "Still, if I was gonna do this with someone, I'd want to be with you. Hell, we're technically the same person, so I don't even know if this would be cheating. We're not blood related either, at least not really… dammit, you might actually be talking me into this."

Kara was one step away from pumping her fist in the air, "Sounds more like you're talking yourself into it if you ask me. Come on, he just got really good news! Don't you think a little 'celebration' might be in order?"

Again, not a bad point, and one that proved to be the final nail in the coffin. Karen turned to her boyfriend while jetting her thumb back towards her room, "Chojuro, get back there and stirp down. We're gonna celebrate your big announcement with the best fucking day of your life."

"Oh… okay," Said Chojuro as the two blondes flew into Karen's bed room, "If they're planning what I think they are, I'm gonna be lucky to walk straight come morning."

* * *

Considering the number of times he'd paced up and down it, it was a marvel there wasn't an indent in the path Bruce walked across the Batcave floor. He'd been thinking for over an hour, his whole family around him, trying to come up with some way for them to defeat Abaddon. He now held the Rinnegan in his hand, or head more accurately, and that meant he'd likely been absorbing Demonic chakra from the Gedo Statue to increase his resistance. The Gedo Statue was already the greatest source of Demonic energy the heroes had access to. Without it, coupled with Abaddon's increased resistance, there was seemingly no way for them to harm him. That didn't stop the Batfamily from spit balling ideas at Bruce at how they could stop Abaddon, with Naruto currently taking his turn, "What if someone with the Sharingan got up close to him? They could put him in a coma or something and we'd be all good, right?"

"No, Pain was apparently completely immune to genjutsu, which means Abaddon is too," Bruce explained, all the information they had on Pain and the Rinnegan flowing through his head, "It doesn't matter how many things we run through. Abaddon's new powers make him virtually invulnerable to anything we can think of…"

Mei was beginning to think they were looking at this the wrong way, "If that's the case, maybe we need to ask ourselves if there's any weakness Abaddon's new powers come with that he doesn't know about. Naruto, could you ask Kurama if Demonic chakra comes with any kind of catches we can exploit?"

A weakness in Demonic chakra was a hard concept for Naruto to even grasp, but he'd ask Kurama just the same, "Well, the big fuzzball's probably been listening in to everything we've been saying. Give me a second and I'll see what he's got to say about all this."

"_Really, Kit, you're gonna insult me and then ask for my help? You really baffle me sometimes," _Kurama said from within Naruto's mind,although he knew the minor complaint wouldn't do much, "_As far as I know, the only thing that can top Demon chakra is an even stronger source of Demonic energy. With seven tailed beasts inside the Gedo Statue, you're gonna be hard pressed to find anything that can top that."_

Naruto already had a reply in mind, experience reminding him that he could speak out loud without anyone questioning it, "Theoretically speaking though, is there anyone out there who would have enough of that power to take out Abaddon or the Gedo Statue? If we can't cut him off from that, we're pretty much screwed here."

"_Well, when it comes to destroying the Gedo Statue, I don't know if that's possible," _Kurama admitted, "_But, there are a couple of beings who're at least strong enough to stun it. Most of them are sealed away in places you could never get to though, not that you'd ever want to. Those kinda beings get sealed off for a reason."_

There was a heavy silence in the room. Only Naruto had heard Kurama, but the lost look on his face said it all. As far as options went, they'd pretty much run dry. Or had they? An idea struck the young Uzumaki, and a dangerous one at that, but he didn't see what they had to lose at this point, "What about Trigon? How does he compare to the Gedo Statue on the power scale?"

Trigon was the kind of name that got people's attention. Everyone in the room wanted to ask why Naruto would bring up the interdimensional mad tyrant, but they could see Kurama had already begun his response. Naruto's always got the same focused look on his face when he was listening to Kurama, "_Trigon? Oh yeah, that crazy motherfucker could knock the hell out of the Gedo Statue. It would be stunned long enough to sever the connection between it and Abaddon, making him a hell of a lot weaker, but you'd also have fucking Trigon free and running about. He might be an even bigger threat than Abaddon is. Raven could potentially free him, sure, but do we really want her to? Letting him loose would probably do more damage than good."_

"Yes it would," Naruto agreed, a smirk growing on his face, "But, if she's allowed to borrow a little power some heavy hitting beings, I'll bet Raven could give Trigon just enough freedom to take care of our problem and then send his ass right back to that dark corner of the universe he belongs in."

Again, the room went silent. Only Kurama had the knowledge to have any clue if that hail mary would work, and even then, his words didn't sound all that confident, "_Well, she is designed to be the catalyst the frees him, even if she has managed to it until now, but Trigon's too smart to have her turn him loose without making certain she won't just seal him back away. The process of freeing her father would almost certainly leave Raven in a fractured state, meaning she'd be low on power temporarily. Hm… but, if we do as you say and feed her power to prevent that from happening, it could be possible. Problem is, how do we get Trigon to attack Gedo Statue if we do that?"_

"We'll find a way, trust me," Naruto told Kurama before addressing the rest of the family, "If we plan it out just right, we can get Raven to free Trigon long enough to knock the snot out of the Gedo Statue, weakening Abaddon and giving us enough time to stop him. We'll have to make sure Raven knows how to do it, has all the Demonic Energy she needs, and that we can direct Trigon's rage towards the Statue. Once that's all been done, we're back in the game."

"Huh… so basically, all we've got is a nearly impossible plan that we're not even sure how to complete yet, and assuming we can pull that off, we'll still have to actually fight the guy we're after to begin with," Barbara summarized the bleak situation before cracking the most confident smirk she could muster, "Wouldn't be the craziest thing we've ever done. Where do we start?"

* * *

While Barbara was busy trying to lighten the mood with jokes, her boyfriend was asleep in her bed, having stayed the night before. It was about an hour after she'd left that he heard a knock at her apartment door, forcing him to wake up and decide if he should answer. Kankuro groaned as he sat up in bed, "You gotta be kidding me. Ah, do I really wanna get it? Could just be a salesman, and this isn't even really my place… if it's something important though, Barb's gonna kill me. Alright, guess I don't have a choice."

Kankuro jumped out of bed and put on a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. Nothing fancy, but for this early in the morning, it was expected. He walked out the door, wiped the sleep from his eyes, and opened said door to find a man he'd only seen thus far in pictures. It was Barbara's father, Commissioner Gordon, "Oh… um, hello. I'm Jim, Jim Gordon. I was just stopping by to see my daughter, but I'm guessing she's not around."

"No, she got called into work early. I work late, so she just told me to stay in her bed and lock up when I leave," Kankuro explained, holding his hand out, "I'm Kankuro, you know… her boyfriend."

You could tell from a mile away this kid had never met a girl's father before. Jim took Kankuro's hand and shook it, being sure to use a nice firm grip, "I know, she's told me a lot about you. Seems like she really likes you too. Didn't know she'd given you a key though."

"Our schedules are both so screwed up, she said that would be easier than anything else we could do," Kankuro replied, desperate to keep the small talk going so they could avoid any awkward questions, "Did you wanna come in for coffee or something? I know you came here to see Barbara, but you don't have to go just because she's not here."

Jim shook his head, "No, I just stopped over real quick to pick up something. Do have any clue where she keeps the tool kit I lent her? I've got a drain back home I gotta get fixed up."

"Yeah, I think that's in the closet. She used it a couple days ago to fix a her leaky faucet," Kankuro recalled, walking back into the apartment, "Just give me one second and I'll get it.

"Much obliged," Jim said, following Kankuro in. So far, the kid didn't seem that bad, but he hadn't really said much either. Granted, no one would ever be good enough for Barbara in Jim's eyes, so Kankuro had an almost impossible bar to clear, but he hadn't said anything that would disqualify him just yet. Looking around the apartment to see if anything had changed, Jim continued with the small talk, "So, Barbara says you're in the same line of work as me back where you're from. Is that true?"

Kankuro opened the closet and started to shift through the various cleaning supplies and old blankets to find the toolbox, "Kinda, yeah. I'm more like sort of like a mixture of a cop and soldier, if that makes any sense. Technically, I'm not allowed to say much about my job, not that it really matters around here. It isn't like anyone's gonna come asking you or anyone in Gotham about anything I do… Ah, there it is."

A shiney red tool box now in hand, Kankuro turned back to Jim and handed him the object he'd been searching for. Jim grabbed it without thinking, his focus having shifted slightly, "Huh, sounds like your job's a little more dangerous than Barbara made it out to be. She's not gonna be in any danger hanging around you, is she?"

"None whatsoever," Kankuro assured him, "I doubt anyone from back home even knows about her, except for my family, and even if they did, coming here would be pretty much out of the question for them. Hell, even when they got here, they'd have to deal with me, and I don't go down easily. Barbara can take care of herself too. You've got nothing to worry about while I'm around, sir, I promise you."

Jim smirked to show his satisfaction, turning to leave the apartment, "Good to know. Thanks for the toolbox; be sure and tell Barbara I stopped by. I'd hate for her to…"

When Jim stopped talking so abruptly, Kankuro decided to follow his eye line to see what had made him stop in his tracks. He found one of the arms for his puppets that he'd stored here about a week ago had fallen out of the closet, though he didn't know why it had the Commissioner so frazzled, "What, that old thing? I do some wood carving, and what you see right there is one of my busted arms for a puppet I was working on. It ended up with my things when I was staying here one night and I must've forgotten about it. No big deal, right?"

"Turn the fuck around, and do it slowly," Jim growled, prompting Kankuro to look back at his girlfriend's father to find he now had his gun drawn and at the ready, having dropped the toolbox, "Make one wrong move, and I swear to God I'll blow your head off."

Kankuro's head was spinning, "Okay, thought we were getting off on the right foot, but clearly I'm mistaken."

"Don't bother trying to talk your way out of this, Puppetmaster," Jim replied, using the name of Kankuro's persona back when he posing as a Suicide Squad member, "I remember that wood work from the last time you were in Gotham and robbed that museum. Security cam footage did a real nice job showing off your distinct style. You never should of come back to Gotham."

In mother of all coincides, that was moment Barbara returned from Wayne Manor. Finding her father pointing a gun at her lover's head was far from what she expect to be welcome her home, "What the hell's going on? Daddy, what're you doing?"

Jim screamed right back, "Sweetie, I need you to back away! This guy isn't who think he is! He's wanted criminal going by the name of-"

"Oh for God's sake, is this all about the Puppetmaster stuff?" Barbara yelled, startling her father, "Dad, that wasn't what you think it is! It was an undercover operation working with Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad!"

That somehow managed to raise even more questions in Jim's mind. Kankuro, not feeling like waiting for Barbara to talk her father down, took actions into his own hands. Creating chakra strings at the end of his fingertips, Kankuro waited until just the right moment and then whipped his right hand at Jim's gun. The strings wrapped around the barrell of the gun, allowing Kankuro to jerk it out of his hand and send it flying towards the couch. Naturally, the eyes in the room shifted towards him, "Sorry, that thing was making me way too nervous. Look, Mr. Gordon, your daughter's right. There's more to that situation than you know. I wasn't supposed to talk about it, but after you put that gun to my head…"

"Yeah, I guess I can see that," Jim replied, turning back to his daughter, "Barbara, how in the hell did you meet this guy? How do I know I can trust him, especially with you?"

Barbara was tempted to point out that her father really shouldn't be talking about Kankuro like that considering he just made it pretty clear he was the far more dangerous one, but that really wasn't the main priority right now. Walking over to the couch and sitting down, Barbara let herself sink into the cushions. She picked up her father's gun, holding it out to him, "You know what, Dad? I'm getting really tired of trying to hide so many things from you. Kankuro, babe, will you get us all some coffee and then come sit down with me. My Dad and I have a lot to talk about."

Not wanting to push matters any further, Kankuro rushed to get the coffee. Jim sat down across from his daughter in an armchair and took his gun back, unsure where they went from here, "So… you've been hiding things from me?"

"Only because I know you'd never approve," Barbara fired back, "You think I'm made of glass these days, especially after what happened with the Joker. You've got no idea how frustrating it is sometimes. Oh, and for the record, me telling you doesn't mean I'm going to stop. I just don't wanna sneak around like a teenager anymore."

Jim smiled at her ever present spunk, "I never have been able to make you do something you really don't wanna do. You've got too much of your mother in you for that. I'll listen to what you've got to say, but I can't say I'll be happy about it."

His daughter's face soon matched his, "That's all I ask."

* * *

"No! Hell no," Raven screamed the second she got wind of what Naruto was proposing, "I'm not letting my father out of the hell hole he belongs in!"

Naruto had expect this kind of reaction from the moment he walked into Titan Tower with Bruce and his fiancees, "I know it's scary Raven, but right now, this is the only chance we've got to stop Abaddon. Nothing else could ever possibly work."

"That might be true, but what you're telling me right now is that you wanna put a fire by starting an even bigger one," Raven pointed out, "We're talking about Trigon here! He's a fucking demon that wants to turn the world into his perfect little slice of fiery hell! I'm not helping you bring that back up to the surface!"

Sliding closer to her on the couch, Temari tried to appeal to Raven's logical side, "We wouldn't be suggesting something like this if we didn't think we could handle it. We're forming a plan that'll allow us to free Trigon just long enough to use his power against the Gedo Statue-"

Raven scoffed, unable to believe how naive they were, "Use his power? Handle him? Do you hear yourself? You're talking about Trigon! There is no handling him! Once he's free, we're all done for! He's one of the most powerful beings there is!"

"You do realize that we've been consulting Kurama on everything we've been bringing up to you, don't you?" Bruce asked, shifting tactics ever so slightly, "He knows more about Demonic power than even Etrigan. If he says it's possible, I'm inclined to believe him."

"Possible and probable are two very different things," Raven countered, "If something goes wrong, we'll have no way to stop my father, and I don't wanna be responsible for that!"

This was somehow going worse than they'd feared. Without Raven willing to so much as consider the idea, they were left without any options. Cassandra made a somewhat desperate move to try and make some headway, "Raven, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you prophesied to release your Father one day? Sometime around the age of 18, yes?"

Raven looked ready to kill Cassandra, "Why would you bring that up? Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to try and forgot that I was only conceived with that destiny in mind?"

"No, but I imagine it hasn't been easy for," Cassandra conceded, "However, if that is the case, perhaps this is a way for you to circumvent that prophecy. You will have freed your father, as you were supposedly destined to do, but you'll also be sealing him away directly after. You'll be free of your burden and help to save the world at the same time."

Now there was something Raven had never considered. It was also something she questioned the plausibility of, but that didn't mean she wouldn't look into it, "That's a nice thought, but we don't have any proof it would work. Maybe if Etrigan or someone could figure it out. Oh God, I just don't know…"

"No matter what reason you do it for, we can't move forward until agree to work with us on this," Hinata said, standing up to walk over to Raven. She got right in front of her and leaned down, resting her hand on Raven's arm, "I know you're afraid you're going to let down everyone you care about. I've felt the same way from the day I found out I was the heir to the entire Hyuuga clan. It's scary, but you need to find comfort in the same things that I did. Think about the people you're fighting for and let the drive you. Everyone, myself included, believes you can do this. Not because we have to, but because we've seen how strong you are. You can take this prophecy you've had forced on you and turn into something that can help people."

Looking at the faces surrounding her, Raven didn't see hint of fear on any of them. They were all confident, believing in her and her powers. As much as Raven had been dreading any aspect of the destiny that loomed over her, she began to wonder if, with the help of her friends, she could become more than she was conceived to be, "Okay, if you guys really think this our best choice moving forward, I'll go through with it. It's not gonna be easy, but if we do this just right, that bastard Abaddon isn't gonna know what hit him. Let's call Etrigan so he and Kurama can start figuring this thing out."

* * *

"Look, I'm just saying you've gotta be careful. You forget how sharp your teeth are sometimes," Banshee told Zabuza, the two of the currently sitting on a Gotham rooftop with cups of coffee in their hands, "You're usually pretty good about it, but one of these days you're gonna get too into it and bite off something important, alright?"

Zabuza shrugged, taking a small sip of his coffee, "Sorry, but in my defense, it's pretty hard not to get into it when it's you I'm dealing with."

"That's sweet and all, but flattery can only save your ass so many times," Banshee replied, then ooked out at endless see of lights that filled Gotham City. It was beautiful place, and moments like this helped Banshee understand why so many people were willing to fight for it, "You know, I saw that report the other day, with that Abaddon fucker… Gotham's got some scary shit ahead of it, doesn't it?"

Unfortunately, Zabuza couldn't have said it much better, "Yeah, it's gonna be rough. I hope everybody can make it out okay, but I'm not holding my breath… Hey, Banshee, can I float a crazy idea by you?"

Banshee nodded, sipping her coffee, "Yeah, go for it."

"Let's get eloped real quick, before all the shit with Abaddon starts," Said Zabuza, making Banshee do a spit take with her coffee, "I know, we haven't been dating even six months yet, and you're probably not the marrying type, but I'm fucking crazy about you, and I don't wanna go off in some battle trying to get back to my girlfriend… I want to be trying to get back to my wife. Does that sound as crazy as I think it does?"

"No, it doesn't," Banshee said, mumbling afterwards, "Although neither of us are really all that sane, so who can tell?"

Zabuza leaned in close to Banshee, whispering, "So, is that a yes?"

Before she said anything, Banshee gave her lover a sweet kiss, the kind that probably would've had his knees shaking if he'd been standing. She began speaking when their lips parted, "It's an 'I'll think about it.' I'm not promising anything, but I'm crazy about you too, and I've never been this close to anybody. Getting married is the kind of thing I used to laugh at, but with you, I don't know, it just seems less ridiculous than it used to be."

"Well, isn't this a pleasant sight?" An unknown voice sounded off behind them, "My apologies for having to spoil it."

Both Banshee and Zabuza whipped their heads around to find a man in an orange mask standing behind them, a man who'd been leading the Akatsuki only a few days prior. Of course the Akatsuki was essentially gone now, and so were the cloak they'd once worn. The masked man saw little reason to keep them now. Zabuza was the one to confront him, "Who the fuck are you?"

"For a time, I went by the moniker of Madara Uchiha, though I suppose there's no point to keeping up that facade any longer," The Masked Man answered, walking up to the ledge to gaze out upon Gotham, "You may call me Tobi for now. My real name will become apparent to you soon enough. I represent the remaining for members of what once was the Akatsuki. Myself, Konan, Itachi, and Kisame would all like to offer our services in your fight against Abaddon. I doubt you'll need their last names to know who those individuals are…"

Zabuza stood up, along with Banshee, to face Tobi properly. For a split second, he thought about reaching for his blade, but knew how pointless that would be. If this guy was the leader of the Akatsuki, he was too powerful for Zabuza and Banshee to take on alone, "No, we don't. I find it pretty rich you guys wanna help though, since you gathering up all the Tailed Beasts is what fucked us over in the first place."

On any other day, Tobi would've wiped Zabuza off the face of the Earth for a remark like that. Today though, his grief over everything involving this situation was simply too great, and Zabuza must've sensed it. Tobi would let the well earned insult slide this time, "I'm well aware of that, I assure you. You're the first shinobi in this city I've found, so I'll let you set up the meeting so that I can explain myself and my team to your people."

"Well isn't that kind of you?" Zabuza growled, "What else can I do for you? Get you a nice hot towel? Some tea with lemon? Oh, and who all do you want at this meeting of yours? All five fucking Kages?"

Tobi ignored the sarcasm and gave him his answer, "No Kages will be needed… make the meeting with Kakashi Hatake."


	68. The Only Road Left Pt 2

Welp, it seem it's time once against for another instalment of the Red Fox, the story that I've been working on for over two years now. Yup, I didn't realize it until a few days ago, but it's now been over two years since I started this story. Crazy to think that's back when I was just about to end my Junior year of High School. Anyways, random remising time over, let's get to the actual chapter, where we'll be picking up right where we left off. Last time I ended on something that was kind of a cliffhanger, but like I said, only kind of. This time we'll find out more Tobi and his backstory, and continue tying up the last tiny subplots. Most of them are done now, and by the next chapter, I should have them all finished. Also, sorry if this chapter feels a little on the short side, but finals have been a real bitch lately. Now then, thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

**REMEMBER- **I changed Obito's backstory a bit here, so keep that in mind, and please refrain from commenting on how it's non-canon. It's designed that way.

Chapter Soundtrack - Nancy Sinatra: Bang Bang

* * *

"I must say, these aren't exactly the best accommodations I've ever had," Itachi mused as he looked around the filthy abandoned warehouse he and the rest of the ex-Akatsuki members waited in, "Although they're not the worst by any means either."

Tobi turned back to glare at his subordinate, "Itachi, I'd recommend dropping the dry humor for awhile. Assuming I can even talk Kakashi into giving us a good word with the rest of his friends here in Gotham, I'll still have to answer for our actions regarding the previous Tailed Beasts and try to keep Sasuke from attempting to kill you the moment he lays eyes on you. You're constant use of sarcasm isn't exactly going to help matters!"

That sarcasm had been an attempt at defusing the situation, if only a little, but clearly there was nothing that could manage that feat at the moment. The team sat there mostly in silence, that is until a question that had been burning in the back of Kisame's mind finally couldn't waiting any longer, "Might not be the best time, but what exactly do we call ourselves now? We're not the Akatsuki anymore, so what are we? Do we have a name? It's not a big thing, I just wanna know in case it comes up during the conversation."

"We're a group of rogue-nin, let's just leave it at that," Konan suggested. No one fought her on it, considering it no longer mattered, "The Akatsuki is dead. At this point all we can really do is try and atone for what we've done by stopping the monster we've created."

"To be fair, you didn't create the monster. That would be the mad Dr. Jonathan Crane," Came the voice of Kakashi as he dropped down from the ceiling, "Don't let that alleviate your guilt though. You still made it child's play for a psychotic monster to get his hands on some of most powerful raw energy known to man."

Konan had never seen Kakashi in person, so she had no way of telling if he lived up to the legends people told about him. She had someone she could ask though, "Kisame, if you had to guess, how powerful is the man standing in front of us right now? By the way, I'd also like to know why you didn't tell us he was coming. You're not losing your touch, are you?"

"No, I just didn't figure I needed to tell you since we already knew he was fucking coming," Kisame snapped back, honestly a little wounded, "How many times to I have say 'Abaddon can hide his chakra,' huh? My chakra sensing powers are fine! You bastards need to give me the benefit of the doubt once and while… tch, fuck it. If Samehada's reaction is anything to go off from, this guy's pretty tough. He got hungry just smelling Kakashi's chakra."

Things had rather quickly gotten off track, so Tobi decided to reign the conversation back in, "Kakashi didn't come here to have his powers gauged; he came here to have a discussion with us. You can stand around and gossip about him later."

Kakashi could already tell Tobi was in complete control of the group by how quickly the others fell silent, "I'll be damned, you really are the leader of the Akatsuki, or was I guess. How in the hell did you manage to keep us from finding out about you for so long? And, more importantly, why did you ask for me specifically?"

"That is a long and painful story," Tobi admitted, reaching up for his mask, "Believe it or not, Kakashi, you and I have a great deal of history together. We haven't always been fond of one another...hmph, that might be understating it a bit. I don't know for sure, but I'd like to think we've always respect one another. For a long time, I hated you, despised what I thought you stood for, but these days… Ah, I'm rambling too much and just confusing you. Perhaps this would be easiest."

For the first time in years, too many years for him to count really, Tobi removed his mask and allowed those around him to see his face. To the rogue-nin, that face was meaningless, the kind that could get lost in a sea of thousands of others, but to Kakashi, there was no mistaking who he was standing in front of. His face may have shifted slightly with age, but his features remained recognizable, and the single Sharingan eye destroyed whatever doubt may have lingered in Kakashi's mind. He could never forget his old teammate and rival, "Obito…that can't be you. I saw you die right in front of me. There's no way…"

Obito tossed the mask aside. The entire room was focused on him, hungry for any kind of answers to their burning new questions, "You didn't see me die, Kakashi. Well, maybe in a sense you saw me die, or at least the child I once was. It's hard for me to believe sometimes that I was ever that sad little excuse for a genin, hopelessly chasing after Rin even though I knew you were the one she wanted. The three us were quite the team under Minato Sensei, eh Kakashi?"

"When we weren't at each other's throats, sure," Kakashi replied, still in a daze from what he was seeing. The rogue-nin were on the side, putting together that the Minato they were referring to had to be Fourth Hokage, based on the time frame, and that these two along with Rin had been his genin squad. Only Kakashi's continued confusion and their leaders attempts to elaborate would give them any further insights, "Obito, I watched that bolder crush you when we went to save Rin. She transferred your Sharingan to replace the eye I'd lost and then you passed on. There's no getting around that."

"I thought I was dead too, Kakashi, I was rather sure of it," Obito said, his mind drifting back to that day so long ago, "And yet, hours later I awoke in an unfamiliar place. It was an old wooden shack, barely able to stay standing in the middle of the forest. There was a women there, a beautiful blonde woman who'd heard the commotion and found me out there, dead for all intensive purposes. How she managed to get me out from the boulder, I still don't know, but she did it. She took back to that shack and used some herbs to get my heart started again, then nursed me back to health for the next month. The organ's in my body should've been crushed, and yet she saved me using powers I've never even heard of before."

Kakashi was intrigued, but found it hard to swallow as well, "You're kidding me. Who was this woman, Tsunade's long lost daughter?"

A reasonable thing to ask, but Obito couldn't fully answer, "I don't know her name, just her initials, BB. She wasn't related Tsunade, at least I don't think so. She didn't look quite right for that. Who she is doesn't matter though. As she brought me back from the brink of death, BB told me all kinds of stories about her past, about how her mother had survived the impossible too. Saving my remaining eye got her talking all about how her mother had to best a one-eyed warrior in her travels before BB ever knew her. Apparently that single eye was filled with more hatred than most people can fit in both of their own. There were so many stories like that, the kind that make you question the cruelty of the world around you. BB's mother had taken her to a remote locations like that to try and escape from those dark parts of the world. Her mother was dead, but she lived on, trying to live a simple life away from all the hatred and despair in the world. Years of dealing with the world's darkest places, and yet she remained a ray of sunshine. Eventually, when I was strong enough, I had to make the choice of whether or not to leave. BB had shown me such kindness, and I didn't want to leave her alone for the rest of her life. For awhile I tried to convince her to return to the Hidden Leaf with me, but she was happy where see was. Oddly enough, after I told her about you and Rin back in the Hidden Leaf, she insisted I return to you and let you know I was okay. That's what I did in the end, thanking BB for everything she did for me before I left. When I got close to the Hidden Leaf, I heard that you were rushing off to the Hidden Mist to save Rin after she'd been kidnapped. Like I fool, I chased off after you…"

"That was the day Rin had the Three Tailed Turtle Sealed inside of her," Kakashi recalled, the story starting to come together in his mind, "The Hidden Mist planned on using me to bring her back to the Hidden Leaf where she was supposed to release the beast and kill who knows how many people. She figured it out beforehand and warned me, or more accurately begged me, not to bring her back. Then she asked me to do the unthinkable to make sure she wouldn't have the chance to hurt anyone."

Obito couldn't meet Kakashi's gaze as he filled in the blanks, "She asked you to kill her. You tried to refuse, but she forced your hand in the end. I arrived just in time to watch you kill the women I loved so much, using your chidori no less, a technique you never could've perfected if I hadn't given you one of my Sharingan."

It was becoming easier and easier to see why Obito had become so lost. By no means did Kakashi approve of anything he'd done, but that didn't mean he couldn't understand it. There was a long series of silence after that, and not because there weren't questions that needed answering. No, there were plenty of those. Rather, no one knew what to say to Obito. That was unimaginable set of circumstances for anyone to be forced through, and no one, especially not Kakashi, had any idea what sentence could follow a story like that, "I can't imagine what you must've been thinking at the moment. Still, it was what Rin wanted. Whether or not I cooperated, she was going to-"

"You don't need to explain Rin to me, Kakashi; I knew her just as well as you did," Obito cut him off in a deadly voice, "She would sacrifice herself a thousand times if she thought it meant others would be spared some kind of pain. Few people in this world have even ounce of the kind of light that burned inside of her! Rin was saint who saw good in other that they didn't even see in themselves! Anyone who knew her would tell you exactly what I just did, and yet, the world took her! What kind of world could let so much evil fester in its every nook and cranny, but snuff out someone as wholesome as Rin?"

Kakashi couldn't begin to answer a question like that. There was, however, a question of his own that'd begun to resonate in his mind after hearing the extent of Obito's rage, "I don't know… but I wonder what someone with a world view of that might be capable of."

"Ah, there's the moment I was waiting for," Obito said, his voice still bitter, but his head beginning to hang, "You want to know what I've been up to all these years when you thought I was dead, don't you Kakashi?"

"I don't know if I really want to know, but I have to find out before we move any further with this," Kakashi replied, scanning Obito for any sign of dishonesty, "So, where do you wanna start?"

Obito's looked Kakashi dead in the eye before answering, "How about the night I helped kill our Sensei?"

* * *

A conversation between two demons was bound to be fascinating, that was something Naruto had known going in, but he never imagined just how intricate the rules of demonic powers really were. For the past hour, Kurama, using Naruto as a sort of conduit, had been debating the plausibility of the hero's plan regarding Raven with Etrigan in Wayne Manor, and it was incredible to listen to. Kurama and Etrigan sounded like some kind of theoretical physicists, constantly throwing out words and phrases that almost no one in the room understood and discussing all the kinds of rules that only made sense to them. Most of the people in the room felt no more in the loop than Goliath, who was just sitting on the floor, his head moving from one person to the next as they spoke.

"I'll concede that the pool of demonic power that we have to draw from is rather impressive, between myself, Naruto, and this Killer Bee person, but I still think you're underestimating the tier of energy that Trigon is on," Etrigan said, replying to a point from Kurama, "His energy and our energy can't be looked at in some kind of one to one ratio. An ounce of his energy will get you a hell of a lot further than an ounce of yours."

Kurama, using Naruto's body, shook his head. His voice and Naruto's more or less overlapped one another as he spoke, "_I'm not disputing that. I know how potent Trigon's power is. All I'm saying is that the transfer ratio is irrelevant because the amount of demonic power we'll be drawing from is larger than any in the known universe. Considering Raven has the ability to make this portal built right into her, she won't have to waste energy focusing too heavily on maintains the spell itself. Add that into the equation, and I don't think there's any way for Trigon to overcome what we can do." _

Yeah, they may as well have been speaking a foreign language to those who were watching them. Someone needed to step in and get some kind of confirmation, and it looked like that person was going to be Bruce, "Cutting to the chase, is this thing possible or not? You guys can argue details all you want, I just wanna know if that's the plan we're moving forward with so I can tie up the loose ends on our strategy."

"Oh, it absolutely possible. In fact, the idea is utterly genius," Etrigan told them, looking over at Raven for the next part, "It's the perfect way for Lady Raven to use her father's dark prophesy against him. All we need is some way to direct his rage and we'll have a way to best the horrid beast Abaddon."

"Great. I'll start working things out on the scientific end," Bruce said, thinking out loud as he left the room, "We're talking about raw energy here, so there might be a way to transport it…"

And just like that, they were back to someone talking about things no one else could understand. Kurama, knowing that Naruto would want to follow his Father, had to cut the conversation short. Really, he would've cut the conversation either way, as he and Etrigan were both going to need time to think about the method they wanted to transfer the demonic energy with, "_Well, I guess now we'd might as well split up and start figuring out how we'll do this. What do you say we meet up tomorrow with some new ideas and decide where to go from there?"_

Etrigan stood up, shaking Naruto's hand so that he could shake Kurama's by extension, "A good suggestion. You've got quite the sharp mind there, Kurama. I can see why you gave the Leaf so much trouble back in your day."

"_What can I say? When you're locked inside a cage for most of your life, you're given a lot of time to think," _Kurama said with a shrug, "_I'm gonna give the Kit back his body now. I'll be in contact soon."_

With his body back in hand, Naruto awoke as though from a brief nap, albeit with the complete memories of everything that had been said, "Ah man, it's good to be back behind the wheel. No offense, but listening to the two of jabber on about the technical stuff almost had me falling asleep in my own head. Anyways, thanks for coming and helping us sort this whole thing out. Take it easy, alright?"

Etrigan nodded, then proceeded to make his way out of the mansion. Naruto turned to follow his father down to the Batcave, his mother, fiancees, Raven, and younger brother all following him. Inside of his mind, Kurama had a couple of things to discuss with his container, "_Might not be the best time to bring this up, Kit, but have you given any thought to what's going to happen to the Tailed Beasts if we stop Abaddon and have the Gedo Statue back in our possession?"_

"Damn, there's a fun question to have sprung on ya," Naruto said mentally rather than vocally, as this felt like more of a private conversation, "I'm gonna level with you, Kurama, I've been so focused on trying to save Gotham that I hadn't really given much thought to what we do after. I mean, yeah, I guess we'll have the Tailed Beasts in the palm of our hands if we win this thing. Not really sure who gets to decide what becomes of them thought…"

"_My brother's and sister's have been locked away longer than most people have been alive," _Kurama pointed out_, "Don't you think they've had enough of other people deciding what becomes of them?"_

Naruto understood what he was saying, but the situation wasn't that simple, and Kurama had to know that, "You really think it's that easy? Even if we take the Beasts like Shukaku who wanna kill us all out of the equation, there's still so many problems with the idea of just letting you guys do whatever you want. If we get another Akatsuki type group popping up, we've got no way to guarantee they won't capture and use you guys for their own purposes."

"_That might be true, and I'll admit, you've made me feel less like a prisoner than any container I've ever had, but that doesn't mean I can let the other's spend the rest of their existence in misery," _Warned the ancient being, his point slowly becoming more clear, "_You know I don't have any desire to hurt you, Kit, not anymore at least. I'd like to think you and I have come to respect one another. That's why I'm hoping you understand why I need you to say yes to my next request."_

Vulnerable was not a word Naruto would use to describe Kurama often, but now that term seemed almost fitting, "Okay, the way you're talking has me a little nervous to ask this, but what exactly do you want me to do?"

Kurama took a moment to carefully work out how he was going to phrase the next part in his mind. Once he was sure it sounded right, the fox continued, "_When the time comes, I want you to be the voice for the Tailed Beasts. Once those debates start over what's to become me and my kin, you need to be the one who stands up and reminds everyone that we're not weapons or mindless killing machines. I know you won't be able to talk them into giving us complete freedom; that's a dream I gave up on a long time ago. However, I really think they'd listen to you if you stood up and fought for us. Hell, they might even let you do what we just did with Etrigan and let me speak up too. It's not much, but I have to at least know that I fought for my brother's and sister's. If you're half the shinobi I think you are, I've got a feeling you won't be able to turn away from a fight like this. Am I right?"_

"If you wanted me to try and help the Tailed Beasts, all you had to do was ask," Replied Naruto, giving Kurama some relief, "Just because I'm skeptical about giving you guys total freedom doesn't mean I wanna see you suffer. It's not going to be easy figuring out how to make this work, but what about our arrangement has ever been simple?"

A chuckle escaped Kurama's throat. He'd probably never admit it, not out loud anyways, but it really had been a privilege getting to what this kid grow up. Naruto had gone from a rowdy little punk to a hero the whole world had to count on. It quite the transformation, and luckily for everyone depending on the young Uzumaki, Kurama couldn't imagine a better person for them to put their faith in.

* * *

Kakashi had Obito pinned up against a wall, his anger so apparent that it was practically radiating off from his body, "You bastard! After everything sensei did for, after all the things he taught you, you killed him! How were you even capable of it? He was one of the strongest shinobi who ever lived! You shouldn't have even been able to touch him!"

"Hm, nice choice of words," Obito quipped just as Kakashi's hands literally phased through his old friend's body, as though he were nothing more than a ghost. Obito then proceeded to walk straight through Kakashi, again like some kind of spirit, merely to prove a point. It left the grey haired shinobi utterly lost, the precise reaction Obito was hoping for, "What's wrong, Kakashi? You don't like the powers I got that night I watched our poor Rin pass on?"

For as much crazy shit as he'd seen in his day, one would think Kakashi wouldn't all be that flustered by this little revaluation. On this rare occasion, that was far from the case, "You just… how did.. But I had… what the fuck?"

"It's the power I was gifted by my Mangekyō Sharingan after I watched Rin ripped away from me. You're not out of line being confused. I've never been able to pin down exactly what in my genetics makeup allows my eyes to grant me this power, probably nothing more than a minor DNA mutation, but, no matter what the cause, it made me virtually unstoppable. You should know, I've heard you're able to use it to an extent," Obito explained, starting to get lost in the stories he was telling, "It would be a long time before I confronted Sensei though. That would be years later, after I found the cave. Not just any cave, mind you, a cave that was only visible to those with the Mangekyō. I only found it by accident, after I came across a series of strange symbols I could only seem to make out with my Sharingan. Those symbols lead to the cave that was final lair of none other than Madara Uchiha. Years of his work was hidden in there, all of it from mere weeks before he would meet his end at the hands of the First Hokage. In that work, that mountain of rambling that I felt compelled to search through, I found documents detailing how the Sharingan could be used to control the Tailed Beasts, and a series of ancients texts telling stories of a statue capable of containing the power of them all. With the Rinnegan, this statue, the Gedo Statue, could be controlled and used as a weapon with devastating effects. There was more I could go on about For instance, his studies of using Senju DNA mixed with the Sharingan to create his own Rinnegan was a real doozy, but most of it didn't interest me. No, what interested me was Madara's master plan to use that Statue as a conduit to create the greatest illusion ever seen. A massive dream that would span the whole world over, putting everyone on Earth into a deep slumber where all of their greatest desires would await them. All I needed was a Mangekyō Sharingan, which I already had, and a Rinnegan, which I was determined to find. I would put the world into the endless dream Madara was trying to create, so that no one would ever feel the pain I felt when I lost Rin…"

Kakashi was floored by what he heard. The Akatsuki members were as, to a minor extent at least, if only because there was a time when they genuinely thought they worked for Madara Uchiha. For Kakashi though, his emotional turmoil came from seeing the young boy who was once so full of life now full of disdain for the world he lived in. His realization at what had really happened the night Minato died didn't exactly ground him either, "Everyone always assumed the night the Kyuubi broke free from Kushina happened because of complications with Naruto's birth, myself included. This whole time, it was really you. You found out the Gedo Statue needed the Tailed Beasts and remembered Sensei's wife, didn't you? All you had to do was wait until the seal was weak enough and then you could swoop in and steal Kurama!"

If Obito could've, he would've fought the accusations being waged against him. At this point though, there was no use in it, "There were a few steps you missed in between that, mainly the one where I found Nagato and planted the seeds that would become the Akatsuki, but you seem to get the idea. It's true, Kakashi. The group you've hunted so long was under my control this entire time. I know you must be rather upset with me right now…"

"Upset? We passed upset the moment I found you were alive! I'm fucking furious right now," Kakashi screamed, his rage slowly getting more and more in Obito's face, "You're lucky I don't know how to kill you right now, because, if I could, I probably would! I spent years mourning you, trying to become a great shinobi in part so that I could honor the sacrifice you've made, and now I found out that not only are the head of the dangerous criminal organization, but you've fucking doomed the world too! Why in the hell should I, or anyone else for that matter, accept your help when all of this is on you?"

A fair question. Obito could say that this was never his goal and that he wanted to clean up the mess he'd made, which was technically true, but he knew that wouldn't win Kakashi over. There was only one tactic that could do that, "Because you're going to need us. Whether you like it or not, you have to realize you've got four S-class ninja standing in front of you offering to assist you for nothing in return. Only a fool would pass that up, especially when the fate of so many hangs in the balance. It's your choice, Kakashi."

Not the most ethical way to convince his old friend, but Obito had done worse to accomplish far less. Kakashi turned away from Obito, unable to look him in the eye at the moment, and began to walk towards the door of the warehouse, "Give me half an hour to make some calls and I'll set up meeting with you and some of the higher-ups. I'll attest to your skill on the battlefield and agree that we could probably use your help. That's all."

"You're too kind, Kakashi."

* * *

Jim Gordon had always known his daughter was special. She was as strong, smart, and kind hearted as her mother, and there was never any doubt that she would go on to do great things. That being said, he felt indescribably torn about what to think of daughter's revelations regarding her connects to the Bat family and the world her new boyfriend came from. On one hand, he felt a great source of pride at knowing Barbara had achieved such incredible things as a hero and still helped save lives even after she lost the ability to really exert herself physically. On the other hand, the idea of her going up against the nastiest foes in the world and possibly finding herself in harm's way one day terrified him to an extent he could hardly describe, "Kiddo, I think I doubled my blood pressure just listening to the kinds of things you have to do…"

"I know I did, and that's why I've hid it from you for this long. Bruce actually wanted to let you in on everything a long time ago, but I asked him not to because I know how much you worry," Barbara told him, glad to see her Father on the calm side about the revelations, "I've been doing this for a long time, and I know to keep myself safe. Please, tell me you're not gonna try and make some big thing out of this."

"Like I already said, it wouldn't matter if I did. Don't expect me to pretend I'm happy about any of this, but at least you're surrounding yourself with people who can step in if things start getting too crazy," Jim replied, moving from the chair he was at to the couch so that he could sit next to his daughter, "And I meant it before I said I was proud of everything you've done. You're a hero, Barb, and I can only imagine how many people's lives you've improved with everything you've done."

Barbara blushed under the beaming praise of her father, "I don't think you actually said that, not out loud anyways, but either way, thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that."

Bringing up his arm, Gordon wrapped it around his daughter's shoulders and pulled her closer to him, "It's true, kiddo, and I'll always think that no matter what. Everyday you seem to find some new way to impress me…"

"Yeah, she's pretty great alright," Kankuro piped in, having not spoken for about half an hour at this point. Barbara and Jim looked over at him in a rather awkward exchange, as they'd pretty much forgotten he was there. Rather than risking any further embarrassment, Kankuro stood up and said, "I think I'm gonna duck outta here. These feels like a family only kinda moment…"

Kankuro leaned over and gave Barbara a small kiss on the cheek and, having changed into his regular clothes by this point, made his exit from the room. Jim's eyes never left him the entire time. Once he was out the door, Barbara couldn't help but ask, "So, what do you think of him?"

"I suppose you could do worse," Jim muttered.

About the response Barbara had expect out of him, "He's an incredibly skilled shinobi, his brother's one of the most powerful people in their nation, both politically and physically, and he treats me like a princess. What more does he need to do?"

Jim gave her the only honest answer he could, "Barb, you're my daughter, and you know what that means… no boy's ever gonna be good enough for you in my eyes. 'I suppose you could do worse' is the closest you're gonna get to compliment from me. Now come on, you're gonna come home with me and eat lunch while I fix the sink. I wanna hear all about your crazy adventures with Batman and the Justice League."

* * *

"Honey, I've got good news and I've got bad news," Bruce said into his phone. Mei was currently in the Hidden Mist preparing her shinobi for the battle to come, and Bruce didn't have the time to seal hop all the way over to her to relay the information, "The good news is, Kakashi may have just found our way to direct Trigon's attack at the Gedo Statue. The bad news is, we'll have to work with the man who was directly responsible for the death of Naruto's parents, along with Itachi Uchiha. Hm?... Yeah, I don't know how they're gonna react either, but we really do need these guys to help us if we're ever gonna pull this thing off. What?... Kakashi said something about linking his Kamui with this Obito person's so that they could absorb the attack in one place and fire it in another. Sounds like it could work, but I don't know how I'm gonna tell Naruto about this... No, that's alright, I can do it myself. You worry about making sure you're people are ready when this thing hits. Yep, I love you too… bye."

With the conversation over, Bruce set his phone down on the kitchen counter and sighed. He could hear his son in the living room from where he was standing, visiting with Dick, Starfire, and their newborn daughter. Bruce had wanted to be their when little Mary was born, but things simply hadn't worked out that way. It was a challenge to find time to spend with his own babies, let alone his new grandbaby. Really, everything about this Abaddon business had him counting the gray hairs on his head, not to mention the aches and pains in bones. Still, Bruce made his way towards the living room, trying the entire time to think of someway to tell his son he was going to have to work with the man who turned his life upside down.

"Man, her eyes really are something else," Bruce heard Naruto say as he entered the room. His son was cradling the little girl in his arms, her big greens staring up at him, "She got those from her momma for sure. Her hair's pretty dark though; that's gotta be from Dick. Mary's a good name for her too, really fitting. Where'd you guys get it?"

"It was the name of Dick's mother. We considered using my Mother's name, but we thought it'd be easier on her if she had a first name that wasn't longer than her second and last combined," Starfire explained, Bruce catching her eye as he walked in, "Greetings, Bruce. How was the phone call with your wife?"

On any other day, Bruce would've chuckled at Starfire's stilted manner of speaking. Sadly, at this moment, there really wasn't anything that could get a laugh out of him, "Would you and Dick mind taking Mary out of the room for the moment? I need to have quick word with Naruto. We'll be right back to cuddling Mary once we're done, I promise."

Naruto, sensing the seriousness in his Father's tone, handed Mary off to Dick. Dick and Starfire made a hasty exit from the the room, the former calling back, "We'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

"Alright, thanks," Bruce called back before turning to Naruto, "You're about to get some news you aren't gonna like. I can either rip it off like a band aid, or give it to you piece by piece. Knowing you, you'd probably prefer it the quick way, but I'll give you choose."

Ultimatums weren't really the way Naruto liked to start off his conversations, but in the case, he didn't seem to have much of a choice, "Okay, um… do it quick I guess."

Bruce would've preferred a more concrete tone, but accepted the answer anyways, "The head of the Akatsuki approached Kakashi today. He said he wants to help stop Abaddon, and it sounds like his powers may hold the key to taking down the Gedo Statue. The thing is though, this means we also finally know who's been pulling the strings of the Akatsuki this whole time, and you're not gonna like who it is… his name is Obito Uchiha. He was a student of your father's, along with the person who tampered with the seal on your Mother's stomach the night you were born. His actions lead to the death of your parents, along with the hell that was the first eight years of your life. You're going to have to work with him pretty closely…"

"Okay, guess explains what the big deal is," Said Naruto, mostly to himself. His eyes were empty, as though he didn't know what to feel about the information he'd just been given. Bruce couldn't tell for sure, but there seemed to be touches of anger mixed with confusion in the corners of his son's face. At last, the young man spoke, "You've got no idea how many question I'm gonna ask or how many things I'm gonna tell that son of a bitch the second this thing's over. Even if I have to drag him in myself, he's going to pay for everything he's done, and not just to me. The Akatsuki have stepped on a whole lot of people to get where they're at. Before we do any of that though, and believe me, we're gonna do it, we'll suck it up and accept their help… you have any problem with any of that?"

Bruce stood corrected. The fact that his son would make a declaration like that only to then look to his Father for confirmation was enough to bring a smile to his face and a chuckle to his lungs even now, "Not a single one. Looks like we're finally in business."

* * *

Many miles away from Wayne Manor, the opposition was busy making their own plans. Abaddon knew the heroes would be stupid enough to attack them eventually, especially with that fool Naruto in their midst, and he wasn't going to let them get the jump on him. No, he was ready for anything threw at him this time, and not only because of his new powers gifted to him from his pillaged Rinnegan. Hidden deep within the Gedo Statue's incredible power was the potential for an army, as Abaddon could take whatever power he wasn't using in the Statute and make himself a soldier, thousands of soldiers actually, all completely under his control. Granted, those soldiers weren't much more than a slightly more durable form of the plant humanoids Poison Ivy had created years ago, but with the kind of numbers Abaddon was able to produce, that was all they needed to be. These heroes thought they were only going to have to best him, meaning Abaddon would have the element of surprise, and he couldn't wait to see the shock on those fools faces when they realized just how doomed they really were…


	69. Final Preparations Pt 1

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another chapter of The Red Fox! In this instalment, we'll be checking in on a couple of characters who haven't gotten a ton of screentime in a while, mainly Jason's group and Catwoman, as well as some glimpses into how the Hidden Villages are preparing for the battle that's raging towards them. The final battle couldn't be much closer at this point, and I'm eager as all hell to write it (the new season of Samurai Jack has been giving me all kinds of action based inspiration). All we've got left is a transitional chapter, and then it's onto the final showdown! So, without further ado, thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review!

(Gotta mention acw28, who came up with several plot points you'll see in this chapter.)

Chapter Soundtrack - Malcolm McLaren feat. The Zombies and Bessie Smith: About Her

* * *

Gotham was hardly the place Jason had once remembered it to be. Most of the super villains were either dead or gone now, hauling tail to escape from the new one, Abaddon. It went to show how out of the loop Jason was now that he had pretty much no clue who the bastard was. Hell, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd held a fucking gun in his hand. Harley had made him move back to her home city in attempt to raise Deula in a normal environment, and that goal came with a new rule that Jason wasn't sure he'd ever get used to… no more missions. That's right, his mother wanted the two of them to take a step back from the life of action and excitement in favor of real jobs and normal hobbies. Only his girlfriend's, Ino, Rose, and Argent, had barely lucked out and got to avoid that rule and that was just because they were only visitors and didn't take direct part in raising Deula. Ino had been spending extra time in the Hidden Leaf lately, as Gotham had 'gotten a little boring for her tastes.' Argent and Rose had been spending more time away as well, since they needed to get out do things that stretched their legs properly. Most of those things fell in the realm of 'no longer okay' for Jason, meaning they often left him behind...

Really, it wasn't like Jason could blame them as he fall back onto the faded old couch that sat on the back wall of the apartment they'd been renting. It was a small apartment, only two bedrooms, one for Deula and Harley and one for Jason and his visitors, with one bathroom, a small living room, and something that was barely worth calling a kitchen. This place was far from an exhilarating location to be, "Ah man, I'd kill for a little action right now."

"I'm sure you would," Replied Rose, who was standing in the middle of the mostly empty living room practicing her tai-chi, "But you're Mother doesn't Deula to be a part of that world, and really, can you blame her? People like us don't always lead the most stable lives… or have the longest life spans now that I think about it."

Jason could understand that, but it didn't do anything to alleviate his frustration, "That's fine, I get not wanting Deula to be mixed up in all of this, but I'm an adrenaline junkie! I need to do crazy things sometimes to keep myself sane! But, everything I can think of might 'give Deula the wrong idea' according to Mom, so I'm basically stuck here doing pretty much nothing…"

"Not to complain, Love, but you really don't need to sum that up for us. We were there for it," Argent said, patting her boyfriend on the head, which had landed right in her lap, "You'll have your new fake I.D.'s and all that fun stuff soon, and then you can get a real job. That'll snap you outta all this, right?"

That didn't completely add up in Jason's mind, "Sure, I'll have something to do, but it's not going to compare to the thrill of getting out on those rooftops or beating the hell of a guy. It's not like I've got any chance of dying as a janitor or a factory worker. I'll be bored out of my freaking mind…"

Rose knew then that she'd better remind him, "Yes, and if you keep bringing it up, you'd better believe you're going to bore your girlfriends too and they'll promptly leave you in the dust. Think you'll do any better if you don't even have us to help you work out your stress?"

"Fair point," Jason replied, deciding then was the opportune time to stop bellyaching. There was another matter he had to attend to anyways, "I'm gonna go check up on Deula. She usually stays asleep once she heads to bed, but Mother likes me to peak in every now than then and make sure she's okay. Mom should be off the night shift soon, so we'll be able to go out if you guys want. Maybe we can go dancing or something like that…"

Before either woman could respond, the front door opened and revealed that Harley had returned from her night shift waitressing. She wasn't alone though, as a particularly infomas Gotham criminal mastermind followed behind her, "Look, Harvey, I don't know how many more ways I can say it: I'M OUT OF THE GAME! You guys need lots of help, that sucks and all, but you aren't gonna get from us. We've got no interest in workin' with you."

Two-Face followed Harley Quinn into the small apartment, their argument dragging on as he did, "Harley, we can't take no for an answer here! The do-gooders had Mr. Freeze personally deliver this message to any criminal that would listen to him. They're gearing up for a big fight against this Abaddon bastard, and they'll take anybody who's willing to help just to make damn sure this thing works. It's in everybody's best interest to finish off this asshole before he can get his hands on all of Gotham. You can't tell us that ain't worth fighting for!"

"Worth or not, it ain't like a few more people is gonna save your asses," Harley fired back, spinning around to face Harvey, "I'm not going back at on the promises I made for Duela just because some random new guy wants to take over Gotham. That happens every other week."

"Exactly, so if those so called heroes are even willing to come to us for help, you know this one's gotta be serious," Two-Face countered, the whole room listening by the this point, "Quinn, come on! You really think it's gonna shatter Duela's life if you help us this one time?"

Jason practically leapt into the conversation at that point, "Mom, you can't be serious right now! Even if we say you not wanting to break the damn promise is a reason not to do this, it sure as shit isn't a big enough reason! Hell, think about how much safer Duela would be without a psychopath like Abaddon on the loose! We have to do this!"

Not if Harley had anything to say about it, "The only things we have to do is eat, sleep, and occasionally hit the crapper! Everything else we can avoid!"

"Um, Harley, I'm not the kinda girl who likes to butt her head into other people's business, but I gotta go with Jason on this one," Argent said, scooting off from the couch now that Jason was off from her, "If want a better life for your little girl here in Gotham, defending it from his bastard is the best way to do it. It's not like you're gonna go back to being a full on hoon or anything, right?"

Harley blinked a couple of times before responding, "That kinda depends on the what in the hell a 'hoon' is…"

"It's like a hooligan or prankster or something," Argent replied with a sigh, "Look, all I'm trying to say is that you're making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be."

Again, the one time jester didn't quite see things that way, "No I'm not! I know how I am, alright? Once I put my costume back on and start going out there after baddies, I'm gonna get hooked and wanna go right back to where I was! If Duela is gonna have any shot at a normal life, I can't let that happen!"

Rose had something nagging at the back of her mind, "I hate to be one the say this, but do you really think Duela has a shot at a normal life with a family like this? More importantly, do you really want her to have a normal life? I'm not saying have her be another hired gun or even a vigilante, but she's surrounded by extraordinary people. Don't you want her to seize this opportunity she has to be extraordinary as well?"

"Wait, what? I never… but you didn't… hold on, we can't…" Harley started to ramble, trying to find her argument. There were so many voices coming from so many different directions that she found it difficult to think. She couldn't stop herself from snapping, "You know what? Fuck it! Harvey, we're not making any promises, but keep us in the loop because we might be willing to help ya! Everybody else do me a favor and leave me alone for the rest of the night! I need a little time to think!"

Without another word, Harley disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Two-Face decided it was time to leave, though not before mumbling, "That woman nevers changes… loves her family, but has more freakin' screws loose than we do."

Jason was moving before the door was even shut, dragging his girlfriend's with him, "Screw dancing, we've got some guns to clean! Looks I'll be getting some action after all."

Considering the girlfriends he had, they might genuinely consider the gun cleaning to be the more romantic night.

* * *

"I'll never get over how normal it is for you guys to have people with superpowers around here," Selina mused as she walked along a cliffside with Tsume, watching from afar as Jiraiya prepared the squadron of Leaf shinobi who were set to head to Gotham for the big fight, "Don't get me wrong, we've got a lot of metahumans back home, but it's nothing compared to the amount of these chakra using guys you've got around here."

"Yeah, we're not gonna be running out of em' anytime soon," Tsume agreed, her gaze finding Kiba within the group of shinobi, practicing for the upcoming mission, "Which almost makes me feel like Kiba should just have somebody else take his place and stay here, where it's safe. That's crazy though, and I know it. Jiraiya picked Kiba because he's one toughest pups out there right now, especially for his age. Only problem with that is pretty much guarantees he's gonna get called up for the most dangerous missions, and that leaves me with an even bigger pit in my stomach until he gets back…"

Selina began to look down at the boy as well, who was currently trying out a new move with his loyal companion, Akamaru, "I know it's natural for a Mom to worry, but Kiba can take care of himself just fine. It's probably part of the reason Kitrina likes him so much. Speaking of those two, and I hate to ask this, but with the two of them dating now, how long do you think it'll be before they um… well, you know start..."

"Banging?" Tsume said, choosing to slice right through the bush rather than dance around it, "Actually, they did it for the first time last night, after Kiba found got his mission orders confirmed. Not sure why, couldn't even tell ya who initiated it, but it was last night for sure."

A little awkward talking about her sister in this regard, but as long as they were already fully integrated into this, Selina saw no reason to stop now, "You could tell with your nose, huh?"

Tsume shrugged, "That's part of it, but it was mostly because this morning both of them were happier than I've ever seen em.' We're talking full on 'No-more-virgin' glows."

"Well, good for them I guess," Selina replied, her eyes never leaving Jiraiya's session below, "Most of what I'm seeing down there is combat based. How big of a fight are you guy's expecting this is gonna be?"

Looked like Selina was just as observant as Tsume had thought, "Good eye, but I can't really tell ya. Our shinobi are being brought in mostly for fighting this Abaddon fucker, with the cops and the Hidden Village's lower level guys handling the area clearing type stuff. Could just be all of us against Abaddon and that Statue, or it could be us verses a whole lot more. Jiraiya has a bad feeling that Abaddon's got more planned than we might think, I can't say I blame him. The way I see it, we need to be ready for the Fog of War no matter what happens."

"Fog of War, huh? Isn't that a lovely way to put it," Selina said, trying to picture it in her mind, "That's like the whole haze your mind gets in when you're in the middle of a big fight, right? How crazy a battle makes your head and all that fun stuff?"

That was close enough for Tsume to leave it be, "More or less. If you're ever in the Fog of War, and believe me, you'll know when you are, all I can say is try and keep a level head. Failing to do that is the fastest way to yourself taken out. Not saying it's enough to survive every time, but it sure as hell helps."

Selina could hear how hard Tsume was trying to hide the concern in her voice, and she had a funny feeling she knew where that was coming from, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Kiba's father died in a fight pretty similar to this one, didn't he? Might be a sensitive spot-"

"Have I given you any indication that I give a single shit about sensitivity? Kiba's Dad died in a battle against the Nine Tailed Fox, and yeah, it's pretty damn close the battle my pup's about to jump right into," Tsume replied, that concern starting to bleed through, "But that's part of the job, and it's the only thing Kiba's ever wanted to do. Being a shinobi and fighting for the Hidden Leaf is as important as breathing to him. I was the same way at his age. All I can do is go with him and do everything I can to protect him, like a good Momma should."

Brash or not, Tsume had probably said more than she wanted to right there. Selina knew better than to try and act like she had some kind of answer to her friend's concerns, so she simply said, "You're a good Mother, Tsume, there's no doubt about that. It's the biggest reason I wanted you to be the one who Kitrina stayed with. My sister never really got to have a proper mother, thanks to our bastard of a father dropping a women every time she gained a fucking pound. Figured it couldn't hurt for her to see what a real one was like."

"Not gonna lie, the flattery's kinda nice," Tsume said, this time trying to hide how wonderful it felt to get that kind of praise, "But what do you say we stop sucking each other's metaphorical dicks and get back home, huh? I want you to be their when I scare the hell outta Kiba and tell him I know what, or more accurately who, he did last night."

* * *

It seemed the topic of who family members were sleeping with was quite popular at the moment, as Jason was currently having his ears torn apart by an enraged Inoichi. Needless to say, the long time Leaf Shinobi hadn't been all that happy when he found out his little girl had been 'deflowered' as it were, and he had no problems saying so, "_You son of a bitch, I'm gonna kick your ass for this! Ino's head still isn't quite where it needs to be, and you used that and your bad boy bullshit to seduce her!"_

Jason was standing on a Gotham city sidewalk, attempting to keep the conversation at its lowest possible volume. It was too early in the morning to wake up Duela, so he thought going outside would keep from waking her. At this rate, there was a chance Inoichi would scream loud enough to wake up Jason's little sister even from sidewalk, "Will you please calm down for two seconds? First of all, you and I both know Ino's head is just fine, even if she is still a little eccentric. Secondly, if she told you about it, it must mean she's pretty serious about this whole thing, which is good, because I am too! Ino's not just some girl I slept with; she means something to me! Lastly, and I hate to break this to you, but your daughter came onto me! That's right, she jumped my bones before I was even considering asking her out! Ino likes me and I sure as shit like Ino, and you're just gonna have to deal with that!"

"_You little bastard! I'm gonna make you pay for disrespecting me like this," _Inoichi screamed before he hung up the phone.

On the other end, Jason was shaking his head, "Yeah right. He's just a little pissed off right now. He'll get over it before long. Gotta say though, didn't know he had a legit phone. Thougth they didn't sell those in the Hidden Leaf. Come to think of it, how'd he get my number in the first place? Something seems kind of off about this whole-"

Jason's train of thought came to halt when his phone went off again, this time with Ino calling him. Not unusual, as she liked to called her boyfriend at least once a day for ideal chat. He answered it, planning on giving his typical hello, and was immediately met with Ino screaming at him, "_Babe, you need to get your ass ready! I told my Dad about me and you and he's pissed! He went through the phone you gave me, got your number, and next thing I know he's off to Gotham! I think he stole the clan's personal phone so that he can call you and, if he isn't a fan of what he hears, he might get a little crazy! He's super protective of me, but I tried to send some-"_

That final sentence would remain a mystery, as a kunai came flying through the air and hit Jason's phone, making it fly out of his hands. He quickly found the direction it came from, where Inoichi was lying in wait, "Bet you wish you were a little more polite to me now, don't you?"

"The only thing I'm wishing right now is that it won't be big of a bitch to get my contact list over to my new phone," Jason quipped, cracking his neck, "Now I don't wanna have to hurt you, since you're my girlfriend's Dad and everything, but don't think for a second I won't kick the shit out of you if you don't back the fuck off."

"Son, I don't wanna hurt you either… okay, maybe I do, but either way, you're not the kinda guy my little girl should be dating," Inoichi replied, his battle plan running through his head, "Ino's got a future ahead of her, and I'm not gonna let her ruin that by dating some wanted criminal."

Jason and Inoichi weren't moving by this point, both staring each other down like some kind mexican standoff. The former felt the need to remind the latter, "I'm out of that game now, not even really all that wanted by cops. I was dealing with some rough stuff, but I'm better now. By the way, I've treated you daughter like a princess every second she's been with me. I'm not exactly one of the good guys, I'll admit that, but I've never done anything I'm ashamed of to your daughter. She deserves respect, so that's what I give her."

"For that much, I'll thank you," Inoichi replied, his hand twitching, "But it isn't enough for me to risk her throwing her life away on somebody like you."

There was no going back for either of them. Like something out of an old Sergio Leone movie, the two men drew, Inoichi using his kunai and Jason using his hand guns. The kunai, six of them to be exact, flew from Inochi's hand and were promptly shot out of the air by Jason. Well, four of them were, as the other two were too close to Inoichi and made hitting him by mistake a real possibility if Jason shot them, so Jason merely sidestepped those. He could see Inoichi coming for him out of the corner of his eyes, trying to use the sidestep as a moment to strike. Jason wasn't that easily bested though, and when Inoichi jumped into the air to try and give his foe a swift the kick in the head, the younger combatant ducked under the strike and threw an elbow back at Inoichi as he passed. Not the kind of attack that would send him skidding, but it still hurt like hell, which was what Jason had been going for, "That the best you can do? I thought hand to hand combat was what you ninjas were supposed to be good at."

Inoichi hardly needed so much as a breather before he was ready to go at it once again, and this time he wasn't playing around, "You're not gonna make this easy on me, are you kid? I'll admit, you ain't half bad, but you can't compare to me! Let's try and end this quick!"

"That's a good idea," Jason replied, twirling his guns around on his trigger fingers, "But I'm gonna make sure it's in my favor! I won't kill ya, I'll just shoot the knee caps and immobilize your ass. You can come to your senses while your fancy Leaf doctors fix you up!"

With his arms outstretched, Jason began to unload his clip at Inoichi's legs, but the older gentlemen was faster than he looked. He started running before Jason could start firing, running through some hand seals as he did. Jason's aim had almost caught up with Inoichi as the shinobi began to yell, "Mind Transfer Ju-"

"Stooooop!" Came a voice screaming not far off. It was the voice of Naruto Uzumaki, who landed between Jason and Inoichi before either could execute any final attacks. He was in his Red Fox suit, making him instantly identifiable to both parties. Inoichi, as a member of the council, had been briefed on Naruto's activities in Gotham. Thankfully, the young hero had been able to grind the fight to halt before anyone got hurt, "For pete's sake, are you guys kidding me? When Ino said you two might be getting in a fight, I thought it'd be a stupid shoving match, not you two trying to draw blood! Both of you are coming with me to a place where you can talk this damn thing out surrounded by people who'll kick your asses if you try to start anything, got it?"

Jason and Inoichi may have been confident in their abilities, but that didn't mean they were foolish enough to think they stood a chance against Naruto. The Kage's themselves might think twice before challenging him in a fight. Since they both knew they were more than likely going to comply with the request, Jason had a bit of a concern, "When you say somewhere safe, you don't mean…"

A grin grew on Naruto's face, albeit hidden under his mask, "That's right, bro, it's time for you to visit home. Don't worry, Alfred still knows what kinda tea you like!"

* * *

"Here we are, chamomile with honey and a touch of lemon. Nice to see you haven't changed much, Master Todd," Alfred said as he handed the young man his cup of tea, leaving the sugar on the tray he'd brought in with him, "You still prefer no sugar I'm guessing?"

Jason nodded before taking a sip of his tea. The warm beverage tasted just as good as he remembered it, and seeing the old Brit once again was nostalgic to say the least. However, there was another reunion Jason was far more worried about, "How much longer before I can expect Bruce in here?"

That was the million dollar question, "He should be in here in just a minute. Apparently he wanted to make sure Inoichi was calm before he came in here to have a word with you."

"Wonderful… nothing relaxes a guy more than being taken aside for a talking to the second he steps in the door," Said Jason, the somewhat chilly reception resonating in the back of his mind, "What do you think he's gonna say to me? Is he gonna stand there and chew me out for an hour, or will he be in an even worse mood?"

"Master Bruce won't be happy with you, I can tell you that much," Alfred answered him, wishing he had something more comforting to say, "But you know he cares about you a great deal, and I can also say for certain that he's happy to see you again, whether or not it may seem like it."

Jason had a feeling he might come to doubt that. Hearing footsteps coming toward them, Alfred gave one last nod before heading into the kitchen. There was no mistaking the look on Bruce's face. He was conflicted, and it didn't take a genius to understand why. The first thing out of his mouth once he was in front of Jason set the tone for the conversation, "For the record, it's incredibly cruel to let someone who cares about you think that you're dead, no matter how happy it might make them to find out you're actually alive."

A pretty hard thing to dispute, "Yeah, that was kind of a dick move on my part. If it makes you feel any better, the first time Naruto saw me after he found out, he decked me right in the jaw."

"Not gonna lie, I'm a little proud of him right now," Bruce admitted, watching Jason sip his tea, "To put it simply, you have no idea how much pain you put me and rest of this family through. We mourned you, took longer than you can imagine to come to peace with what happened to you, and then we find out you were never dead at all. Do you have any clue what kind of hell we all went through?"

Jason's gaze fell to his feet, "No, I don't, and there's nothing I could say that could make up for what I did. It was a mistake, and if I had it to do again, I would make sure you all knew I was alive and safe. I can't do it again thought, so all I can say is that I'm sorry, and know I can't expect you to forgive me for it."

About as a good response as Bruce could've hoped for. If only that had been the only thing he was looking for, "I've heard you haven't exactly shied away from spilling blood either. Is that true?

"Only to those who truly deserve it, and not the extent you might of heard. Now that I think about it, I could probably count the number of people I've killed on just two hands," Jason responded, realizing not long after that he might need a better strategy to help with Bruce's worries, "I think about it about the same Naruto does. Do I wanna do it? No, but if you tie my hands and give me no other choice, I'm gonna do what I have to. Other than those guerilla soldiers you had defending the hacking chip, I think I've abided by that pretty well. Sure, I'm not perfect, but I'm not a monster either. I'll never drive myself into becoming something as twisted as the Joker or anything. Besides, if I ever go too far over the edge, I know I've got all of you here to stop me before I can do any serious damage."

Bruce almost cracked a smile at that last part. The smartass kid he'd once was still in there, even if he wasn't quite the way Bruce remember him. There conversation likely would've continued on all night long, had it not been for Inoichi having a rather sudden outburst, "I told you, I can't leave until I make few things clear to Ino's soon to be ex-boyfriend!"

If there was one thing in the world Jason needed to do at the moment, it was talk to the his girlfriend's father, no matter how much the idea made him groan, "Guess I'd better go take care of that, huh?"

"Only if you wanna keep Ino around," Bruce joked before offering Jason his hand, "Come on, I'll see if I can't help you out a little. Inoichi might actually listen to me."

As small as those gestures, the offering of the hand as well as the assistance with his current predicament, may have seemed on the surface, they were both a huge victory in Jason's eyes. He took Bruce's hand and said, "Hey, if you're willing to help me out in there, I'm sure as hell not gonna turn ya down. You can't do any worse than I've been doing, so what've I got to lose?"

Bruce gave Jason a small pat on the back before they headed in the direction of Inoichi's voice. A few rooms latter, they found him standing in front of an unexpected guest, Hiashi Hyuuga. It seemed he was there with his youngest daughter, Hanabi, who was off to the side talking with Damian. The two youngsters were rather entertaining by themselves, with Hanabi skeptically eyeing Damian with Ace in her arms while Damian did the same with Goliath on his shoulder, but the real show was the infuriating calm with which Hiashi responded to Inoichi, "My friend, don't take this the wrong way, but you're only person in our Village more protective of you daughter than I am of mine. Did you really not think of the fact that one day you'd have to deal with Ino dating a boy you wouldn't like? Honestly, with the pedestal you put Ino on, you must've reasoned that no man would ever meet your insane standards."

"Yeah, I figured that much, but that didn't mean I was planning on her dating a freaking criminal," Inoichi bellowed, turning to Bruce, "Maybe you can talk some sense into your old protege here. Bruce, tell Jason to keep his filthy hands off from my daughter! Go on, do it!"

"I really don't think that's necessary, Inoichi," Bruce replied, startling Inoichi, "Jason's past has some dark moments, I'll admit, but I don't doubt that he's still on the right side of things just like the rest of us. It's natural to worry about your children, but simply calling Jason a criminal and saying 'that's it' is looking at the situation far too narrowly. If you trust me, which I think you do, then you've got reason not to trust Jason. Besides, Ino's got a lot of self respect, and I don't think she'd choose to date someone who'd tear her down like you're suggesting. I've got no doubt in my mind that he'll treat your daughter the way she deserves to be treated."

Not the kind of thing Inoichi had an easy response to. It seemed everyone but him was okay with the idea of Ino and Jason staying a couple, leaving him back into a rather inescapable corner. Even so, Inoichi wasn't going to give the boy an outright yes just yet, "So that's how we're gonna play it, huh? Fine, I'll cave… for now! Just know, Jason, that I'm watching your ass at all times, and if I see you so much as made her cry, you're in for a world of hurt! Got it?"

Jason had to fight to keep from rolling his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't think Inoichi meant what he said, he was merely frustrated that the old man still didn't trust him after all this, "Yeah, I got it. Now can we please get on with our lives? In case you've forgotten, there's a battle coming up we all need to get ready for."

"We haven't forgotten," Inoichi muttered, turning toward Hiashi, "I suppose we have duties to return to, don't we?"

"A few of them, yes," Hiashi said in his dry voice, "Though if I were you, I'd be more concerned with what your wife's going to do to you when she finds out you came here to kill Ino's boyfriend."

Inoichi's face went pale. That was something he'd never given the least bit of thought to. He found himself grumbling as he started to leave the room, "Ah hell, I'm gonna be sleeping on the couch and getting my ear torn off for the next week…"

While Inoichi and Jason seemed to have to reached an understanding, the conversation in the room was not entirely over. The youngsters were still speaking to one another, with Hanabi listening so closely to what Damian was saying, it seemed she'd blocked out just about everything else, "Really? You trained for 16 hours a day back at your grandfather's compound? Forgive me, Damian, but I find that rather difficult to believe."

"Understandable. Keep in mind though, not all of my training was physical. About half of that was dedicated to my education and meditation. Thanks to my training, I could get through a full day with only four hours worth of specialized meditation, and was still left with another four hours in the day to do as I pleased," Elaborated Damian, scratching behind Goliath's ear before continuing, "I'm sure your own training regiment wasn't exactly light, coming from a high status family like yours."

Hanabi, rather proud of her accomplishments, didn't shy away from telling him, "I train physically for about five or six hours a day, mentally for roughly seven hours, and I have around five for myself. I can get by on six hours sleep thanks to a technique my clan has, but I'm rather interested in this form of meditation you were talking about."

"Well, if you're allowed to use your clan's personal phone, I could give you my number and we could compare notes properly sometime," Damian suggested, watching Hanabi set down Ace, followed by the dog running out of the room. Goliath soon flew from Damian's shoulder and followed after him, with the latter saying as they walked away, "It seems your father wants to leave, so if that's what you'd like to do, I'd recommend doing it fast."

Reaching into his pocket, Hiashi pulled out a small notepad and handed it to Damian, "Write down your number and if Hanabi wishes, she'll call you when get back to the Hidden Leaf. I apologize if I seem frank, but I don't have time to indulge your formalities. Inoichi is still agitated, and his agitation is only going to grow if we make him wait. That's not something I'm the mood to deal with, considering he's another clan head and I have to treat him as such."

Damian scribbled down his number as fast as he could and handed it to Hanabi, waving goodbye while the young girl followed her father out, "It was quite interesting to meet you, Hanabi."

"You as well," Hanabi called back in her typically respectful tone, "I'll call in the next couple of days so we can continue our discussion."

Leaning over to his mentor, Jason whispered, "I think that's first time I've ever seen another kid who actually speaks Damian's language."

Bruce had never expected Damian to find another person his son's age who he would hit it off with, so this was unchartered waters for him too, "Yeah, it's something alright. He even got her number. Who knows, we might being seeing the start of something here."

"You two do know I have impeccable hearing, don't you?" Damian asked, then said with a sigh, "I'll admit, Hanabi is quite fetching and seems pleasant enough, but I've got other things to focus on right now."

"Yeah, like your initiation," Bruce said, making Jason's ears perk up, "There's an old tradition we started back in Jason's day. Basically, the new Robin has earn his suit by sneaking into Wayne Manor with our security on, reaching the main hallway, and managing to get past myself, the past Robins, and Naruto. We didn't have Jason here for Tim's, but now that he's back, I say it's time we make you earn that title you've been trying to get for so long, Damian."

Having never backed down from a fight in his entire life, Damian puffed his chest out and said, "If I knew that was all I needed to do, I would've dragged Jason here weeks ago. When can we do it?"

Bruce grinned at his son's ignorance, "Tonight should work. I'll invite some people over and have Alfred make some popcorn. Something tells me this is the kinda thing an audience would enjoy…"

* * *

"This really isn't funny anymore," Damian growled as he leapt from yet another tree, inching closer to Wayne Manor, "They didn't tell that sneaking into the mansion meant starting all the way behind the freaking gates. I can't even touch the damn grass or I'll set off the sensors. Ah well, at least I'm finally getting close."

A few leaps later, Damian found himself directly adjacent to the side window of Wayne Manor, the one which lead into the kitchen and then into the main hallway by extension. The window was going to be problematic, as breaking it or trying to lock pick it would result in the alarms being set off instantly. Damian was going to have to get creative to avoid it, and he had something in mind that just might be able to do it. Taking out his remote hacking device, Damian fidget around until he was connected to the Wayne Manor security system. He wasn't skilled enough to hack it on his own of course, but he didn't need to be. His best virus would take the system a total of 90 seconds to purge, and those 90 seconds were going to be all that he needed. After a few more taps on his hacking device, the virus was in place, and Damian was off to the races. Using his grappling hook, he shot himself towards the window and quickly found himself clinging to it. 80 seconds remained as he pulled out his lockpick and got to work on the lock. Bruce of course didn't use a typical set of tumblers, meaning Damian had to use all of his skills in order to get through. Roughly a minute passed before the lock gave way and the young Wayne could slip into the manor. Once he was in, he used his remaining 20 seconds to close and window and relock it to ensure the alarms wouldn't go off. In the knick of time, Damian had managed to get the first stage of his initiation complete. Now it was time to move to the next stage, "Okay, all I've gotta now do is get down the hallway and that suit is all mine. Shouldn't be a problem…"

"You think so, huh?" Came the voice of Naruto from a distance. Damian quickly made his way the main hall to find all his soon to be combatants waiting for him. All the previous Robins, Naruto, and his father were ready with grins on their faces, "Come on Damian, let's see if you've got the kinda metal you say you do. Alright everyone, pile on!"

* * *

Down in the Batcave, the remaining members of the Batfamily, which now included Kankuro and Jim Gordon, was huddle around the monitor of the Batcomputer with a large bowl popcorn to watch the events unfold. Jim, the only real rookie in this world, asked as he grabbed a handful of popcorn, "So it this the kinda thing you guys usually do? It's not exactly superhero material."

"No, most nights we'd be out scanning the city right now, but things are really quite tonight, and we're not missing the chance to watch Damian get put through the wringer," Barbara replied, rubbing her hands together, "This is gonna be good!"

Temari was smiling from ear to ear, "Kankuro, I know you don't really know this kid, but you have no idea how satisfying it's gonna be to see him get knocked down a peg!"

Not wanting everything said about Damian to be negative, Alfred remarked, "To be fair, Damian does have a good side to him, and it's one we've been seeing more and more of since he came to Gotham. By no means is he a bad kid, even if he can be rude at times… that being said, he's ordered me around more than enough lately for me to get some enjoyment out of this, so let the show begin!"

"As if on cue," Hinata joked, pointing to the screen as the throw down was about to begin, "Place your bet's people, here we go!"


	70. Final Preparations Pt 2

I hope you're ready, ladies and gentlemen, because the end is nearly here. Originally, I was going to try and get this chapter out in only a week, but things just didn't work out that way. Sorry about that. Of course we'll be finishing the cliffhanger type plotpoint I left off on last time, but that won't be what we're starting with. No, that'll be second, after another short section that you'll all get a nice taste of soon enough. That section is going to prove important, as our story is nearly complete. At this point, all major plot points have been or will be summed up in this chapter, but I don't want to spoil anything further, so I suppose I'd better stop rambling on about it. So, without any further ado, thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review! (Sorry about posting in the evening this time, schedules been a little funky lately.)

Chapter Soundtrack-Imagine Dragons: Believer

* * *

Not many nights in Gotham could be called peaceful, and even fewer of them could considered downright quiet, so it was something of a miracle for Abaddon to see the city in such a state. Sadly, the rarity of the occasion was lost on him, as his mind was focused on more important, as well as more sinister, things, "It seems I was right. The heroes aren't going to be smart enough to heed my warning and give me this city. And to think, I made things so simple for them. Ah well, I've waited long enough for them to do as I asked, and at least I was prepared for this scenario. Prepare yourself, Gotham; you're about to see something you never dreamed was possible."

Jumping down from the steel beam of the construction site he was waiting on, Abbadon landed on a concrete slab and left a large spider-web shaped crack on the otherwise smooth surface. Those cracks would prove unimportant in a moment, as Abbadon began to summon the great Gedo Statue from beneath his feet. The ground around him shook as the Statue began to rise from the depths below, the concrete giving way as easily as if it were cardbored. It wasn't alone either, as the army of plant humanoids, ones which were much stronger, had thicker skin, and were more intelligent than anything Poison Ivy had ever created, came with it. No one in the city may have known what was coming yet, but soon enough, the Statue would reach the skies, and then they would all know of the terror that awaited them, "To think, so many people are going to die for the self righteous actions of their supposed protectors. There's some irony for you. A pity they won't be around to appreciate it…"

* * *

"Oh come on, how is that fair?" Damian asked as all three of the past Robins began to rush him, with Dick going high, Jason going low, and Tim going for dead center, "How am I supposed to defend myself at literally every angle?"

Jason wasn't going to miss an opportunity to make a crack off from a comment like that, "Really, you wanna be Robin and you can't even last five minutes with us? Man, you need to step up your game!"

Backing away as quickly as he could, Damian spat, "Don't insult me like that! I swear, when I get my hands on you-"

"Watch your six, son," Bruce told him, having managed to get behind Damian and grab ahold of his arms, "If you're going to go on missions, you'll need to be more aware of your surroundings."

Bruce used his grip to hurl his son towards the trio of past Robins, who weren't about to pass up the chance to have some fun with him. Jason swept Damian's legs out from under him before giving him a nice punch in the stomach. The momentum of that punch was enough to send the boy flying high enough for Tim to reach him, allowing the youngest Robin to give him two swift kicks in the back. Dick, eager to top it all off, used the wall to kick off from and leapt into the air for his attack. He grabbed Damian's ankle as he came down, slamming the boy into unforgiving floor below. It knocked the wind out of Damian and left him groaning, "Ah, dammit… I'm gonna make you pay for that."

"Yeah, that's really not the kinda thing you wanna say while you're still lying on the ground," Naruto piped in before creating himself three Shadow Clones. With his clones in hand, Naruto dove for Damian's limbs, "But, as long as you're stuck down there, I've got an idea."

"Shadow Clones? That isn't-" Damian began before the clones grabbed him by those limbs and lifted him into the air, "Hey, put me down!"

Naruto, the real Naruto that is, had some other ideas, "Not yet, there's something we need to do first… hey Dick, come over here!"

Before Damian had time to blink, Dick was standing overtop of him, a mischievous look in his eyes. Dick raised up his fist, making Damian flinch in preparations for some kind of strike. It didn't come though, as Dick apparently decided to go a slightly different route, "Noogie time!"

"Noogies? Please tell me we're not going to get that juvenile? Really, I-ahgh," Damian yelped as he began to feel Dick's knuckles rubbing back and forth across his skull, "Cut that out! I'm serious!"

Bruce, no matter how amused he might have been, had to step in, "Naruto, I told you no jutsus before we started. We have to be fair here. Let him go."

Reluctantly, Naruto dispelled his clones and let Damian loose. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Damian tried to leap passed everyone and head for the end of the hall. A mere second later, he felt something latch onto his collar and send him hurtling backwards. When he landed, he found his Father standing over him with a grappling hook, "I said we'd be fair, I didn't say we were going to make it easy."

"I'm starting to think I may have underestimated the challenge of all this," Damian grumbled, reaching into his pocket, "But then again, maybe I've just been overthinking it."

Damian smashed the smoke pellet onto the ground, resulting in the cloud of smoke everyone had anticipated. They knew Damian was going to try making a break for the end of the hall, they just didn't know when or how. This left them stuck where they were, not moving a muscle while they waited for Damian to make his move. The wait was long, so long that they thought the smoke might clear before the young Wayne tried anything. Thankfully, that wouldn't be a problem, as Damian fired his own grappling hook at the ceiling and latched it onto it, pulling himself upwards. Bruce, since his hook was still latched onto his son's collar, was sent flying with him. Seeing as the Dark Knight had no interest in being at the boy's mercy, Bruce let go of the hook and did a couple of rolls before coming to a stop, "Is that your brilliantly simple plan? If it is, I gotta say, I was expecting a little bit more."

"Well then it's a good thing I had more than that in store," Damian said, hiding something in his hand as he hung from the ceiling, "Hope you guys brought sunglass, otherwise this is gonna sting a bit!"

Letting go of the grappling hook, Damian landed on the ground below and smashed a flash grenade into the ground. It was a low level grenade, as Damian didn't wanna blind his family members, meaning that a mere covering of his eyes was enough to keep from being too affected. With the attack complete and his family likely incapable of following him, Damian began to sprint for the end of the hallway, determined to claim victory. What he didn't know was that Naruto was ready for that exact type of scenario and set a trap before Damian had ever entered the Manor. This meant he only got about halfway down the hall before setting off a carefully placed tripwire, which in turn flipped over a bucket hanging just over Damian's head. A slimy liquid fell from the ceiling and covered the boy, making him slip and fall backwards, slamming his back into the floor, "Oh come on! What even is this stuff? It smells like bacon grease."

"That's probably because it's bacon grease," Naruto replied, not remotely trying to hold back his laughter, "I had Alfred save it up for me and get it liquid again just so we can do this! Oh, and you're not done just yet."

Damian heard the click of a door opening nearby, followed by the sound of tiny feet running right towards him. The next thing he knew, he was being licked to death by his own pets, Ace and Goliath. There tickling tongues left him fighting off plenty of laughter, "Hey, cut that out you two! I'm serious here! That doesn't mean start nibbling on my ear!"

While everyone in the hall was busy rolling on the floor and holding their stomach's from the hysterical laughter, they failed to notice Mei was now in the hall as well. She had something urgent she needed to talk with them about, albeit not something so urgent that she didn't take a moment to snap a quick picture of Damian's current predicament. Once she was sure it was saved though, she got right back down to business, "Oh, that's gonna make a wonderful screensaver. Now then… Everyone, up and at attention, now!"

"Yes mam," All of the boys called at once, standing straight up. Well, all except for Damian, who tried to to stand up and then quickly fell right back onto his ass again.

It took a couple more tries, along with a couple more chuckles, but Damian eventually managed to get himself up, "Wait a minute, does this mean I failed my test? Am I gonna have to do all of this again?"

Bruce decided now would be the best time to tell him the truth, "No, you were always gonna get the suit no matter what happened. No one's ever actually made it passed us, considering it's nearly much impossible on their own. This whole thing is pretty much just us having some fun with you. I'm betting everyone down in the Batcave got a real kick out of watching your little ego check. Oh, and this whole thing was recorded too, so we can look at it later and see what you did wrong… or just pull it out as a reminder if you ever get too mouthy."

"You have no idea how much I hate all of you right now," Damian grumbled, looking down at his grease covered body.

"As funny as all of this is, we're going to have to save it for another time," Mei said, going back into her Mizukage tone of voice, "Abbadon decided he was tired of waiting."

If ever there was something to bring things grinding to a halt, it was the mention of that monster. Naruto, in the kind of the move that would usually be reserved for Bruce, went straight into defense mode, "We need to get all the civilians out of the city as soon as possible, and get everyone from the Hidden Villages here right now. The longer we wait, the more damage Abaddon is bound to do. Did anyone tell the Justice League about this yet? We'd better-"

"Relax, Naruto, that's all already been taken care of," Mei assured him, "We told all of you last since you'd take the least amount of time to get there. Once all of you are ready, we're going to head over as a group the situation room we've got setup in an empty Wayne Enterprises warehouse. We need all the time we can get to prepare, and it looks like Abaddon's gonna give it to us."

For obvious reasons, Naruto found that pretty hard to believe, "Why the hell would he do that? Does he really think we stand that little of a chance against him?"

Bruce had already pieced together the reason, "He wants to prove to the world that there's no resisting him. An entire army could hit him head on and it wouldn't matter; he'll still come out on top. Abaddon plans on squashing our army all at once, instead of in a series of smaller waves as some counter attack after he makes the first move. All he wants is for us afraid to be afraid of what he's capable of."

"Then we're gonna show him that we're not," Naruto fired right back, his fist clenched into a tight ball, "Let's show this asshole why Gotham's never going to belong to him!"

Before anyone could get another word out, Naruto was off to get suited up. Mei needed to attend to things for the Hidden Mist as well, so she told them, "I've got work of my own to do, so I'll leave you to it. Oh, and Damian, thanks for making it all the way to the trap. I won the pool we had going downstairs for how fared you'd make it!"

Damian nearly returned her jab with some kind of smart remark, but was more concerned with speaking to his father, "What just happened? We were standing here, making cracks about some silly initiation ritual, and the next thing we know we're preparing for the fight of our lives. Things didn't even shift that fast back at Grandfather's compound."

"It's Gotham, son. You'd better get used to it," Bruce said. He would've added in a nice pat on the shoulder too, but their was still the grease to attended to, "Now, go get washed off real quick. Your new suit will be waiting for down in the Batcave. Looks like you're going to have a hell of first night out as the new Robin."

* * *

The warehouse Mei had spoken of was in utter chaos from the moment the heroes arrived. People from all different villages and background were working together to come up with some kind of strategy to keep their world safe, and it was really quite the site. However, Naruto would wait until later to ponder just how significant the occasion was. First, he had to go up to the nearest Kage that he could find, Onoki in this case, and make sure the situation was being handled, "Hey, Mr. Tsuchikage, any chance you could give me an update on how the evacuations are going and how long before we'll be able to move out?"

Onoki's glare could've leveled mountains as he responded to the young blonde, "The evacuation is about half way finished. They're picking up the pace, so it shouldn't be long. As for how long until everyone's ready to move out, how the hell would I know? Next time you've got a question, why don't you try and find a Kage who hasn't had their village ripped apart at the hands of your Father! Do you have any idea what he-"

"He took out more of your men than any other ninja on the battlefield and was responsible for some of your biggest lost battles. I know, so we're not gonna have this argument again, are we?" Naruto asked, referring to a small spat they'd had back after the first meeting to discuss Abaddon, "What happened between the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Rock was a long time ago, and as for my Father, he was just doing his duty as a shinobi and you know it. Even if you can't accept that, you still need to understand that the last thing we need to be doing right now is fighting with each other!"

Firing right back, the Tsuchikage snapped, "I'm not fighting with you, brat, I'm trying to ignore you. Do me a favor and leave it at that!"

Naruto never took orders he didn't see any logic in, "Not gonna happen. Whether or not you like it, me and you are on the same side now. Both of us are fighting because we want to protect everything we hold dear. I don't know about you, but I wanna make damn sure that nothing stupid ends up leading to the end of the world as we know it. That includes you and your villagers letting a petty feud destroy everything we've worked for, and, if I'm being fair, the Leaf shinobi aren't perfect in that area either. All I'm asking is that you respect me and make sure your shinobi stay in line, and I'll do my best to do the same. Sound fair to you?"

"Hm… you know, Mr. Uzumaki, you have the same fire in your eyes that your father once did," Onoki remarked. A smirk was brewing under his skin, though he did everything he could to insure Naruto couldn't see it, "It'll serve you well when you fight by the side of my shinobi. As long as you keep in mind that we're going to be far from friends when this thing is over, I can live with the terms you mentioned before."

The Tsuchikage was gone before Naruto could reply, which was good, because the old man likely wouldn't have liked what he had to say, "Not like I ever asked to be your friend in the first place, ya dick."

While Naruto was grumbling on one side of the warehouse, on the other side, Zabuza was dragging Banshee by the arm towards his father, who'd insisted on coming to support his family. What her lover was doing this for, Banshee has no idea, "Zabuza, what're you doing? You don't need to introduce me to your Dad; I've met Alfred about a dozen times already! Seriously, what's the point of this?"

"He's gonna officiate for us," Zabuza replied, managing to confuse Banshee even more, "You know, like for a wedding. You said you'd marry me before the battle, right? Well, either we do it now or we're not gonna have time to do it at all. Dad's still certified to do that kinda stuff, so I figured we'd go for it!"

Banshee, not really the romantic type, surprised even herself when she said, "Hey, if I'm gonna go out, I want it to be as your wife… where the fuck did that come from?"

"Don't know, but I'm not gonna question it," Zabuza said before he reached his father, who was currently looking over an open briefcase with sniper parts inside of it, "Dad, we need you to… what the hell is that for?"

There was no need for Alfred to ask his son what he meant, "My old rifle. I'm going to be on the rooftop, seeing if these old bones can't manage to take down a few of our nasty foes. What is it you need, Son?"

Zabuza, not wanting to waste so much as a second, told him, "We need you to marry us before the battle starts. I know, technically it's not official without some bullshit paperwork, but the way I see it, as long as we've got rings, a real ordained minister, and some people to watch, it'll be as legit as it-"

"You don't explain anything to me, I was on board the second you said you wanted to marry her," Alfred told them, turning to Banshee, "Quite frankly, I'm just glad I'm getting to see my son get married at all, with him disappearing for so long and leading the kind of life that he does. I'm impressed you were able to tie him down, Miss Banshee."

"Oh please, he wouldn't know what to do without me," Banshee joked, giving her soon to be husband a small jab in the ribs with her elbow. Again, she found herself asking, "Seriously, what in the hell is with me and the cheesiness today?"

That was something Zabuza didn't know or care about at the moment. All he wanted was for this little ceremony to get started, "Couldn't tell ya. Let's stop wasting time and get some witnesses. Hey, Lady Mizukage, can you come over here and do us a favor real quick? We need a couple people to watch us get married."

Mei couldn't have ignored Zabuza even if she'd wanted to, seeing as he was screaming from all the way across the other side of the room. Fortunately, what she'd heard had her intrigued enough not to care how rude the invitation had actually been, "Wait, married? Sorry, Bruce, but I've gotta see what this is about. Be right back."

"Alright honey, have fun," Bruce replied, watching briefly as his wife made her way to Zabuza and Mei. Once she was out of earshot, he turned back to Terry, who he'd been speaking with for the best several minutes. It had been mostly strategy talk up until that point, but now the Dark Knight could get to a more burning question, "Terry, I don't know how many details you know about the future, and Mei wouldn't like me asking this, but-"

"I can't tell you who does and doesn't survive the battle, Bruce," Terry admitted to him, anticipating his question, "Yes, there's gonna be casualties, but I have no idea about specifics. You gotta remember, this is uncharted territory for me. I'm not sure how much the time stream's changed, if it's changed at all for that matter. Part of me feels like I shouldn't be here right now, with how much the time line's been changed. I thought I'd stop existing at some point and poof out of your world because the me that went back in time no longer exists, but that hasn't been the case so far. Time-travel's weird, that's really all I can say. Most people think of it like this straight line, like it's some kind of cause and effect type thing, but that's never really been the case… you know what? I'm getting really off track here."

Bruce was looking at his family members around the room when he responded, "You are, but that's okay. Right now, I'm trying not to think too heavily about what I stand to lose tonight… what all stand to lose."

That was the kind of thing Terry had no response for. He knew what was coming, and the odds weren't exactly stack in their favor. Then again, history had shown that beating Abaddon was possible, albeit in a weaker state, so perhaps their chances weren't as far off as Terry thought.

Speaking of far off chances, Tim was a mere ten feet away from the two Batmen trying his hand at a near impossible task of his own: repairing his bond with Stephanie. The blonde was currently putting on the last pieces of her new suit while Tim tried to to make small talk with her, "The new costume looks good on you. Any particular reason you decided you wanna go by Batgirl instead of Spoiler now?"

"I felt like it was time for a change and didn't want the Batgirl moniker to just sit there now that Cassandra's going by the name Black Bat," Stephanie said with a shrug. The new suit she wore was a modified version of the Barbara's old suit adjusted for Stephanie's body and personal style, mainly meaning more purple trimmings and a purple cape. It suited her well, and she wasn't the only one with a new costume, "You don't look half bad in that Red Robin suit either."

The Red Robin suit was created from Tim's old Robin suit, with all of the same functions, but a primarily black and red color scheme, the black covering most of the suit while the red started at his shoulders and worked it's way down to his waist in the shape of an upside down triangle. It had a small hood instead of the typical mask and did indeed fit Tim perfectly, "Thanks, I was kinda nervous about it at first, but I'm getting an identity that's never been used before, so I got over it pretty quick. It really is great, you know? A new suit for a new us."

Stephanie raised an eyebrow at that last part, "The new us, huh? Tim, are you trying to get at what I think you're trying to get at?"

"Well, we could both die tonight and I don't really have much left to lose, so yeah, I think I am," Tim replied, stepping a little closer to Stephanie, "I fucked up with you, I take complete responsibility for that, but I can't go into battle not knowing how you feel about me. There's a good chance I could get shot down here, but I don't give a shit. So, I guess what I'm gonna ask you is-mph!"

In a move she found far more fun than letting the boy ramble on, Stephanie grabbed her long time flame and gave him searing kiss, moving her tongue in all the ways she knew he loved. A goofy grin graced his face by the time they parted ways, giving Stephanie plenty of time to ask, "Does that answer your question?"

Tim need a moment before he could find the lucidity to respond, "Yeah, it does. I'm just gonna, you know… go get ready."

"Yeah, you do that," Stephanie replied, adding a little pride in her voice as she said, "Oh yeah, I've still got it."

A far less romantic, though no less intimate, moment was unfolding in another corner of the hectic warehouse, as Harley Quinn was having a world with Duela while Jason and his girlfriends were getting ready behind them. It had been a tough call as to whether or not they'd come, and only when it was agreed that Duela would be kept in a safe place, i.e. the warehouse, did Harley approve of the family's involvement in the battle. What Harley had to say to her daughter before that battle was important, but rather complicated as well. She had a difficult time just thinking of a place to start, "Deula, sweetie… you remember the stuff I've told you about your Daddy, right?"

"Yep! You told me that he was a funny man who loved to make people laugh," Answered Duela, jumping up and down in the way you'd expect a girl her age to, "He liked to dress up like a clown, like you do!"

Harley had gotten the conversation started at least, but now came the hard part, "Yes, he did, but there's more about your Daddy that I didn't tell you. You're too young to understand most of it, but I'm not gonna go out there without telling you the truth. Your Daddy did liked to make people laugh, but he um… well, he didn't exactly like it when people didn't get his jokes. He would get kind of mean, you know?"

"Were Daddy's jokes not funny? Is that why people didn't get them," Duela asked, scratching her head, "And why would Daddy get mean over a joke?"

"You're Daddy took jokes very seriously. Honestly, that was about the only thing he took seriously," Harley told the girl, slowly edging her way towards the darker parts of the conversation, "Daddy's jokes would hurt people sometimes, a lot of people, and most people didn't think it was funny. Then your Daddy would get all mad and hurt even more people, which he thought was even funnier. It's hard to explain, but he was kind of a um… well he was kind of a…"

Duela may have been young, but she was starting to get the picture all the same, "Mommy, was Daddy one of the bad guys?"

Just like that, the other foot dropped. Duela always had been a smart one, but this was the first time that fact had come back to bite Harley in the ass, "Yeah, that's pretty much the only thing that could mean, isn't it? To put it simply, your Daddy had some problems. He did some things that were wrong, the kind of things I'm not gonna be able to tell you about until you're older. I'll bet you're probably wondering why I told you about this, and you should know it's because I wanted you to hear it from me instead of someone who doesn't know you like I do. You're a good person, even if you Daddy wasn't sometimes. No matter where you came from or what anyone tells you, I know you'll do some great things. You believe me, don't you sweetie?"

"I don't know, Momma… you're a good person though, right?" Duela asked, startling her Mother, "If at least one of my parents is a good person, that means I can be one too, right?"

Harley froze in place. What kind of response was she supposed to give to a question like that? It's not that she thought she was necessarily a _bad_ person, she just didn't know if she could call herself a _good_ one. While Harley was busy stumbling over the conundrum the question had presented her, Jason noticed what was going on and decided to swoop in and save her. Popping up over his mother's shoulder, Jason caught his little sister's eye and said, "Mommy's a good person, Duela, but she isn't a perfect one. No one ever is, but the important thing is to try and make ourselves better than we were yesterday. And for the record, the parents you get doesn't always determine the kind of person you're gonna be. The only one who can decide that is you. Parents help for sure, and you've got a great Mommy, but you have more control over it than anyone. Does that make sense?"

"Yep, totally," Duela said with a grin, "I'm gonna go play with the babies now. You guys have fun saving the world!"

With that bizarre declaration, the little girl ran off to the area they'd set up to watch the youngsters of the various heroes, like John, Jikusume, and Mary to name a few, so that she could return to gawking over the adorable babies. Harley could hardly believe it as she watched her daughter scamper off towards Shizune and the other nurses who were helping her watch children, "Jason, I know I say it a lot, but holy crap do I love you!"

Jason gave a small mock bow before returning to his girlfriend's sides. It was a pretty pleasant family interaction, or at least one that was going a bit better than the one about ten feet behind them between Sasuke and Itachi. The two of them hadn't spoken much after the initial reveal that Itachi was back, with the only words coming out of Sasuke's mouth being various forms of threats that he was kill Itachi. Of course, after the older of the two brothers attempted to explain to what had really happened on the night of the massacre, how the slaughtering of the clan was on the orders of the Third Hokage, along with Council, after news spread that they intended to rebel against the Leaf, and that Obito had in fact been there as well and committed a large portion of the murders himself, but it didn't seem to matter. Sasuke had nothing to say to his brother, and the longer that was the case, the harder it would be for the two of them to repair their relationship. Itachi, who was standing behind his younger brother as he prepared for battle, wasn't willing to let things go down that easily.

"Sasuke, I know it must be hard to hear the Uchiha Clan wasn't what you thought it was, and I don't expect you to be okay with the idea that I killed our parents, but I'd at least like to have some words with you before we head out into the heat of battle and possibly lose each other forever," Itachi told his brother, who still didn't turn around, "Dammit, Sasuke, look at me! The Uchiha Clan was filled to the brim with pious fools who believed the Leaf Village was their birthright ever since Madara first formed it! What I had to do nearly killed me, but I did it for you!"

"Oh bullshit," Sasuke screamed, at last facing his brother, "How in the fuck did it possibly benefit me? You put me in the Tsukuyomi for what felt like an eternity, killed almost everyone I cared about, and left me to be raised alone! Worst of all, the one person I looked up to above all other, the man I strived to be, was the one who took everything away from me! Do you have any idea how painful that kind of experience is? How can you stand there and say any of that was for me?"

When it was framed like that, Itachi's action did indeed look rather indefensible. Yet, from Itachi's perspective, things weren't nearly so clear cut, "To answer that question, you must put yourself in my shoes in that moment. I knew there was only one way to save your life the night of the Uchiha Massacre, and that was to do it myself. You'd be alive, but I knew that wouldn't be able to have a normal life after that, and that I'd never be able to raise you properly as a rouge ninja, or with the guilt I felt over what I had done for that matter. In the end, I had to find a way to drive you into becoming a great shinobi, even if I wouldn't be there for you in person. So, I allowed you to think I left you alive to become my opponent and let your hatred for me do the rest of the work. You'd become a great shinobi in the end, a hero who brought down the missing-nin who destroyed the Village's most famous clan, and I would pay for what I had done. Looking back, there were some things I should've done a little bit differently, but I stand by my actions nonetheless. You're my brother, Sasuke, and it pained me to put someone I loved so much through such a dangerous game. My only source consolation was getting to see you become the extraordinary shinobi you are today."

Sasuke was utterly blindsided. After years upon years of uncontrollable anger directed at one person, he finally had the chance to say what he really thought about his brother only for said brother to give him a response that almost sounded justifiable. That wasn't enough to quell Sasuke rage, but it was enough for him to give Itachi something to hold onto, "Well, now you've got one other source of consolation… you can go into battle knowing your brother understands why you had to do what you did."

A simple sentence that had unspeakably profound consequences for the older brother. The moment was far too perfect for him to spoil, so Itachi left it at that, turning away and walking in the opposite direction. As he walked, he passed by Tsunade having a meeting with her two head strategists, Jiraiya and Kakashi, along with Selina Kyle, who was standing by the latter's side. One would think a conversation with strategists would be about strategy, but Selina had gotten on a bit of a tangent that had taken over the entire conversation, "Hey, all I'm saying is that Kakashi had damn well better make it back to me when this thing is over. I've got a sister to watch over now, and Kiba might be head over heels for her, but that doesn't mean he can protect her as well as I can. Kakashi, I don't care how dangerous your job in this thing is, you need to be around when this is all said and done."

"Selina, I don't know how many different ways I can say it; I'll be as careful as I can be," Kakashi said, trying not to roll his eyes, "Look, I know we had that really big moment the other night and finally said we love each other and all that fun stuff, something I never thought I'd say to anyone by the way, but that still doesn't explain the way you're acting right now. I've never seen you like this. Come on, what's really go on?"

Tsunade didn't know what he was so confused about, "I just figured it's because Selina's pregnant. She probably doesn't wanna raise the kid alone."

"Wait, you're pregnant?" Kakashi asked, his attention grabbed and mind reeling, "Wow, and we only forgot the condom one time. Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"Cause I wanted you to focus on the battle and not this," Selina admitted with a sigh, "Of course, the ships kinda sailed thanks to Tsunade. Seriously, how did you even know about it?"

Jiraiya found the comedic potential too great not to answer the question himself, "You're looking at one of the greatest medical shinobi in the history of the world. She knows how to pick out every last sign that somebody's pregnant, as in she can even sense it their aura or some crap like that. Sorry, Kakashi, looks like you're in for some dirty diapers and baby spit-up on your clothes."

Not an unexpect jab, but one that was about to calm with some enjoyable consequences. Tsunade put her arm around the man who was basically her unofficial husband, (they were never properly married, mostly to avoid the bullshit the council would make them go through), and told him, "You know, babe, I was gonna wait until we were done here to tell you this, but as long as you're gonna give them crap, I think you should know now… I just found out this morning that we're about to be parents, big guy."

"Oh… wait, what?" Jiraiya nearly screamed, "I didn't even know that possible at our age!"

"I'm a Senju and an Uzumaki. My body doesn't age the way most people's do," Tsunade reminded him, "Bet you're regretting that joke you about the diapers and spit-up, aren't ya?"

Kakashi was too focused on the idea of him being a father to get much joy out of the joke. There had been a lot of life coming into the world as of late, meaning the cycle of the life was coming full circle, along all those other cliches. That wasn't the only thing coming full circle either, as the next big moment of in the warehouse shifted back to Naruto's group, which now held is three finances instead of a grouchy old Kage. He had Temari, Hinata, and Cassandra all pulled in tight to him for a hug, whispering in their ears, "I want you all to remember while I'm out there that I love all three of you, and I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm sure none of you grew up wanting to be a part of some asshole's harem, but I really do love all of you, more than you could ever know."

"Hey, if I wasn't a part of your harem, I never would've gotten to find out what Hinata could do with her hands or gotten a handful of Cassandra's perfect ass," Temari joked, before saying mostly herself, "If I wasn't so attracted to Naruto, I'd swear I was a lesbian…"

Hinata, wanting to make sure Naruto knew they weren't just kidding around, added in, "We love you too, Naruto, and we'll follow you wherever you go."

To tie things in a nice little bow, Cassandra said, "Now then, let's stop talking about love and sex so that we can start kicking some ass."

"I couldn't have said it any better myself," Naruto said, giving his brides one last kiss each before adding in, "Once this craziness is over and we've had the wedding, I promise, I'm gonna give you three the life you deserve. Until then though, go out there and show these fuckers why I've got the three most badass fiancees on the planet!"

A perfect way to end things off as the signal suddenly rang throughout the warehouse to let everyone know the time had come for the final battle. Gotham had been evacuated, everyone had their equipment, and the gameplan was set. Abaddon was about to have the full fury of the elemental nations raining down upon on him. It was time for him to make his final move.

* * *

"They're actually going to do it," Abaddon muttered as he watched the army of shinobi's and heroes begging to march towards the center of Gotham, where he currently stood on a skyscraper, "The fools are going to fight me head on. So be it. Let them experience the full fledge wrath of my power!"

Abaddon leapt from the building and fell towards the ground at a speed that would make the Flash jealous, landing safely on his feet not long after. A massive crater now sat where he landed, a crater that signaled to the army of plant soldiers in front of him that it was time to move. The Gedo Statue lead them, with all Six of the Paths of Pain riding atop of it. With the two armies charging right at one another, there was no turning back now. Gotham's fate now rested in the hands of this one battle, and Abaddon had no plans of losing it, "Soon, Naruto, I'll be rid of you, along with any connection I once had to your pathetic existence. Blood will paint these streets, and when the buildings are lined wall to wall with crimson, no one will dare challenge me ever again. Hello, Gotham, your new ruler has arrived!"


	71. Going Out With a Bang Pt 1

And we're back, ladies and gentlemen! I hope you're all ready ready for the beginning of the end, because the final battle is at last upon us. Thanks to some Trollhunters and Samurai Jack viewings, I've got plenty of action ideas to work with, and hopefully it'll result in something you guys enjoy. Writing this fanfic has been one hell of a journey, but all good things must come to an end. It's been a joy writing this story for all you guys, and you're the best readers I possibly could've asked for. Again, it's not all that long of a chapter and it's a weird post time, but you can thank my kinda crazy schedule for that. Now, let's stop the yammering and get to the good stuff. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review.

Chapter Soundtrack: Barns Courtney - Glitter and Gold

* * *

"Temari, on your right," Hinata called as she struck one of the thousands of charging planet men directly in the chest with her Gentle Palm technique. Its chest collapsed as Hinata looked over to make sure her friend was alright. As fate would have it, she was much more than alright.

Leaping back, Temari easily managed to dodge the diving attack from the plant man and respond with a fan swing of her own, that sent her foe flying off into the distance. Before he could land, Cassandra leaped up above him with a tanto in her hand, jamming it into the planet man as she came down, skewering him. Temari grinned at her maneuver, "Nice shot! We keep up at this pace, we'll have Abaddon cornered in no time!"

In a moment that could only be described as cosmic punishment for her overconfidence, Temari soon found a plant man running towards her and pulling a massive, spear shaped thorn out of his body. Next thing she knew, it was throwing said spear straight at her like a javelin, forcing Temari to think up some kind of way to defend herself. As it turned out, she wouldn't have to, as Hinata jumped into the spear's path and used her Heavenly Rotation to deflect the attack before it could hit. Once she knew Temari was safe, Cassandra pulled the tanto from before out of the plant man's body and threw it at the new foe, hitting him square in between his eyes. Just like that, Cassandra had another one down, "And that's two for me. You guys better be careful, or I'm gonna leave in the dust on kill counts."

"Hey, I at least get an assist on that first one," Temari joked, her eyes darting between the defeated creatures, "Huh, I didn't even know those things make spears. Makes you wonder what else they can do…"

Temari was going to regret those words, as all three of the plant men the girl's had taken down began to reform and stand back up, unphased by the seemingly fatal attacks. They regrouped and charged for the young ladies once again, something that Temari wasn't going to stand for. The master of wind gave her fan a massive swing aimed directly at her floral foes as she cried out, "Wind Cutter Techinique!"

A gust of deadly proportions went soaring towards the plant men, cutting them into ribbons. The heroin, who felt even more badass in her Kazekama outfit, grinned as she began to boast, "And that, my friends, is how you take the lead in one move! Looks like these guys aren't gonna stop coming anytime soon, so we'll have plenty of jackasses to tally up the points with! Let's do this ladies! The biggest loser buys dinner, the winner get's to pick where!"

"You're gonna regret that, I've got real expensive tastes," Hinata replied, getting back into her fighting stance, "Time to show Abaddon what his little army's really worth!"

* * *

The girls weren't the only ones enjoying themselves in the battle, as the Flash and Green Arrow were currently kicking the hell out of the army in their own ways. Dozens of the plant men were finding themselves impaled by the speedster's hand in a matter of seconds while others were blown to smithereens by Green Arrows explosive arrows. Legions of these things were being taken down at once, and although they were reforming themselves at an even faster rate, it was still an encouraging sign in the Flash's eyes, "Damn, this might not be as bad as we thought. If we keep this up, Red Fox and his buddy's are gonna have no problem getting a clear shot set up on that Statue!"

"Yeah, it's looking pretty good," Green Arrow admitted, "But things are never this easy for us. Just wait, there's gonna be some kinda curveball we don't know about."

Black Canary had leapt by her husband's side just in time to hear that. After she used her super-scream to take out a few more of the plant men, she replied, "Focus on the problem we've got in front of us right now, babe. You start thinking too far ahead, you're gonna get distracted and end up leaving your daughter without her Daddy."

"Good point," Green Arrow said before realizing he had an enemy coming up on his right that he wouldn't have to time to draw his bow for. He reached back into his quiver and pulled out another arrow, only he didn't place it in his bow. Instead, he gave it a brief spin in his hand before jamming it into the plant man's throat as he approached. Naturally, he fell not long after, "Nice try there, big guy, but you're gonna have to do a whole lot better than that. Oh, and Canary, is it gonna do me any good to say one more time that I don't like you being out here when you've got our baby still in your freaking belly?"

Once again, his wife shrugged away his concerns, "Shizune said it would be fine, and she knows more about this stuff than just about anybody we know. Look, I promise if things get too dangerous, I'll head back to the warehouse. I won't put our child's life at risk."

It was at that moment a everyone caught the sound of something flying, or more accurately falling, through the air and directly towards them. Whatever it was, it landed right in front of the group of heroes, shaking the ground around them and knocking down a couple dozen of the plant men. What they now found in front of them was a man with long, orange-reddish hair tied back in a ponytail and studs in his face, along with a pair of the infamous Rinnegan eyes. The strange new foe slammed his hand on the ground, creating a seal that soon engulfed the area in smoke. Once that smoke vanished, the studded man was standing atop a two-headed dog roughly the size of the house. The low growl that escaped the maw's of the creature had Green Arrow leaning over to his wife, "Um, Honey…"

"Things just got too dangerous, didn't they?"

Green Arrow drew back his bow as he replied, "I'd say so, yeah."

With her child's safety in mind, Black Canary made a hasty exit from the battlefield, using her super-scream to clear a path for herself. The battle had only just begun, and already things were getting ramped up to levels the heroes were going to struggle to contain. They were lucky to have so many skilled individuals on the battlefield. If only anyone felt certain they would all make it out alive.

* * *

"Oh fucking hell, he's bringing out the Path's already?" Naruto groaned, clearly able to see the massive monster that had just been summoned for their opponent's side, even from the distance he was at, "Looks the like the Animal Path based on the descriptions Konan gave us. Shit, how are we supposed to get a clean shot at the Gedo Statue with those guys running around?"

Raven, who was among the group preparing the strike against said Statute, didn't see much of a problem, "Okay, so we've got some monsters in the way. So what? Any kind of attack coming from my father is gonna cut right through them."

Most of the others in the group, which consisted of Kakashi, Obito, Etrigan, and Killer Bee, who had yet to say so much as a word, didn't understand Naruto's objections either. Only Kakashi was the exception, as he seemed to follow Naruto's train of thought rather easily, "Konan said before that the Paths can all see what's in each other's field of vision, sort of like a relay system. If even one of them notices we're preparing this attack, they'll all pile on and try to stop up us, and once we start letting Trigon free, stopping isn't really an option. All it would take is for one of them to distract any of us for a split second, and then Trigon's loose forever, making this whole endeavor pointless. If we want to seal him away immediately like we planned, we'll have to make sure the Path's are taken care of first."

"Leave them to us," Came the stern voice of Konan, who approached with Itachi and Kisame following behind her, "I know all their weaknesses, few as there may be, and my two friends here can assist me. I can't take them out on my own though. I'm going to need some assistance."

A face Naruto hadn't seen in far too long walked into the group just in time to answer the call, "I'll do what I can. These old bones aren't as strong as they used to be, but they'll give you the best they've got, I promise you."

"Old man! Holy crap, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, beaming at the sight of his long time mentor and surrogate grandfather, "I figured you'd be back at the base, working with the strategy team or something."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, was never one to shy away from battle when those he cared about were in trouble. He wore his black battle armor and held his extendable staff at the ready, prepared to take on anyone who might do his friends harm, "What can I say, Naruto? I didn't want to let you have all the fun."

An admirable move, and one Hiruzen wouldn't have to make alone. Jason Todd, suited up in his Red Hood gear, came along seconds after the Third Hokage. He was practically bouncing around, anxious to jump into the fray of things, "Whatever you guys need, I'm here to help. Got caught up putting on some new gear and now I'm way behind everybody else. I need little action over here!"

"Damn, the new gear's looking pretty good," Naruto remarked, taking in the new chest plate, made from a special Wayne Tech. material that was stronger than kevlar, and new helmet, which had a glassy smooth surface that all kinds of info was being projected on to assist Jason, "That's gotta be something Lucius Fox cooked up. Why'd Dad decided to outfit with a whole new set of tech?"

"Because the people of Gotham have only ever known the Red Hood as a villain, and that needs to change," Batman answered, making his presence known. Although, as usual, he'd managed to simply appear in the middle of the group without anyone noticing, "If Jason is truly willing to make a difference, then it's time for him to step into the light and show this city it has another defender it can count on."

Jason didn't plan on showing it, but his mentor's words meant more to him than the Dark Knight could ever know. He wouldn't show how grateful he was with words though. No, Jason would let his actions do that for him, "Getting back to the matter at hand, I'm gonna do my best to help you guys clear the way towards that first Path, and maybe see if I can't pick up some more people to assist you on the way there. I'm not gonna be much use to ya against the big bastard himself, but I'll do anything I can to keep Abaddon's army off your ass."

That was all they were going to need for Konan's part of the operation, "Perfect. In the meantime, I think somebody should try to stall our main target. In case you hadn't noticed, Abaddon's getting kinda testy."

"What makes you say that?" Naruto asked before he looked out onto the battlefield to find Abaddon tearing through the masses of fighters, bellowing about 'finding that fool of a fox.' After that, the question felt a bit moot, "Huh, he's in a nasty mood, isn't he? Dad, I think I'd better go distract him for a while to make sure he doesn't end up hurting anybody."

"Distracting Abaddon isn't a bad idea, but I don't know if you should be the one to do it. Remember, Raven's going to need your power to seal up that portal. That means you're gonna have to be right here when that time comes."

Naruto was well aware of that, but had planned ahead to avoid the issue altogether, "I know, that's why I had Jiraiya put a seal here for me to teleport back to the the second I'm needed. When the time comes, we'll have Superman or one of the other heavy hitter's distract him long enough to get the shot off at the Statue, and then me and Bee can go and finish off Abaddon once and for all. Short, sweep, and simple."

For reasons the other two heroes would never understand, Bee decided then was the time to finally open his mouth, "Yo, the Nine Tails has got it all figured out! Time to go find Abaddon, and make the motherfucker shout! In pain that is, fool! Haha!"

"Did he just rap that?" Batman asked, quickly deciding it was a pointless question, "You know what? Forget it. He's one of the most powerful people out there and we need him, so he can rap all he wants. If things get too risky, the two of you need to pull out and let someone else handle it. Do that, and you've got my okay to go after Abaddon."

Naruto heard all that he needed to. With a small nod, the young hero leapt from where he was standing and rushed into the fray, along with the bandana clad Killer Bee and other heroes going after the Paths. Batman was beyond impressed with what these people were capable of, to the point where fighting by their sides at all was a honor on its own. Seeing as that was the case, it was time for the Dark Knight to stop planning and start attacking. He got a running start and leapt in just as the other's had, muttering as he did, "I've defended this city for too long to let some twisted psychopath claim it for his own. You want Gotham, Abaddon? It's gonna be over my dead body..."

* * *

It had been a long time since the Third Hokage had been in a fight of any kind. At his age, a small daily workout to keep his joints loose was about all the action he ever saw. Some people might question whether or not Hiruzen was still capable of holding his own in a battle this scale. Those people wouldn't be wondering for long, since his Hokage instincts kicked right back in the second the old man got moving. He took point on the charge against the mass of plant men without even realizing it, and extended his staff so wide that it was about half the width of half a football field. Then, using the kind of strength you'd never expect from a man his age, Hiruzen charged through the army, knocking dozens of foes down every second. While he was busy running over every grunt in his way, the others were making sure the group wasn't being flanked from other sides. Jason, using a better than military grade semi-automatic rifle, was taking care of their backside, mowing down the plant men that were rushing them from behind. Kisame was handling their foes on the left with some carefully placed Water Shark bombs, while Konan did more or less the same thing for the right side with her paper bombs. Itachi remained in the center, using his Sharingan to keep an eye on everything and make sure nothing snuck up on them. If one looked from a distance, the whole thing would basically look like one giant circle of empty space plowing through the battlefield.

"Woah, this is freaking incredible," Kisame called, adrenaline rushing through his blood as they ripped through the sea of plant man, "This must be the kinda crazy shit you got to see in the Great Shinobi Wars, huh old timer?"

The 'old timer' remarks weren't appreciated, but Hiruzen had to admit, this did bring back some memories to him, "It's not dissimilar, I'll give you that. Red Hood, you're the only one of us who can't where he's going, so I'll give you a heads up when we start getting closer to the Path. Any lucky finding somebody who could lend us a hand?"

"What? Oh, shit! I've been so busy shooting and reloading that I hadn't even thought about it," Jason cursed, trying to think if there was ny last minute assistance he could find, "Think dammit, there's gotta be somebody I can-"

Jason's thought would have to go unfinished as the entire group came grinding to a halt when what they could only assume were two more Paths of Pain came sailing through the air and landed in front of them, much like the previous one had. The first of these two was another man with even longer hair than the first, the other had short hair, and both of them had the same color as the first Path and were covered in metal studs to boot. Konan recognized them in an instant, "The Human and Preta Paths. Watch the Human Path, he can absorb your soul if you're not careful, and the Preta Path absorbs all forms of Ninjutsu. He tends to act like the shield for the group."

"Huh, he absorbs all ninjutsu," Jason repeated, his eyes locked on the Preta Path and his trigger finger starting to itch, "What does that mean for something like, say, a bullet?"

A rather blunt solution, but it did give Konan something to think about, "That isn't a half bad idea. A bullet has no chakra, so it does the potential to pierce the Path's skin, assuming you can hit it to begin with."

When it came to accuracy, Jason felt more than confident enough to give it a try, "Oh, I can hit him alright! Okay ya big ugly brute, lets see you try and absorb this!"

"Wait," Hiruzen commanded, but did so far too late. Jason had already begun firing, prompting the Preta Path to make a mad dash to the left, with the young shooter rotating to try and keep up. He was so busy trying to land a single hit on his foe that he didn't even notice the Human Path was making a beeline for him, using Jason's focus as his opening. The Third Hokage knew he had to do something, "Jason, look out!"

Using his extendable staff, Hiruzen smacked the attacker square in the chest, cutting off the Human Path before it could reach its target. That wasn't where it ended either, as said staff transformed into large Ape wearing body armor, who went by the name of Enma, when the blow landed. The ape was Hiruzen's personal summon, and he was a powerful one at that. He proved as much by proceeding to put a beat down on the Human Path before it had any time to react, forcing it to absorb several powerful jabs from the ape. Jason's clip had run out by that point, but it didn't really matter. He was still trying to process what'd he was seeing right in front of him, "Did that staff just turn into an armored ape that's now proceeding to beat the hell out of that Path?"

"Yes, but don't waste anymore time questioning it," Hiruzen commanded, catching a glimpse of the Preta Path coming straight for the young man, "Your focus is about to be required somewhere else."

Jason felt the attack coming just in time. Moving more quickly than he ever had before, Jason rotated on his heel and turned to face the Preta Path head on. His rifle featured a grenade launcher attachment for just such an occasion, and he had every intention of using it. The only problem was, that rifle wouldn't be in his hand for long, as another hand shot in out of nowhere and grabbed Jason's weapon by the barrel, ripping from the latter's hand. This hand wasn't connected to a human arm either, at least not entirely, as it seemed to be hooked to a sort of metal chain. That chain lead about ten feet to the left where the Asura Path, a bald man with more metal in face than any of the other Paths who was able to create nearly any kind of weapon in the world from his body, currently stood. A dangerous power, but one that would have to wait until later. Right now, all Jason could think about was how screwed he was going up against the Preta Path without anything to defend himself, "You know guys, a little help would be really appreciated right about now!"

That was all he had time to say before the Preta Path got ahold of him. Jason feared it would be the end of him, until another weapon shot into the picture, this time one for his side. It was Wonder Woman and her iconic lasso, which she had just used to grab the Path by the shoulders. She could see the Asura Path scowling at her as she did it, making it impossible for the Amazonian to resist getting in a jab, "What, you can take our toys, but we can't take yours? Sorry, buddy, but that isn't how this works!"

"You are in for one hell of a ride," Chuckled Jason, with Wonder Women lifting the Preta Path up into air shortly after. She began to swing her new found friend around and around in circle, building up as much momentum as she could. None of the Paths on the battlefield, including the Human Path, who'd just recovered from the ape beating he received, seemed in any kind of hurry to save their comrade. Jason knew right then that something was up, "Oh boy, what's it gonna be this time?"

That was one question Jason was going to regret asking. In the split second before Wonder Woman was about to release her grip on the lasso and send her foe flying, a booming voice rang throughout the battlefield, "Almighty Pull!"

With those words, everything on the battlefield was instantly pulled towards a single location at one hell of a swift pace. That included Wonder Woman and the Preta Path, which made the former lose her focus and loosen her grip on her lasso, thus giving her captive room to break free. Once he was free, the Path made his way towards the location the mysterious force, which had only lasted a few seconds, originated from. There he found all of his fellow Paths, including the Naraka Path, who had hair a tad shorter than the Preta path and had powers yet to be seen, waited for him. Leading this group was the Deva Path, which used the body of Yahiko, Nagato and Konan's one time best friend. Of course now he had a bit more metal sticking out of his face, but that only added to the fear the deadly warrior emitted. Konan, the battle still ringing in her ears, informed her allies, "What you're looking at it is quite possibly the most powerful of the Paths, the Deva. He can create forces strong enough to level entire cities. My guess is that only reason Abaddon hasn't had him do it yet is because he still wants Gotham all to himself. You should prepare for the worst. Those summons are nothing compared to what we're about to go up against!"

"Well isn't this gonna be fun?" Jason joked, pulling out his trusty handguns before telling the others, "You guys hold down the fort. I'm gonna track down Superman to get you guys some help. His super-hearing probably isn't gonna work in all this insanity, so I'll get his attention myself. Time to find myself a Man of Steel."

* * *

Naruto had fought no shortage of dangerous foes in his life. Everyone, from the deadliest of shinobi to the most dangerous of Batman's rouge, had failed to defeat him. When it came to Abaddon though, it seemed Naruto found himself in his stickiest situation yet. So man things ran through his mind as he fought the monster of a man in the heart of the battlefield, trying every attack he could think of to do even the slightest amount of damage to Abaddon. None of them had worked; not his rasengans, not his Soultaker Sword, and not even the Kyuubi's power had left so much as a scrape on Naruto's opponent. That left only one thing remaining to run through his mind: fear. Fear that he wouldn't be able to protect those he held so dear to him, "This is insane! I know we figured most attacks wouldn't be able to do much, but he doesn't even have a scratch on him! Reduced effect is one thing, but this shouldn't even be possible! We can't get an inch in on this fucker!"

"What's wrong, hero?" Abaddon asked with a smug grin as he watched Naruto prepare another attack, "Did you think you'd be able to hold me off for awhile? Hate to burst your bubble, but I'm impervious to everything you've got! This is more than some defense boost, this is a fucking unbreakable suit of armor! Hahaha!"

A demon chakra laced rasenshuriken now in hand, Naruto began to charge his massive foe, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Every suit of armor's got a chink in it, and we're gonna find yours! We're gonna do everything we can to find some way to stop you!"

Abaddon found it comical that Naruto could genuinely think that. He raised up his hand as the young hero charged him, capturing the rasenshuriken in the palm of his hand. The normally earth shattering attack barely pushed Abaddon back half a step. Naruto's failure brought a smile to the madman's face, "Any other day, that'd be pretty good, but today, it ain't nowhere near good enough!"

"Yeah, I noticed," Naruto snapped before Abaddon raised up his fist, "Oh, this is gonna hurt."

The blow hit Naruto like a freight train right in the face, sending him skidding across the ground. Cuts and scrapes covered him when he landed, a sight that brought joy to heart, assuming he had one, of Abaddon, "Look at that blood and those bruises! Now that is what I'm talking about! Get up, I wanna smack you around some more!"

Naruto was getting pretty sick of this cycle. He needed it to end, but he had no idea of how to accomplish that, "Killer Bee, tell me you've got something in mind that can hold this guy down for awhile! I'm getting pretty sick of getting the hell beat out of me here!"

"Yo man, I feel you, but there don't seem to be much that I can do," Killer Bee rapped, going into a series of hand seals, "There's one thing I can try though! Let's see how he fights when he's blind-o!"

After everything Naruto had went through, that one lyric may have been the most painful thing he had experienced that night, "I swear if this attack's not good, I'm gonna smack him the upside the head when this thing is over."

Killer Bee got right in front of Abaddon and put his hand to his mouth, taking in a deep breath before shooting out a full stream's worth of ink at him. Abaddon was soon lost in the cloud of ink, to the point where he wasn't even visible, leaving Killer Bee rather proud of his work, "Oh yeah! That's the mighty Killer B, ya fool! Got ink like octopus, and strength like bull! Haha!"

"Okay, not gonna lie, that's actually a pretty cool," Naruto said, jumping back so he was out of new ink cloud's hold, "I wonder if it's actually gonna do us any good though. Guess we'll have to wait and-"

Both that sentence and the idea of waiting came to end before they'd ever truly begun, as Naruto fell silent when Abbadon's hand shot from the cloud of ink and grabbed Killer Bee by the throat, bellowing at the Cloud shinobi, "You pathetic insect! Did you think such a cheap trick would slow me down in the slightest? I'm going to make you suffer for that kind of ignorance!"

"That's what you think, asshole," Killer Bee rasped out through the stranglehold. He could see Abaddon was coating his hand with a layer of demon chakra, likely preparing to slam his hand right through Bee's stomach, "But you're about to see my power grow!"

In move that stunned all those around him, Bee shot three pink octopus tentacles from his back and used them to ensnare Abaddon. He was from from done, as Killer Bee's body began to grow at an alarming rate, shooting up towards the sky and towering over all those around him. His body began to shift and his skin changed to a pinkish color. By the time he was finished, the Cloud-nin had grown into none other than the Eight Tailed Beast, Gyuki. All eight of those tails, or tentacles if one prefered, currently held Abaddon tight in their clutches, with the horned head of the Bee/Gyuki combo focused directly on said foe. Naruto couldn't help but be a bit impressed, "Holy shit! Bee's got the right idea! Hey, Kurama, you thinking what I'm thinking right now?"

Kurama would usually make some kind of snarky remark at a moment like that, but really, a chance to stretch his legs and get a little action was far to enticing to be anything but enthusiastic, "Kit, I'm in all the way! Turn me loose and let me show Abaddon what a real demon looks like!"

"This is gonna be awesome," Naruto said, allowing Kurama's chakra to overtake him. Before long, he began to grow, both in size and the amount of fur on his body. It was an epic site for the entire army to see two massively powerful beings fighting side by side, but there was a less epic question that Naruto, who was on the inside looking out for once, couldn't fight off, "Huh, this feels… different. What happens to my clothes when I do that?"

"Kit, do I really need to remind you that there are more important things we need to be worrying about right now?" Kurama asked, his eyes shifting over to Gyuki as Abaddon began to shift beneath the Beast's tails, "Uh-oh."

Abaddon released an ear shattering roar before he shot his arm free from Gyuki's grip, quite literally. Using his powers, Abaddon had extend his arm all the way to the Eight-Tails' neck at the speed of a bullet, adding thorns onto his arm to cause as much damage as possible. Then, having already coated his entire body in demon chakra, the mad man pull himself towards Gyuki's face at a pace the tailed beast never could've matched. The attack struck the defenseless Gyuki and made his head jerk backwards, grunting in pain, "Gah! Son of a bitch, that hurt! Ah, damn… wait, is that little bastard still on me?"

Indeed, Abaddon still stood atop Gyuki's head, prompting the Eight Tails to bring up his hand and try to flick the pest off like an insect. Much to everyone's surprise, Gyuki's finger was caught by Abaddon, who barely skidded an inch after putting an end to the attack, "You try that shit again, I and I swear, I'll break this finger off and beat you to death with it!"

"This is starting to look like less fun that I thought it'd be," Kurama snarled before gnashing his teeth, "But if he thinks he can use my sibling's powers to live like a jackass, he's got a wake up call coming! Time to work some of that rage I've been saving up!"

* * *

One would think finding a man flying around in a blue and red suit with lasers coming out of his eyes would be a pretty easy thing to do, but Jason was finding that to be from the case in search for Superman. It seemed like the Man of Steel should've been at the epicenter of wherever the most destruction was, and while that would usually be true, it wasn't nearly as accurate when so many incredibly powerful people were in this fight. Between the Kages, the heavy hitting superheroes, and numerous skilled shinobi, Jason couldn't tell if an insane feat of strength was from Superman or someone like Tsunade. Even a typical giveaway like heat vision or frost breath could've been Mei and her heat based jutsus or Haku with her ice bloodline. It left Jason unsure of what to do at just about every turn, "Oh come on, there's gotta be some way to get the big guy's attention! Why wasn't standing by to take on the Paths in the first place?"

Jason's voice had caught the attention of a familiar ear, that of Jiraiya to be exact, and he was able to tell Jason exactly why Superman was where he was. He had to use a giant rasengan to grind five plant men into paste before he could do that, but once that was taken care of, Jiraiya was kind enough to leap over to Jason and explain, "Hey, kid, did I hear you say you were looking for the big guy in blue? You're not gonna find him out here yet. He's got the most raw power out of any of us, so we wanted to wait until we knew where the biggest threat would be to bring him out. You got something that fits that bill?"

"Hell yeah! We've got the Paths Konan was talking about ready to make some fucking heads roll," Jason told, or more accurately, screamed at the Sannin, "Did you really think anything was gonna be worse than that?"

"You never show your best card until you're sure you're gonna need it," Jiraiya told his young cohort before placing two fingers in his mouth and letting out a long whistle, "Yo, Batman? You still nearby? We need a little assistance over here."

Neither Jason nor Jiraiya was sure if Bruce had been close enough to hear, but they got a hell of a lot more sure when plant men began flying into the air left and right in trail that lead right to them. It wasn't long before they could make out the Dark Knight in the crowd, and he had a friend accompanying him. Damian, in his new Robin suit, was tearing through the plant men with his Father, performing the kinds of maneuvers you'd usually have to play a video game to see. At one point, Damian had pulled out his sword, which he could actually use since they were fighting mindless zombie type creatures, and sliced open the chest of the one of the plant men. Batman in turn took out tree his more powerful explosive batarangs and hurled them into the plant man's chest one by one. Upon their explosion, they took out not only the plant man in question, but the small group surrounding him as well. It was badass to say the least, and Jason loved the way Bruce and Damian were practically posing in the smoke filled aftermath, "This, right here, this is one of things I missed the most about being a part of this team! Ah, I wish I had a camera so I could watch that over and over again!"

Batman would've loved to go into some banter, but things around him were simply too hectic. He instead cut right to the chase, "You need something, Jiraiya? I assuming you called me for a reason."

"Yep, the kid here says the Paths are turning into a real problem," Replied Jiraiya, jerking his thumb in Jason's direction, "The way he tells it, we were right about where we'd need the big guy the most. I think it's time to send Superman off to handle the Paths."

Not the most surprising outcome, so naturally it was one Bruce had been prepared for from the beginning, "Alright, let's get his attention and point in him Konan's direction. We need him to listen to her and take out those Paths as fast as possible. It's looking like we'll need Clarke to hold off Abaddon for bit too, so we can't be wasting time. Naruto and Bee can only keep our friend busy for so long."

"In that case, I'll call up our ace in the hole right now," Jiraiya said, pulling out a walkie-talkie and putting it up to his mouth, "Hey, Superman, it's show time. Check where Batman is on the tracker and meet us as soon as-"

"I can, got it," Superman responded. Not over his walkie-talkie though, as he figured it'd be simpler to fly over at supersonic speed. He'd startled the heroes a bit, but he was right about it being simpler, "What do you guys need?"

Jason decided he'd be the one to explain, since he was the reason Superman was summoned to begin with, "There's some nasty friends we need you to take care of. That woman you met the other day, Konan, is gonna tell you all you need to know about giving them a hand. The faster, the better. We'll meet you over there, okay?"

That didn't seem nearly productive enough the Man of Steel, "That'd be a waste of time. Just let me take you there. I can see the guys you're talking about from here."

"Wait, I don't wanna get," Jason began, but never got the chance to finish, since Superman grabbed him by the collar. Next thing the young anti-hero knew, he was being flown over to the Paths, his head whipping back, "Whiplaaaaassshhhhhh!"

Batman chuckled at Jason's cry as he was whisked off to the handle the big threat. Well, one of the big threats anyways, as there was still the issue of Abaddon to be worked out. It was hard for the Dark Knight to even know where to begin, "Well, Robin, it's your first night. I'll let you decided where we wanna go next. You've got plenty of places to pick from."

Plenty of places indeed, "As much fun as it'd be to fight along side the last son of Krypton, I have to lean towards family. What do you say to couple of humans seeing if they can't sway a fight between some Titan level beings, eh"

"That's a bold choice," Batman said, his tone almost scolding, but his face graced with a small smirk, "I should've guessed as much with you. Get ready to get pulled out the second things get too serious. We probably won't be able to do much more than monitor the situation and knock allies out of the way if things get too dangerous, but it's something. Ready to get our blood pumping?"

Damian's smirk matched his father's, "Do really need to ask?Time for a little quality father-son time!"

* * *

The battle was off to a raging start, and it wouldn't slow down anytime soon. Any genius could tell there would be death before the night was over, and that there was certain to be more epic sites on the way, but just about everything else was still up in the air. It would take a of luck for the heroes to prove victorious, but it wouldn't be the first time they were fighting against the odds. Round one was by all counts a draw, so hopefully round two was where they gained some headway. Either way, things were about to get plenty crazier on that battlefield...


	72. Going Out With a Bang Pt 2

Here we are folks, the penultimate chapter of The Red Fox! Things will reach maximum impact here, we'll have some explosive moments, and then we'll have the finishing blow and epilogue in the next chapter. Good stuff, even if it does feel strange being this close to finishing the fanfic. I suppose I could be a jerk and never post the next chapter, but I'm not that evil… yet. By the way, saw Wonder Woman and really enjoyed it, recommend seeing it if you get the chance. Oh, and this time the chapter's a little on the short side not because of my schedule, but as a way help the pacing of the final chapter. Okay, I'll stop with the formalities now. It's time for you guys to get what you came here for. Thank you all so much for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack: Howard Shore - Minas Tirith

* * *

The last son of Krypton, a wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan, an Amazonian Princess, and a half-human shark with limitless chakra was one impressive roster to go up against just about any team with, but when you throw in a Hokage and a deadly paper princess, not to mention the protege of Batman himself, it would seem like a near invincible team. That assumption was dulled a bit when you considered that they fighting the Paths of Pain, but still, it wasn't exactly a group of kindergarteners. By far, the Path proving to be the most challenging was the Deva, with his gravity altering abilities making the villains nearly untouchable.

"Oh come on, this is ridiculous," Superman groaned as he was shot back by yet another Almighty Push, his feet grinding into the gravel as he stopped himself, "I've got immeasurable strength! How is this affecting me so much?"

Hiruzen, who'd been thrown back a little further than the Man of Steel, had an explanation, "It's because the attack is chakra based. Jiraiya and I were talking about this earlier. We figured chakra would have the same effect on you that magic does, and it looks like we were right. You're gonna be just as susceptible to the attacks as we are."

Sort of took out some of the advantage Superman had, but not all of it. Locking his eyes on the on the oh-so-troublesome Deva Path, the hero began to charge up his heat vision before firing a beam directly at the Path. Before the hit could land though, another Path, the Preta, jumped out in front and took the hit for his friend. That was usually the point the Preta Path would absorb the attack, rendering it null, but that was a far cry from the actual results. In a glorious display of power, Superman's heat vision resulted in an explosion of metal and crimson that the heroes only got to catch a glimpse of before smoke engulfed the scene. Jason eyed the scene, eager to see the resulting carnage, "I think maybe, just maybe… you might have got him."

"It's possible," Replied Superman, playing along with the joke, "If it worked, we might have taken care of the biggest problem for our shinobi-woah! Hot damn, that's a mess!"

His sudden outburst was due to the smoke clearing to reveal a Preta Path who'd lost his arms, since he'd been holding them out to absorb the blast, and now had a gaping hole in his chest that a child probably could've leapt through. The Path would remain standing for only a few more seconds before falling lifeless onto the ground. Most of the group was ready to celebrate a victory like that, but Konan had her reservations, "It seems he couldn't absorb your attack because it wasn't chakra based. A lucky break, but don't get too cocky. One of the Path's primary purpose is to revive the others should one fall, the Naraka Path. We need to take him out before he can revive the Preta."

It seemed the Deva Path was way ahead of her, as he put his hands out and prepared his biggest burst yet, "It's pathetic that you actually think you'll have the time to stop us. Almighty-"

"Oh no you don't," Wonder Woman cried, whipping out her lasso and using it to bind the Deva Path before he could finish, "I may not have been ready the first few times, but I'm not letting you pull that crap again!"

The Asura Path wasn't having any of this. In order to defend his comrade, the Path pulled of his hand and created a barrage of missiles that he then fired at Wonder Woman. It was pointless move, as Konan created herself a set of paper wings and flew above the Amazonian before sending down a rain of sharpened paper airplane explosive-tags that destroyed the missiles before they could reach their mark. Without anything to stop her, Wonder Woman yanked the Deva Path towards her and took out her sword, planning to decapitated the Path the second he was within reach. When he arrived in her range, she took a mighty swing at the Deva Path and felt her blade tearing through something almost immediately. Unfortunately, what she tore through wasn't the Deva Path, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

In an effort to save it's leader, the Human Path had sprinted over to Wonder Woman and jumped in front of the blade, holding his hands out to try and catch it. His hands were no match for an Amazonian weapon though, and the sword cut right through him all the way to his chest. It meant another Path was now destroyed, only it wasn't the Path everyone had so desperately needed gone. Because of this, the Asura Path had time to leap over to the Deva's side and free him from the lasso, returning back to formation with the others as Wonder Woman pulled her sword out of the Human Path. Konan sighed as the whole thing transpired, "Sacrificing the far weaker Human Path to save the Deva… well played. For now, it doesn't matter. We need to worry about taking down the Naraka Path so he can't revive them every single time we take one down. We need to him out of this fight, now!"

"That isn't going to happen," The Deva Path growled as he and the Asura Path jumped in front of the Naraka Path. If the Animal Path hadn't been off using its summons to handle some other heroes, it likely would've been in the mix as well, "Your slight victories end here."

The Naraka Path had already reached the Preta Path's body, making the odds of stopping them seem all the worse. Hiruzen was trying to think up some way to stop the revival, but he was coming up blank. Sure, they had ways to take out the Naraka's two defenders, but doing so in time to then stop him was going to be nearly impossible. In a last stitch effort to save the situation, Hiruzen extended his staff towards the offending Path as fast as he could, hoping it would knock him off his game. It was a pointless gesture, as the Asura Path put a hand out and caught the staff before it could get anywhere near the Naraka. By this point, a monstrous creature known as the King of Hell, which by all accounts was merely what people called it and not the creature's actual title, had begun to rise from a portal on the ground. This creature seemed to only be a massive head with a purple haze running rampant in it's mouth, a mouth that was about to swallow the Preta Path's dead body whole. Everyone had already figured out that once the Preta Path was taken into the King of Hell's gaping maw, it was all over. Superman wasn't about to let that happen, his eyes starting to the glow the reddish hue that came directly before his heat vision, "Let's see you try and catch this!"

"Hmph, why would I need to," The Deva Path fired back, shooting his arms out in front of him. Once again, Wonder Women planned on lassoing him before he could finish, but the Paths of Pain wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. After giving Hiruzen's staff a strong enough to shove to throw the old man off his balance, the Asura Path leapt to catch the lasso before it could reach the Deva Path. With nothing to stop him, said Path was able to release his attack and send his foes flying backwards before any further interference attempts could be made, "Almighty Push!"

The heroes sailed back, unable to fight the incredible force the Deva Path could create. It was enough to make the Asura Path chuckle as he released his grip on Wonder Woman's lasso and let her go flying with them. Superman's heat vision obviously never got the chance to strike the Naraka Path, meaning it was nearly complete in reviving its friend. Itachi summed it up better than any of the other's could've, "It would seem we're about to be in for a night where anything we accomplish proving completely pointless… isn't that just fucking lovely?"

Itachi didn't swear often, but in this case, it fit his dry wit pretty well. That wit wasn't enough to dull how much it stung to get so far only to have your work undone, but still. What _was _enough to dull that stung feeling however, was when the Naraka Path suddenly jerked back with blood splattering on its chest, the hero's eyes widening as they realized it was from a bullet hole. It happened once more, with a new bloody hole in it's chest only a few centimeters from where the first one had been. A third and final strike to the chest was enough to finish the Path, or at least it was after all three of bullets that had enter his chest exploded from the inside. When the Naraka Path fell, its blood pouring onto the ground for all to see, everyone turned to Jason, who only shrugged, "Hey, don't look at me. If I'd pulled up my guns, one of those two metal faced assholes would've come for me. I don't know where those shots are coming from."

"_That would be from me, Master Todd," _Rang the voice of Alfred from the earpiece in Jason's new helmet, "_I'm on the rooftop of the warehouse, a little less than half a mile back. I thought you could use a hand. It seems my explosive ammunition did the trick, wouldn't you say?"_

"You couldn't be more right if you tried," Jason replied, baffling those around him, "We owe you big time, Alfred! That's a damn good shot too! Hell, I don't know if I would've been able to pull it of myself!"

Alfred was grinning on that rooftop, even if Jason couldn't see it, "_What can I say? I always try to make certain my skills don't go too dull. I'm up here if you need anything else. Have fun with our piercing loving friends down there, and just ring if you want to see this old man do a little more sharp shooting. Good luck."_

By that point, everyone had pretty much figured out what happened and were pretty damn happy about it, all except for the Paths that was. They scowled as their healer fell and the Hell King returned to realm from which it came before reviving the Preta Path. Hiruzen, reinvigorated by the course of events, stood and began to spin his staff around in his hand, "So, it was Alfred who saved us, eh? Well, if one old dog and can prove he's still got some bite left in him, then so can another! Alright you little punks, get ready! They once called me one of the Gods of Shinobi, and you're about to find out why!"

* * *

"Dammit, you little flea, why won't just stay still?" Bellowed Kurama as he tried to swat Abaddon off from his body. The monster was currently doing his best to climb up Kurama's fur, which had the Nine Tails ready to yank his own hair out to get to his foe, "When I get my hands on you, I swear, I'm gonna rip you apart limb from limb and make you watch as I eat and every one of them!"

Abaddon showed his doubt by turning his arm into one massive, thorny spike and jabbing it into Kurama's arm, "Eat this, you overgrown ball of fur!"

"Gahhhh," The Kyuubi cried as he slapped the spot Abaddon had stabbed him. Just about the only good part about the attack was that it had let Kurama find out where the little bastard was. He grabbed Abaddon and threw him into the air before their was any time to counter, then prepare what was just about the strongest attack he had, "Trying brushing off this one! Tailed Beast Bomb!"

A ball of dark energy began to form at Kurama's mouth before it was shot in the air towards Abaddon. With no way to defend himself, the mad fool took the full effect of the blow, resulting in a massive explosion in the sky that could be seen for miles. Abaddon began to fall back towards Earth like a comet, leaving a tail of flames behind him. He crashed to the ground so hard it left the kind of crater a comet would too, not that he didn't manage to get right back up again. Granted, it did take him considerably longer than before, "I don't believe it. I actually felt some pain there! What you just did to me, I'm gonna unleash back on you ten-fold!"

Gyuki, not wanting to miss out on the fun, decided it was time to take things up a notch as well. He summoned as much ink and he could from his tails and proceeded to make over fifty ink clones of Killer Bee, to the point where they were literally falling from the sky, and sent them all charging at Abaddon. It wouldn't be enough to stop the madman by any means, but it would slow down Abaddon's rage at least, "You wanna talk about ten-fold? Why don't you try fifty-fold on for size! Let's see how long it takes you to-"

"Would you shut up already, you enormous idiot? I'm tired of listening to your voice," Abaddon screamed before he began to grow thorns on every available inch of his body. He let loose a huge grunt before he fired all of the thorns at once, sending them flying in every possible direction off from his body. Every single one of the ink clones were caught in the crossfire, meaning their dispersal took only seconds. The puddles of ink left in their place deflated Gyuki's ego by a good measure, a fact that only inflated the ego of Abaddon, "What's the matter? You didn't really think those toys would be enough to stop me, did you?"

"Maybe those toys weren't, but these one's might be," Came the deep voice of the Batman from just outside Abaddon's field of vision. The toys he was referring to were specially designed batarangs that had lasers all around the edges that where hot enough to cut through titanium. Whether or not they were hot enough to cut through Abaddon's hide remained to be seen, "You had a lot of faith in these things, Lucius. For my sake, I hope you had a reason to."

The batarangs struck Abaddon one by one, and while each of them did manage to get stuck in the villain's skin, that that was about as deep as they ever got. Abaddon pulled them out of his body all at once, growling at the Dark Knight as he held them in his hand, "These two beastly fools challenging me is one thing, at least they're worthy! But you, a mere mortal attacking me like this, that isn't something I can let slide! You insects are about to get squashed!"

Damian didn't think so, "Are we? Maybe you should hold off on that thought until you get a taste of this!"

"Taste of what?" Abaddon asked before Damian pressed a button on his utility and set off the batarangs, all of which exploded into balls of energy. It didn't do much more than leave a couple of spots of ash on Abaddon's chest, leaving him unsure what the point of that was, "Even for a pair of fools like you, that was truly pathet-aaaaahhh!"

"Truly what? I seem to have cut you off before you can finish," Damian said, having lunged at at his opennett seconds ago to stab him in the eye, "If you're wondering, it's a mystic blade I got from my Grandfather. Nothing that can get through your skin, but it'll take care of that nice sensitive eyes of yours no problem!"

Batman was cursing himself for not grabbing his son in time as he pulled Damian away from Abaddon by his cape, "What the hell are you doing? He's got a healing factor that tops even your brother's! His eyes will be fine in about two seconds and you had no chance of piercing his skull! All you just did was piss him off!"

"You have no idea," Abaddon said through clenched teeth, his eye already back in usable condition, "If I were you, Dark Knight, I'd move away from the child. He's as good as dead already…"

By that point, Damian had realized his mistake, and didn't fight it when his Father stepped in front of him for the sake of protection, "You're not touching my son, Abaddon. Not unless you wanna lose your hand that is."

Kurama didn't need Naruto, or anyone else for that matter, to tell him it was time to cover Bruce's ass. He might have looked confident, but even he had to know how outmatched he'd be against Abaddon. So, using his massive paw, Kurama smashed the madman into the ground the with his palm, calling after he did, "I'm gonna buy you guys some time! He's not gonna be able to do anywhere near as much damage to me!"

"I wouldn't count on that if I were you," Abaddon bellowed from beneath the Kyuubi's paw. In what looked like something out of a horror movie, a series of thorns as big as Kurama's nails shot through his paw, leaving a gaping hole in it as he pulled it back up at lightning speed. What the removed hand revealed was Abaddon holding his arms up to the sky so that he could direct the thorns he'd created. With Kurama no longer holding him back, he retracted the thorns just enough so they became two, foot long blades that extended past his arm, "That's what you get for testing me! Now then, since you won't hand over the little brat, I'll just have to slice up both of you!"

Gyuki used one of his tails and swung at Abaddon an attempt to stall him, "Hey, I ain't finished with you yet!"

"Yes, you are," Growled Abaddon who who leapt at the tail, leading with his new thorn arm blade. He sliced right in and popped out the other side without any resistance from Gyuki's flesh, "I'm done playing games with you imbeciles! Time to make you understand what you're going to lose when you refuse to bend to my will!"

It seemed Batman was running out of options. Abaddon would be upon him in only seconds, and there was nothing Bruce could do. Right now, he needed to save his son. He pressed the distress signal on the new Boy Wonder's belt so that someone would come retrieve him, then began barking orders, "Damian, get out of here! I can distract him and get you a couple of seconds, but I can't promise you much more. You need to get on top of Kurama and stay there, no matter what you see down here. GO!"

Damian didn't move right away, so Kurama reached out and snactched him off the ground, which was rather painful, considering his hand still had the huge hole in it. Damian of course struggled, "Hey, put me down! I have to help Father!"

"Right now, you're father's busy trying to help you! Do us both a favor and let him," Kurama commanded, then whispered to himself, "Come on, Bruce. Tell me you've got something planned. The Kit's gonna need you when this things over…"

Sadly, for once in his life, the Batman had no plan. He knew he could never outrun Abaddon, and that he had no chance of stopping him on his own. His previous strikes on Abaddon weren't supposed to be anything but distractions so the heavy hitters could handle him. Now Abaddon was focused solely on him, and none of the heavy hitters could knock him off course without an attack so powerful it would kill Bruce. It seemed the Dark Knight was about to be reunited with his Mother and Father, "Mei, I'm sorry. It looks like you're going to have to raise John and Jikusume without me…"

Abaddon lunged, making Bruce close his eyes and prepare for the inevitable. Gyuki tried to get his tail there in time to knock Batman out of the way while Kurama protected the boy, but there wasn't enough time. Fate wasn't done with Bruce just yet though, as someone else had seen the attack coming much earlier, and had just now reached his old friend to lower his shoulder and push him out of the way, "Bruce, look out!"

"You wanna die for you son? Fine," Abaddon cried as he stabbed the man in front of him. Of course, by the time he stabbed that man, it was no longer Bruce, "Oh come on! Can I just kill one person from the Fox's family before my life is over? Just one?"

That outburst was ignored entirely by Batman, who was too busy being stunned by the man who'd just saved his life and allowed Abaddon to shishkabob him through the stomach, "Harvey?"

Two-Face, one of the most notorious foes from Batman's long line of rogues, had sacrificed himself to save his supposed mortal enemy. That would've been the most shocking part of the entire encounter… if it hadn't been for the fact that he'd called 'Bruce' and not 'Batman' when he saved him...

* * *

"Keep on your toes, guys! This thing isn't even close to being over," Wonder Woman called to her allies as yet another barrage of missiles came crashing into her shield thanks to the Asura Path, "We need to start picking these guys off, but the Deva Path's got our strategies figured out! If we're going to stop him, we have to find some way to shake things up a bit."

Things were about to get shaken up a bit, just not in the way the Amazonian Princess had been looking for. Just as Kisame was going in to take a great big swing at the Asura Path, the ground beneath him began to shake and he looked to his left to find a giant bird with a drill shaped beak skidding towards him. It had to be one of the Animal Path's summons, and Kisame was sure it was going to run him over until he saw someone on top of it's head with a blade stabbed in its head. Sasuke was the person on top of that beast, which, just as Kisame expect, soon dispersed into a cloud of smoke. The young Uchiha landed safely on the ground once it was gone, which was followed by him ending his channeling of chakra into his blade, as he no longer needed the chidori spear he'd been slicing and dicing with. He realized rather quickly that his allies hadn't been doing much better than he had, "You guys still haven't taken out those last two? Dammit, we can't take out the Animal Path either. Every time we take down a summon, it just brings out two more. I don't know how much longer we can keep this up, especially with the head Path using that Almighty Push crap every two minutes…"

Konan could see the moral of the group fading before her eyes, and she knew something needed to be done to boost it if they wanted to have any chance of winning this fight. She had something that would easily do just that, but it would require her to do something rather drastic. It was a good thing that she'd come to terms with it before the battle had even begun, "It seems I can't put this off any longer. Well, it's not like I don't have it coming. Itachi, when I'm finished here, I'll need you to do your part as well. If all goes well, we should be down to just one Path remaining in a matter of minutes. Once that's done, I doubt it'll take long for those who remain to regroup and take out the final Path."

"Are you sure it's only going to take a matter of minutes? Absolutely positive?" Superman asked, his mind drifting to the bigger picture, "Because if that's the case, Wonder Woman and I need to get over to Abaddon and start holding him off so Naruto and Bee can get ready to help Raven release Trigon. But only if you're sure things are gonna play out exactly like you said."

"The two of you are free to go. We can take care of things from here," Konan replied, walking so that she was in front of the group. Her eyes fell upon the man she had once known as Yahiko, a bittersweet feeling beginning to wash over her, "It seems our old trio will reunite in the afterlife. Nagato, Yahiko… I'll see you soon."

Konan tore through a series of hand seals, after which her body began to glow with chakra. It wasn't long before her entire body was covered in chakra, and that's when the real change began. Her skin started turning a pale white, with little black markings covering it. Soon no one could even make out her facial features. The strangest part though, was that it looked like her body was starting to separate into smaller pieces, all of them paper thin. That was when Hiruzen figured out what was happening, "She's turning herself into Explosive Tags. Konan's giving up every last ounce her chakra to transform her own body into weapon. I've never seen anything like it."

Neither had anyone else on the battlefield, and that made it all the more amazing to watch as the tags began to fly off from what used to be Konan's body and towards the Deva Path. The speed at which they flew gave said Path no time to lift up his arms to defend himself, so he was quickly covered in them. Everyone watched on as more tags flew towards him and even knocked him over, sending him rolling backwards. There so many tags that they actually began to form a ball the left the Deva Path invisible, and it made the other's certain that Konan's chakra was making more tags than her actual mass should've allowed. No one had any idea how the techniqued worked, but then, it was Konan's secrecy about it that was allowing her to surprise the Deva Path at all. As much as Wonder Woman wanted to see the oncoming explosion, she knew they were needed elsewhere, "Let's go, Clark. They've got the situation under control."

"If you're leaving, I'd better go with you," Hiruzen said, approaching Superman and Wonder Woman, "They might need me to help them seal away this demon they're summoning."

Sounded reasonable enough. Superman picked up the older gentlemen and began to fly towards Abaddon with Wonder Woman. Back on the ground, everyone's eyes were still glued on the ball of Explosive Tags as Konan's technique finished and that same ball began to roll away. Everyone waited with hitched breaths, since they could see something stirring underneath it all, trying to break free. No one dared to go near it, knowing they wouldn't survive the blast should there be one, and even fearing they could still be caught in a blast when it was fifty feet away. The seconds tick-tocked away when a hand a broke from the ball. The Deva Path was just about to break free when…

BOOM!

"Ohhhhhhhh, hell yes," Kisame exclaimed as the ball exploded and he felt a wave of heat come rushing towards him, "If we were any closer, we'd be fried right now! Alright, Itachi, looks like we're up! I'm gonna get started on the Animal Path, so have fun with the bald asshole! I'm glad you're the one who's had my back all these years, even if you are a fucking downer sometimes. I'll see you on the other side!"

Something about the way Kisame said that last part bothered Sasuke, "See you on the other side? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You can't tell me you've never heard that term before," Replied Itachi, a red mist beginning to form around him, "I told you, I wanted to have one fight by my Brother's side. I knew that was all I was ever going to get…"

Sasuke watched in awe as that red mist grew around Itachi and began to form the top half of a suit of armor… and then in horror as he watched his brother's eyes begin to bleed, "The Mangekyo Sharingan, it's killing you. That's why you haven't properly attacked anyone yet, and it's why you knew I'd be able to beat you when the time came. You'd be too weak to put up a fight…"

A small smile graced Itachi's face as he glanced at Sasuke, likely for the last time in his life, "It's the curse of these eyes. Slowly but surely, their power takes its toll on your body. A couple of months ago, when I was originally planning on having our little spat, I might have been able to give you a proper fight. Now, summoning up my Susanoo for one attack is the best I can do. After that, I'm afraid it'll be over, but I do have one final gift I want you to have… my eyes. That's the final secret of the Mangekyo Sharingan. One can only avoid the pain of using it if the eyes don't belong to them. I wish I had even a few more moments to explain further, but it seems our time is up. Take my gift, brother, as repayment for everything that I've put you through, and rebuild our clan. Make it better than what it became. I have faith you'll honor this last request… goodbye, Sasuke."

"Itachi, wait," Sasuke cried, but found it was far too late.

His brother had already summoned a blade, the legendary Sword of Totsuka to be exact. This blade looked as though it was made of pure fire, but was far more dangerous than any flame ever could be. The Sword of Totsuka was only able to be used in the chakra armor of the Susanoo, and was capable of sealing away literally any entity it came into contact with. How Itachi obtained it was something Sasuke would never understand, seeing as the man was about to dead, but that was just one of many secrets Itachi would take to his grave with him. Before anything more could be said, the elder Uchiha thrusted the blade towards the fleeing Asura Path, stabbing him right through the chest. Slowly but surely, the Path's power was sucked from it's body and sealed away inside the hilt of the Sword of Totsuka. Only one attempt to free himself was made by the Asura Path, in the form of turning his hands into gun barrels and firing beams of chakra at the Susanoo. Both beams bounced off harmlessly as the blade brought an end to yet another of Pain's Paths. Sadly, as Itachi's Susanoo began to fade away, it was clear he was coming to an end as well.

"No! Itachi," Sasuke screamed as he ran to his brother's side just in time for him to fall to ground. Blood was oozing from Itachi's mouth, and the life was already leaving his eyes, "No! This can't be happening! Dammit, Itachi, I'm not done with you yet… there's still so many things I need to know."

If anyone had told Sasuke a week ago that he'd be crying over the death of his brother, there was a good chance he would've punched them square in the face. Yet, there he was, his brother bleeding out on the ground below him while he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. Itachi, barely even able to see through all the blood, used the last of strength to raise up his hand and gently poke Sasuke in the head with two fingers. In that single second, Sasuke could've sworn it was ten years ago, and his brother was teasing him the way he did every morning at breakfast. Itachi's hand had to fall though, shattering the illusion. It was in that moment that Sasuke understood his brother better than he ever had before, and it was enough to make the young Uchiha realize it was time to take the same memories that had driven

Itachi and use them to drive himself. Action had to be taken, and Sasuke was more than ready, "I am Sasuke Uchiha… and while my clan has lost it's way, it's far from gone! Like a phoenix from the ashes, those who wield the Sharingan shall rise again, stronger and better than before! No one will even dare to think about challenging the Hidden Leaf ever again, because that's our home, and we're never going to take that for granted ever again! Now witness the power of the Uchiha!"

In a move so fast few people could even follow it, Sasuke dashed towards Animal Path, who was currently duking it out with Kisame as the former rode atop a giant summon panda. Kisame was just about to create a whirlpool of water sharks to tear the Path limb from limb when he saw Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, his sword drawn so that a chidori spear could be channeled through it. There was no time for the shark skinned swordsman to complete his attack before Sasuke leapt to the top of the panda with ease, stabbing the Animal Path right at the base of his spine. Then, for good measure, Sasuke pulled out the chidori spear and swung it right at the Path's neck, decapitating it. Blood erupted from the dead body like a volcano as every summon animal belonging to the Path's of Pain begin to dispel one by one. The brutality of the display had Kisame licking his lips, his thoughts turning in a drastically different direction, "Looks like this won't be my final battle after all. Hell, I might even have a new partner worth sticking around for too…"

"Point me in the direction of more things to mop the floor with," Sasuke ordered as he landed in front of Kisame, who was loving the boy's enthusiasm, "This battle isn't over yet. I've got a whole lot more fury I need to vent out!"

* * *

Death seemed to be a common theme today, as Bruce looked down at the nearly dead body of a man who'd once been his best friend. Abaddon's interference in the matter was no longer an issue, as the tail Gyuki had been planning to use to save Batman he instead used to grab Abaddon's ankle and pull him away. That left the Bruce free to use Harvey Dent's final moments to figure out what in the hell was going on with him, "Harvey, you saved me. No, more than that, you sacrificed yourself for me. You know who I really am… how is any of that possible."

"Come on, Bruce. We were your best friend…," Two-Face had to cough up some blood before he could finish the sentence, "Your best friend for years… you can change your tone of voice all you want, but you can't hide the way you talk. Heh… guess this is are way of saying sorry for all the times we shot at ya, or worked with one of others. We can be pretty nasty when we wanna be… but we were just…"

Batman could see Harvey was fading, so he decided skipping all the bullshit would be best, "Forget about all that. There's more important things I need to know. If you knew who I really was all this time, why didn't you say anything? Whether you're on my side or not, why would you keep it a secret?"

A small smile came across Harvey's face, the last one he'd ever have, "We've always had two people living inside us, Bruce… two masks battling each other. We can't hide ours, so we figured it'd be pretty cruel to do the same thing to do you… you know, it's funny… I didn't even need to flip my coin for this one…"

"Harvey? Harvey?" Bruce repeated over and over again, shaking his old friend's lifeless body. It seemed Harvey Dent had been hiding more good in him than he wanted others to see, or perhaps he just had more humanity left in him than he realized. Either way, Bruce owed Harvey his life, and wouldn't ever forget it. In fact, it was all he could think about as he looked up and saw Kurama and Gyuki rushing towards the spot Raven had been waiting for them. Through all the chaos, Bruce had only now been able to notice that it was Clark and Diana holding off Abaddon now, and not the tailed beasts.

Damian and Hiruzen rode atop Kurama's head, with his son calling to him, "Come on, Dad! They took out the Paths! It's time to end this thing!"

"He's right, Bruce," Came Mei's gentle voice, with her managing to slip in under the radar thanks to her husband's distress. Until now, she'd been roasting dozens of plant men with her bloodline, but with things coming to a close, she knew her family would need her, "We'll mourn Harvey later. Now's the time to make his sacrifice mean something."

Taking a deep breath, the Dark Knight stood up, well aware how true his wife's words really were. He got one more glimpse at the battlefield before he growled, "Let's go watch our son put an end to this monster once and for all…"


	73. The End

Well I'll be damned, here we are. The end of the fanfic I've been working on for over two years now. Feels a bit strange to see this thing finally put to rest, but it'll be nice to rest up a bit and move on to new things. There isn't a whole hell of a lot I can say at this point that hasn't already been said, so I'll just leave it at thank you. Thank you all so much for being such awesome readers and showing support for the story. You guys making the writing that much easier and all the more worth it. Nearly 500's across the board for reviews, favorites, and follows is insane! The last thing I ask of you awesome readers is to maybe leave a review telling me what you think of the story and what I can improve on down the road. I always wanna make better content for my readers. Now then, let's do this thing! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the final chapter of The Red Fox!

Chapter Soundtrack: Matchbox 20 - How Far We've Come

* * *

"You ready for this, Raven? We're all set, but we won't make a move until you're good to go," Naruto assured the young heroin as he and all the others involved in Trigon's release surround her, "When you're ready to start, just give us a nod."

Raven took a deep breath. She'd sworn to herself that she'd never free her father, but sometimes promise had to be broken. With her mind clear and her heart calm, Raven nodded to her friends, "It's time."

Everyone watch as Raven closed her eyes and began to focus. A small ball of purple mist began to form at the edge of the roof, soon expanding into a large circle. There was a burst of foul energy that shot from it, something dark enough to make everyone's stomach turn. The process had started though, so Etrigan took over command of the group, "Now, my comrades, feed Lady Raven your power! The time has come to allow the beast into our world!"

"Whatever you say, yo," Killer Bee proclaimed. He and the others started to feed their power into Raven's, allowing the portal she was creating to grow even larger than before, "I think we got something coming outta there man! Something nasty!"

Naruto, Bee, and Etrigan might all have had some demon power within them, but what came out of that portal was unlike anything they'd ever seen. A pair of antlers rose up first, followed by a mane of flowing white hair, and finally the torso of man the size of skyscraper with red skin. What could only be described as pure evil radiated off from him, and his four glowing red eyes topped off the towering titan of terror. His voice was enough to shake the entire battlefield, "_**At last, my daughter has come to her senses and released me! Thank you, Raven, for finally embracing your destiny!"**_

"I haven't embraced anything, you son of a bitch," Raven called her father, her heart filled with contempt for the creature that stood before her, "The only reason you're getting even a hint of fresh air is because I need you to do something good for once in your miserable life!"

No one, especially not his own flesh and blood, spoke to Trigon like that, "_**You insolent little pest? I am your father, and you will treat me as such! Now do as I say, or prepare to be punished for your foolishness!"**_

Raven grinned, "Bring it on, old man."

Rage overcame Trigon as he shot for four beams of pure demonic energy from his eyes, all of which were headed straight for Raven. He would soon find out he'd played right into their hands when Obito leapt in front of the beams and created a Kamui vortex of black chakra to capture the attack, "Get ready Kakashi, here it comes!"

"_**What is meaning of this?" **_Trigon asked before his beams vanished into the vortex, "_**Nothing on this Earth can withstand my power!"**_

"We're not trying to withstand it," Called Kakashi, giving his voice some extra power because he was a decent distance from Trigon, aiming himself towards the Gedo Statue in the distance, "We're trying to redirect it!"

Kakashi created a second Kamui vortex in the direction of Gedo Path, allowing the beams Obito had captured to shoot out freely. The beams themselves were too quick to give anyone any time to get nervous over what the results might be. No, they flew right passed insanity on the ground below and struck less than two seconds later, making the Gedo Statue scream out in pain. Its scream was followed shortly after by Abaddon's, which could be heard even up on the roof. It was tough to tell from his angle, but Kakashi was pretty sure he could see he could see the madman doubled over in pain. Superman and Wonder Woman weren't letting up on him because of it either, seeing as the bastard more than deserved what he was getting. Abaddon's tie to the statue may have left him weakened for now but that wouldn't last forever. Raven knew what they needed to do next, "It actually freaking worked! Alright guys, let's put my father back where he belongs and finish this! We're trying to get rid of one monster, not release a second one!"

A good idea, but one that was going to be tough to execute. Etrigan ordered them to move on with the next phase to nonetheless, "Right! My comrades, we must now give Lady Raven all the power we can spare so she can seal away the wicked Trigon! Don't hold back!"

"We get the idea," Naruto screamed, trying to focus on the power he was giving Raven and not his friend's cumbersome explanation, "Raven, you'd better make this quick! I'm not sure how long we can keep this up!"

Raven was giving it everything she had as she tried to pull Trigon back into the portal with her trademark black energy, but it wasn't going as well as she'd hoped. Shed gotten him all the way down to his shoulders, but Trigon was clinging to outside world for dear life, "_**No! I will not allow myself to be seal back in that prison! I've waited to long for that! This world is mine to conquer! Do you fools hear me? It's mine!"**_

"Sorry, but we've already got one megalomaniac to deal with. We really don't have any need for two," Came the voice of Hiruzen. The Third Hokage began to make hand seals before he stepped directly in front of Trigon's portal, "Allow me to help you find your way home!"

Naruto could barely make out what was happening through all the chaos, "Old man, what the hell are you doing? Get back before you get sucked in with Trigon!"

The 'Old man' didn't listen. He finished his hand seals and called out for all to hear, "Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"

"What?" Screamed Naruto. The scream wasn't because he hadn't heard Hiruzen, but rather because he knew what jutsu was designed to do, "Are you insane? That'll kill you! We've got this under control, I swear! Please, Old Man… I don't wanna lose any more people to that seal."

Hiruzen had to admit, the boy had a rough past with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. His father gave his damn life to the jutsu to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto. There was no way around using it again, as the Third Hokage wasn't willing to risk them missing their shot to destroy Abaddon because sealing away Trigon took too long. Besides, as far as Hiruzen was concerned, he'd lived more than full life by now, "Naruto, I've lived longer than any Hokage in the Hidden Leaf's history. All my predecessors died defending the village they loved, and now it's my turn to do the same. I've gotten the chance to watch my children grow up and have children of their own, I've felt the pain of watching those I love pass on before me, and I've experienced just about every kind of moment inbetween. It's my time, Naruto. I've lived my life to the fullest, and now I need to make sure you can do the same. Do me one favor, would you? Tell my family I wouldn't have wanted to go out any other way."

"Old man, wait," Naruto screamed, but it was entirely in vain. Hiruzen had already finished the preparations for the jutsu, and a process no one else could see had begun. The Shinigami he'd summoned was behind him, Hiruzen's soul literally in it's hand. Another Shinigami hand was getting ready as well, though this one was hanging above Trigon's head, waiting for the right moment to strike. Simultaneously, the first hand ripped Hiruzen's soul from his body, killing him instantly, and the second slammed down onto Trigon's head, forcing him into Raven's portal. Normally, that would be when the actual sealing took place, but as Raven had quickly closed the portal, there was nothing for the Shinigami to seal. No, it merely left with Hiruzen's soul in its grasp and Trigon's screams fading away in the background as it faded back into the underworld. With nothing to hold him up, Hiruzen fell to the ground, Naruto screaming after him, "Nooo!"

The young Uzumaki was ready to leap to the Third's side, but his father grabbed him by shoulder, "Naruto, wait! I know how you're feeling right now, but you have to focus! We don't know how long we've got before Abaddon's back up to full strength! If you don't want this all to go to waste, you and Bee need to go find and Abaddon and finished the son of a bitch while demon chakra can still destroy him!"

Naruto didn't even wanna hear the name of 'Abaddon', that cursed, wretched monster of a man. No, he wasn't a man, he was something far less human. Not due to his lack of normal human DNA, but due to the pain he dealt others with such ease. While Naruto wouldn't take any joy in killing him, he had a feeling he'd sleep a whole lot better once Abaddon was gone for good, "Abaddon's got enough blood on his hands to fill an ocean, even if every single drop of it wasn't spilled be him personally. I'm about to make damn sure he never gets the chance to spill any more ever again! Stick close, Killer Bee, it's time to get wild!"

* * *

"Is there any way to get this guy to stay down?" Superman asked, his frustration growing as he his Abaddon in the chest with yet another blast of heat vision, "I thought the whole point of attacking the statue was to make him vulnerable."

The hole Superman left in Abaddon's chest was large enough to fit a human head through, but it was only open for a matter of seconds. All of the pain that'd come with what was still felt by Abaddon, and he wasn't afraid to let everyone know just how bad it was, "Aaaaahhhhh! Oh, fuck you, you kryptonian piece of shit! You are gonna regret that when I'm back up to full strength!"

Naruto landed behind Superman not long after Abaddon had begun cursing his name, with Bee following close behind him. As much fun as it would have been watching Abaddon finally get what was coming it him, Naruto had put a stop to it. The window opportunity would be closed soon, "Don't bother, Superman. We made him more vulnerable, but we didn't take away his healing factor. There is one power he can't heal from without that damn Gedo Statue though, and you've got plenty of it standing right behind you. Step aside; we'll take it from here."

"Oh please! You must be joking," Abaddon snapped, shaking his head as the Man of Steel cleared the way for Naruto and Bee, "You can't destroy me! As long as there's even a speck of my body left over, I will rise again! You'll never get rid of Abaddon!"

His unhinged ranting and raving was almost for Naruto pathetic to watch, "Not this time, Abaddon. Bee, hold him down."

"No problem, yo," Bee replied, before two of Gyuki's tails soon shot out of his back at a speed far too fast for Abaddon to dodge. The tails were coated in demon chakra, so when they bound their target's hands and feet together, pinning him on his back became all too easy, and struggling became pointless altogether, "Not so tough now, are ya, fool! Believe me, yo, you about to get schooled!"

Naruto took a look out on the battlefield around him, then drew his Soultaker Sword and walked over to his incapacitated foe, "Look around you, Abaddon. Even your plant army is dropping like flies. The Gedo Statue can't keep up with the damage we're doing to them. You've lost. I'd try to reason with you if I thought I could, maybe tell you to do the snark thing and surrender, but lets face it… we both know it's way passed that point."

A was of spit in the face courtesy of Abaddon was the only response Naruto got. Kurama was growling away inside Naruto's head the entire time, "**I'm done dealing with this fucker! Give the Soultaker Sword a nice layer of my chakra so I can help you seal away this son of a bitch already!"**

"I was planning on it," The young Uzumaki replied before raising his blade over his head. As planned, a layer of the Kyuubi's red chakra surrounded it, making it more than capable of slicing right through Abaddon's chest. What Naruto was about to do, there wouldn't be any way for Abaddon to heal, "When you get to hell, do a little something for me… tell Joker and Scarecrow I said hi!"

That was the last thing Abaddon heard before the sword was plunged into his chest. Both he and Naruto saw only a flash of white before they faded from this world and into another plane entirely. Neither was dead, but only one of them would be returning. Which one it would be would only be discovered with time...

* * *

Darkness surrounded Naruto. He couldn't see so much as a foot in front of his own nose. His Soultaker Sword was still in his hand, so he tried adding some chakra to create a little light. It worked, but it didn't do him much good. Naruto could see a little more, sure, but it was nothing but a chasm of emptiness. This had to be Abaddon's heart, or more accurately his soul, and this small glimpse of it was all Naruto needed to understand how the monster was capable of the things he'd done, "There's not a shred of light in here. It's just miles black nothingness. How does he live like this? It's gotta be awful..."

"On the contrary. It's quite liberating to be free of the burden of those moral restrictions most of you fools place on yourself," Came a voice surrounding Naruto. The voice was demented, and barely even in realm of understability, "I can do as I please, when I please, and no shame will ever stop me. Really, if we just took all of the 'good people' out of the world, everyone would be so much happier. Everyone could do as they wish, and people like _you _would never get in our way. In my world, that won't be a problem much longer."

"Pretty fucked up outlook to have on life," Naruto remarked, his eyes scanning the area, "Why don't you show me your face, so I can see if it's just as fucked up?"

Naruto would get his wish. A slithering sound surrounded him before the creature came into view, and the sight of said creature was enough to make the hero go wide eyed. Abaddon, or at least what Naruto was fairly certain was Abaddon, had the body of serpent style dragon, which was made up of a green, slimy substance. The body was about thirty feet long in all, and there was a curved bone spike shooting out of his back every two feet. His face looked like a human skull, only it was a bit thinner than a one would typically be and featured a set of horns on top. Most prominent of all was the creature's tongue and eyes, both of which were the color of blood. While the foot long tongue hung out his mouth like a dead fish, his eyes were all too alive, glowing as a sort of mist began to drift out of them. What Naruto had been seeing on the outside world was not Abaddon. No, that was only a shell for the monster that he witnessed before him. This was an all consuming, ever starving being that knew only how to take and destroy anything that stood in his way. Simply standing before him sickened Naruto, "You really are hideous, inside and out. First time I ever meant that literally."

"Forgive me if I don't give damn what you think of my appearance," Abaddon growled as his slithered closer to Naruto, "Why do you bother with any of this? You must know by now that you can't rid the world of evil, or whatever else you choose to call those who don't play by your rules. Another like me will rise soon enough, and take just as many lives. Light and dark will always find a balance. Yet, you choose the tedious path of a hero, along with all the restrictions that come with it. Again… why bother with any of it? Why not take your power and enjoy the finest things this ever imperfect world has to offer?"

He knew deep down that there was no way to make Abaddon understand what he was about to say, but Naruto was going to at least try, "Because I already am enjoying the finest things this world has to offer. Knowing that the people I care about are safe and happy is a better feeling than any reward you could ever offer me. I'd take their love and strength over anything else I can find! I'd walk a thousand miles on hot coals for any of them, and they'd do the same for me! That's something a creature like you can never understand, and you know what? I can't help but feel just a little bit bad for you because of it."

Abaddon scoffed at what considered empty words, "The ideals of an overly sentimental fool! I'll be sure and relay them to your precious loved ones after I've slaughtered you!"

"Even now, you don't realize you can never win," Naruto said with a sigh as the monster lunged at him, "This is it, Abaddon. Hope you're ready, cause something tells me you're gonna have a whole lot to answer for when you get where you're going!"

Those were final words Abaddon heard before Naruto swung the Soultaker Sword, striking him right in his twisted face. When they first clashed, Abaddon was sure this battle was going to be his. Yet, as he heard his skull begin to crack and saw Naruto utterly unconcerned with his attack, Abaddon realized the severity of his mistake. Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to live with it for long.

* * *

Back in the real world, Naruto shot to attention just as a wave of energy shot from Abaddon's soon to be corpse. That wave of energy passed by every human on the battlefield without the slightest signs of harm, but the same couldn't be said for the plant men. Each and everyone of Abaddon's soldiers crumpled into ashes when the energy hit, and this time they wouldn't be coming back. The Gedo Statue, which had only just begun recovering minutes ago, slumped over when the wave hit it, no longer having a master capable of properly controlling it. Most telling of all was Abaddon's body, utterly lifeless and hollow. It was so fragile that it shattered when Naruto pulled out his blade, turning into something akin to pile of dried leaves. Naruto's blade shimmered with the dark energy of his fallen foe. He could feel his father's presence just behind him, "It's over, Dad. We won. Abaddon's destroyed for good this time... I just wish it didn't have to come at such a heavy cost."

"They all knew what they were signing on for, and no one's going to forget what they sacrificed for us," Bruce said, his hand on his son's shoulder, "The only thing we need to figure out now is what we're going to do next."

Naruto looked at the Soultaker Sword before he replied, "Well, there's probably enough of Abaddon's energy in here for me and Kurama to take control of the Gedo Statue just long enough to free the other Tailed Beasts. I think the best thing we can do is have Kurama talk em' into some negotiations with us, and then start the clean up from there. What do you say?"

"I say 'the sooner we get started, the better.'"

* * *

The next couple of days would be telling one's for both the people of Gotham and Great Ninja Nations. It began with the negotiations with the Tailed Beasts, none of whom had any intention of spending the rest of their lives locked away inside some series of different shinobi, and considering it went so badly the first time, the Kage's didn't see that as a great idea either. Of course, that left them with no idea what to do about their little problem. In the end, it was Kurama who suggested that they cut a deal with the Tailed Beasts, in which the Tailed Beasts would be allowed to roam wherever they wish, under the condition that they always travel with three shinobi who'd be capable of both protecting them if need be and sealing them away should they go rogue. Shukaku was the only one who grumbled over it, and that was just because he knew it meant he could no longer go on a slaughtering spree unless he wanted to be impressioned again.

Once that was settled, there was plenty of grieving to attend to. Several funerals were held for those they'd lost during the battle, with Bruce himself personally paying for the funerals for those who didn't have loved ones who could do it for them. That of course included Harvey Dent, the most difficult funeral for Bruce to attend. He'd said some kind words, primarily that he'd remember Harvey for everything he'd done for Gotham's justice system and not for the criminal he would eventually become, and then went and sat back down next to his wife. Bruce didn't shed tears often, but that was one occasion where he couldn't stop himself.

Naruto faced a similar situation at Hiruzen's funeral. While it did give him some comfort to see the entire Hidden Leaf Village turn out to honor their Third Hokage, the pain of losing a man who'd show him so much kindness still hurt more than words could express. No matter the pain though, Naruto relayed Hiruzen's last words to his family, just as the old man had asked. It was difficult for all involved, but then death always was.

The funerals for the lost Akatsuki members were far smaller, and far fewer tears were shed, all of them belonging to Sasuke Uchiha. For the missing-nin, it was more a matter of respect for those who'd been lost finally doing what they knew was right, and solemn moment for Obito as he realized the plan he'd spent so many years orchestrating was now dead as could be. He'd have to face up to what he'd done too, just in a different way. Obito would find out his future on the same day that Terry Mcginnis would return to his own...

* * *

"Well everybody, I guess this is it," Terry said as he stood in the carefully cleaned out kitchen of Wayne Manor, holding in his hand a device the Flash had helped Bruce design so he could return to his own time, "It was a dream come true getting to see you guys in the flesh and fight with you. I never thought I'd get to fight in the golden age of heroes!"

No one knew what meant for sure, so Bruce simply shook hands with Terry, all too proud of his one day apprentice, "It was our pleasure. I feel a whole lot better about the future we've got ahead of us knowing that people like you are gonna be there to defend it. Take care of yourself, Terry."

"Thank you for all of your help. We couldn't have cleaned up _some people's _mess without you," Naruto told his new found friend, shooting a glare at Obito as he spoke, "All kidding aside, I'm really gonna miss you. Best of luck with whatever's ahead of you."

With a final nod of appreciation, Terry clicked on his device and opened the portal into his own time. It took a moment for it to stabilize, but once it was good and ready, Terry began to make his way towards his home. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized there was someone already waiting for him on the other side of the portal, slowly growing closer and closer to him. As Terry watched the figure walk out of the time portal, he could hardly believe who it turned out to be. Sure, he'd studied up on practically everything related to the mission, and remembered a small reference to a mysterious visitor, but this was the last person he expected.

"Terry McGinnis, you are in so much trouble! Do you hear me?" Dana Tan, Terry's girlfriend, asked in rage, "You promised that you'd be back to our time in time for date night!"

"Dana, I told you I'd try," Terry reminded her, trying to calm his girlfriend down before she started firing off jutsus, "We're dealing with time travel, something even Mr. Wayne only dealt with once. There's just too many variables to have a solid idea of what would happen. Really, looking back, I should've just set the device to send me back to-"

"I said save it McGinnis," Dana yelled, stomping her foot into the ground, "Now you owe me a date, or so help me I'll-"

However before the girl could finish her threat, the pair were interrupted by Zabuza walking into the room, "What's with all the yelling? Can't a guy get some sleep around here?"

Terry was going to give a little summary and tell him everything was fine so he could head back to sleep, but Dana to beat him to the punch when she started cheerfully waving at the menacing shinobi, "Hi Grandpa!"

Both Terry and Zabuza looked at Dana in shock at the revelation. Terry was the first to recover, pointing at the older man before he asked, "Wait, he's your grandfather?"

"Well yeah," Dana replied with a shrug, "It's not like it's a big secret my family's got some blood from the Hidden Mist in us."

Quickly putting the pieces together, Terry facepalmed while muttering, "That explains why you said your favorite hero was "Fang", why you like your steak on the extra rare side, and your codename."

Finally out of his stupor, Zabuza asked, "Codename?"

Nodding, Dana said, "Yep, I go by 'Silent Banshee' when I help out Terry and Mr. Wayne," The teen's black hair suddenly turned snow white as she continued, "I didn't get grandma's power screech, but the changing hair is enough to keep the Jokerz from recognizing me, and the jutsus I know more than make up for any lack of superpowers."

"Wait, you're saying me and Banshee are gonna have a kid?" Zabuza asked. When Dana nodded, the man's head dropped, "Great, my life is over..."

"Oh don't be sad Grandpa," Dana said as she patted the shinobi's shoulder, "Mom wasn't born until a couple of years from now."

"Really? That's great? I've still got some freedom before I'm tied down by some snot nose kids," Said Zabuza before he practically skipped out of the room, leaving the two teens to their own devices.

Dana just watched her grandfather leave with that slight skip in his step before asking Terry, "Do you think we should mention that my oldest uncle was born nine months from now?"

"Nah, let the man have his fun," Terry replied before pulling Dana into his arms, "Speaking of which, why not have some fun ourselves? I did promise you a date after all."

"Alright, Ter, but we better get going, I'm feeling like Italian tonight."

Before the couple could leave Alfred stopped them at the door. With a painful grip on the Knight of Tomorrow's shoulder, the aged butler asked, "And just what, Mr. McGinnis, are your intentions with my lovely great-granddaughter?"

Terry couldn't tell if the man was kidding or not, but he felt remaining charming would be the best route either way, "My current intention is to take her on that date I promised. I hadn't really planned too much ahead, but hopefully this will lead to future dates, and then maybe someday I'll even have the chance to go ask her father if I can-"

"Alright, Terry, I get the idea," Alfred replied with a chuckle, "In all seriousness, be good to her. I never thought I'd have a great granddaughter. I'd better know she's well taken care of."

Next thing Alfred knew, Dana was pulling him into a hug. He was startled at first, but quickly returned it as his granddaughter said, "He's taking great care of me, Grandpa. I don't wanna be clinging, it's just… you passed on when I was pretty young. This feels like the first time I'm meeting you. I'm just so happy!"

"Believe me, I am too," Alfred told her before giving his granddaughter a small kiss on the top of her head, "Now go home. You've already done more for me than you can ever know."

Dana wiped some tears from her eyes when she pulled away. Terry took her hand into his and the two of them gave the room one last wave. Both time travelers turned to the time portal and took their final steps through. The last thing the group of heroes heard before they watched their future walk away from them was Dana calling back, "Tell Uncle Haku and Uncle Sai I said hello…"

With one final reminder of the bright future everyone had fought to protect, they were gone. Naruto didn't fight the smile that came onto his face, whispering to himself, "That, right there… that's why I do it, Abaddon. That's what makes everything worth it, a hundred times over."

"What was that?" Obito asked, only for Naruto to shake his head. It's not as though what the young man had said really mattered. At best it was a distraction from what Obito had actually come to Wayne Manor for, "Alright, don't tell me. All I really need to know is why you insisted Kakashi and I come to this place. He and I didn't exactly grow all that close to your time travelling friend."

"No, you didn't," Naruto admitted, turning to face the ex-leader of the Akatsuki, "I called you here for a couple of different reasons. The first is that there's something I need to tell you, face to face, and it's something that's been a long time coming. What you did to my father, and to the village that you used to call home, is inexcusable. They were the actions of a coward to afraid to face reality he lived in. You ran from the darkness in the world instead of trying to make it better, and frankly, it's pathetic. Some of my most painful memories in life can be traced right back to you, and you'd better believe I've got plenty of anger built up over it."

Obito would've argued with Naruto if he could, but he knew now was not the time to run from his past sins, "You have every right to despise me. If I were in your shoes, I probably would've tried to kill me by now."

While that course of action wouldn't necessarily be uncalled for, Naruto had something else in mind, "I won't be going that far, just don't expect any forgiveness anytime soon. There's something else I need to say as well though… thank you. Thank you for making my life a living hell when I was child. If it hadn't been for you, I never would've met the man I've come to call my father, my family, or my friends, and odds are, I would've have the fiancees I do now if it weren't for you. Don't get me wrong, you never should've done what you did, and there's a part of me that wishes thing had been different so I could've grown up with my real parents, but I can't pretend I don't love the life I have. You should be ashamed of what you've done, but I'll still thank you for the goods things that rose from the ashes you left behind"

"Naruto, I don't know what to say," Obito responded, unable to look the boy in the eye, "You have more of your parents in you than I ever thought possible. I can hardly imagine what they'd think of me if they saw me today. There's no way for me to unburn the bridges that I have."

Naruto saw his opening in that final sentence, "That's actually the second thing you're here for. You may have helped us with stop Abaddon, but that was just you taking responsibility for your own fuck up. It's time for you to face up to everything else you've done. Kakashi, tell him."

"You got it, Naruto," Kakashi spoke up, the first thing he'd said since he got there, "It took me, Naruto, and Tsunade awhile to come up with a punishment we all thought was fair, Obito, but after some debate, we've got something we call all live with. You're going to work with me, using your underworld contacts to track down every last missing-nin we can find. The reason you're doing it with me is because I'm the only one who can keep a leash on you, thanks to these eyes we share. You'll be living in a small apartment with nothing but the bare essentials, no bells and whistles that might make you comfortable. Your shinobi salary will be donated to the various causes in and around the Hidden Leaf that you've harmed in some way, and the same goes for the bounty money we'll be splitting. It's not nearly enough considering what you did, but it was the only way we could punish you without wasting the incredible gift you've got. None of this is up for debate, by the way. Your ass is mine from here on out. Understand?"

There wasn't much for Obito to misinterpret there, "I get the idea, Kakashi, and I'm ready to do what I can for my village. You won't be getting any struggles from me. If anything, I'm getting off easy."

"Trust me, you are," Kakashi responded, before jerking his thumb in direction of the Wayne Manor's front door, "Come on, we've gotta get back to the Hidden Leaf so you can get fixed up in your new apartment. Trust me, it's the shittiest one we could find."

Kakashi gave Bruce and Naruto his trademark 'eye-smile' before leading Obito out of the room. With them out of the earshot, Bruce had to ask his son, "So, Abaddon's gone, the Akatsuki's destroyed, and they took down half of Gotham's criminal underworld with him. What do we do now?"

"You know somebody else is gonna pop up, Dad," Naruto answered, looking out at the sunrise now visible through the kitchen window, "But whoever they are, we'll be ready for em'. It looks like we've got a bright future ahead of us, and I wanna keep it that way. I'll do whatever it take. Hell, I'll become the freaking Hokage if it'll help!"

Bruce chuckled at his son's ambition, basking in the sunlight with him. It was hard to believe he'd come so far since he first came to Gotham. Pride filled Bruce's chest as he put his arm around Naruto, a small smirk on his face. He couldn't wait to see what the future held for Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne.

* * *

From there, time marched on. Day's turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Within those years, everyone slowly but surely began to find their place in the world. It came more easily to some than it did to others, but it came either way.

Rick Flag would go on to be a two term president, and he made plenty of waves in his time. He wasn't liked be some, but he was respected by all. His most famous moment came when he fulfilled Amanda Waller's wishes and revealed to the world the existence of the Great Ninja Nations, with the latter's permission of course. There was a bit of rocky start in the beginning, but the two worlds quickly came together to make one another even stronger, just as Waller had predicted.

Speaking of Waller, someone had to try and take care over her responsibilities after Flag became president and no longer could. Edward Nygma fit the bill better than anyone else Flag could find, and he agreed to do just that after he was promised immunity for his crimes as the Riddler. His final act as his supervillain alter-ego was to give Harley the plant Ivy had made him for safe keeping, as he didn't really know how to properly take care of it himself and thought Harley might appreciate having a reminder of her old friend to keep with her.

Harley adored the gesture, and grinned ear to ear every time she saw it when she came home from a night of protecting the streets of Gotham. Yes, she became a vigilante for the good guys in an effort to make her home a place where Duela could play without worry. The little girl missed her Uncle Harvey, but at least had her big brother to keep her company.

Aside from keeping his little sister happy, Jason worked with his mother and the Bat family to keep Gotham safe, a job he was all too happy to do. He thought he burned all the bridges he had with Bruce, Naruto, and the others, so to be welcomed back like he was felt great.

His lovely lady friends were married to him in a private ceremony a mere couple of years later. Rose had lost an eye during the battle with Abaddon, something she brushed off as a family curse, and went on to be a special consultant to the Justice League and other law enforcement agents specializing in understanding the way assassin's thought. Ino continued her work with the Yamanaka clan, eventually becoming the clan head despite her 'eccentricities.' Argent became a typical vigilante, working with the League in order to get her adrenaline rushes in. Each of the ladies would have one child, Lilly, Inojin, and Alexis, a girl, boy, and girl respectively.

They weren't the only ones starting a family either, as Zabuza and Banshee would have their first child nine months after the battle with Abaddon, just Dana predicted. They named him Alfred, after Zabuza's father of course, and that alone was enough to allow Alfred to die happily. Luckily, the butler would live long enough to see some his great grandchildren, along with wedding of his surrogate grandson, Haku. He and Sai married roughly six months after the birth of Zabuza's first son, and would go on to work with Zabuza and Banshee to protect the Hidden Mist and Gotham city.

Another Hidden Mist shinobi, Chojuro, lived a strong life of his own, continuing to see both Powergirl and Supergirl, though none of them were exactly the marrying or family type. Chojuro would eventually become the Mist's next Mizukage, albeit far into the future. Mei didn't retire until 30 years after the battle with Abaddon.

Black Canary would give birth to Connor Queen only months after that same battle, making Oliver Queen one proud Papa. Not to many shifts in their lives after that, just the the added task of raising and training their little boy. He'd find his place in world too, though that's a story for a bit further down the road.

Catwoman and Kakashi continued their relationship as well, their soon to be born child proving to be the push that convinced them their love for one another was not simply some casual arrangement. They would name their new daughter Nekoto, marrying a month after she was born. Another situation that stayed mostly the same, with the exception of Selina now using her thieving skills for the good guys as opposed to just herself. It was an arrangement that left both she and Kalashi happier than they ever thought they'd be.

As for Selina's sister, Kitrina, she'd had kept herself pretty busy. She went on to train with her big sister, becoming a skilled thief that proved both useful to Gotham and the Hidden Leaf. Kiba continued his work with the Inuzuka clan and went on to be clan head, making his mother all the more proud. He and Kitrina would eventually marry and have a small litter of children to call their own.

The rest of the Rookie-Nine would lead normal shinobi lives of their own. Choji would marry a Cloud ninja by the name of Karui, who'd go on to give birth to his daughter Chocho, and became head of his clan. Shikamaru would take on the role of clan head as well, and go to marry a 'surprisingly not troublesome' civilian girl, who he'd have his son Shikadai with. Shino never married, but did go on to lead the Aburame clan. Sakura would marry Sasuke, a move that surprised at least a few people, and had a surprisingly solid marriage with him along with a daughter by the name of Sadara. Sasuke lived up to his promise to Itachi, leading the Uchiha clan into a new era, with a pardoned Kisame as his partner when he became an Anbu Captain.

Shizune would continue to work on the medical system in the Hidden Leaf, and married Barry Allen, aka the Flash, who continued his work as a hero. They had a daughter they'd name Nora, after Barry's deceased mother. Barry got Shizune to loosen up a bit, and Shizune knew just how to reign Barry in when she needed to. A strong match for sure.

Tsunade and Jiraiya lived their lives to the fullest they'd ever had, despite their ages, and even a child couldn't slow them down. They would name their new daughter Mito, after Tsunade's grandmother. It seemed there was nothing that could slow the Sannin down.

Heading back to the American side of things, the time would eventually come from the current Leagues to retire and hand over the mantle to another generation of defenders. New heroes stepped right up to meet that challenge, the first of which being Black Arrow, the identity held by Connor Queen. Between his mother's super scream and his father's training in archery, he was a force to be reckoned with. His lover was none other than Jikusume Wayne, the now fully grown superhero who'd inherited the bloodlines and fiery temper of her mother, taking up the mantle of Cinder. Her brother, John, found out about his real parents at a young age, and came to term with it easily enough with a family as supportive as his. He had the same control over plants that Poison Ivy once did, along with the chemistry based brilliance that both of his parents once held, making him an all too dangerous hero by the name of Hemlock. Duela Dent, thanks to all of her training with Harley Quinn and Jason, made a strong member of the new League as Card Queen, a name she'd picked up thanks to so many of her gadgets being card based. Terry Mcginnis and Dana Tan lead the new League, which also featured many of the younger members of the 'Young Justice' team, like Superboy, Miss Martian, and the new Flash, Wally West. It was one hell of a team, and it helped to strike fear in the hearts of any foe they might face.

One final noteworthy member was Mary Grayson, the daughter of Nightwing and Starfire. She had all of her Mother's Tamaranean powers, and trained extensively to become the superhero known as Comet. Nightwing and Starfire never really retired from crime fighting, but they did eventually take a step back and become the unofficial overseers of the Titan Tower, along with Beast Boy and Raven, who'd since married. The crime fighting team became a sort of stepping stone to joining the Justice League, and you'd better believe anyone was ready after training with teachers like that.

Barbara found happiness in her life as well, falling head over heals for Kankuro, who'd eventually become her husband. They'd give her father, the newly retired commissioner, two grandchildren to spoil, a little boy and a little girl. Their names were Yashi and Sarah respectively.

Tim and Stephanie eventually managed to get past all of the baggage they'd been carrying with them and stick it out for the long haul together. Neither felt the need to marry though, they simply weren't the type of people for that short of thing. They merely continued their vigilante days as Red Robin and Batgirl, defenders of Gotham City.

Damian on the other hand surprised everyone when he grew up to fall in love with the one and only Hanabi, marrying his lover before he turned twenty. He would eventually give up the Robin name to live with her properly in the Hidden Leaf, though he never gave up his training regiment. In fact, he took over for Bruce as Batman during the small interval between Bruce's time as Batman and Terry's time.

Speaking of the Dark Knight, Bruce would continue to take on the mental of legendary Batman for as long as he could. By the time he was in his late fifties, his injuries and rough treatment of his body began to catch up with him, and Mei insisted that he take a step back. He didn't have to retire, but she'd rather have him helping her manage the Hidden Mist for her last few years as Mizukage as opposed to getting himself killed like a stubborn old man. Bruce did as she asked, and he Mei lived comfortable lives watching from the sidelines as the world they'd helped to create began to take shape more and more.

Last but not least was Naruto himself, and as for his future, well…

* * *

"Naruto, you need to stand still," Hinata scolded her husband as she fought to get his new robes straight, "I swear, sometimes it's easier to get Baruto dressed than it is to get you!"

Naruto was fidgeting as he stood atop the Hokage Tower because his mind was racing with the thoughts of all the responsibility he was about to accept. He sighed as he tried to keep himself calm enough for Hinata to finish, "Hehe, sorry. I can't remember the last I was this nervous."

"I can," Temari piped in, leaning alongside the railing of the roof as she watched her husband's predicament, "It was when you found out all three of us were pregnant and had about the same due date. You remember the look on his face, Cassandra?"

"How could I forget," Naruto's final bride asked with a chuckle, "I've never seen his face turn that ghostly white before. We were kinder with the next children though. We spaced those ones out for him."

The children they were referring to were Baruto and Himawari, mothered by Hinata, Hiruzen and Karua, mothered by Temari, and Bruce and Sylvia, mothered by Cassandra. All of six of them were currently in the massive crowd gathered around the Hokage Tower, being watched by their grandpa Bruce and grandma Mei. Naruto could hardly believe how fast they were growing and how much of his energetic nature they'd managed to inherit, "Yeah, but that didn't make chasing em' down any easier… Heh, you know it's funny, I always used to joke I was gonna Hokage one day. I really wanted that joke to become real, I just never dreamed it actually would. Naruto Uzumaki, the Sixth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. You guys think I'm ready for this?"

Hinata gave her husband a small kiss on the lips, "You've conquered Scarecrow, Joker, and Abaddon, haven't you? I would think this would be easy for you."

"She's right, babe," Temari added on, giving her husband a small wink, "Not to mention that fact that you can handle all three of us in bed at the same time. That's the real impressive part if you ask me."

"Some masterful feats indeed," Cassandra agreed, making the whole group laugh, "You'll be a wonderful and powerful Hokage, my love. No one in this village has any doubt. Now go show these people why they chose you."

Naruto smiled at the three loves of his life, amazed they ended up with him of all people. His journey had been far from conventional, but his destination was greater than anything he could've ever asked for. He would do everything he could defend it as he took the same position his father had once held. With one final deep breath, Naruto turned to face the crowd, ready to take his next steps from this destination and into the next. What was in store next for him, he had no idea, but with his family by his side he held no fear.

He was Naruto Uzumaki-Wayne, the Red Fox, the Sixth Hokage, and the slayer of the some of the most dangerous foes in the world, and he was just getting started...


End file.
